Appealing takeout choices are out there

Several entrepreneurial minds in the local food world have answers if you need a break from cooking.

Got a special occasion on the horizon or just need a break from the day-in, day-out grind of cooking at home? Several entrepreneurial minds in the local food world have answers.

Chef Loretta Paganini comes to the rescue with Saturday dinners worth celebrating. Call 440-7291110 to be added to its weekly email list for future weeks.

Several options of meals for one or two diners are updated each week. Chefs prepare them in the kitchen at Paganini’s Sapore Restaurant, 8613 Mayfield Road, Chester Township.

The order deadline typically is Wednesday, with those who order picking meals up between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. the following Saturday by pulling into the driveway between the restaurant and The Loretta Paganini School of Cooking and calling the above number. The order is brought to the car and placed in its trunk without contact. It’s ready to be taken home and heated for dinner.

This week order by noon Jan. 14 for a four-course meal for one with salad, soup and dessert framed around Chicken Coq au Vin at $35. Available meals for two, at $45,include a Cassoulet with Sausage, Beans, Braised Pork and Roast Duck; homemade Potato Gnocchi with Bolognese Sauce and Parmesan; Pan Seared Diver Scallops with Risotto and Vegetable; and Veal Scaloppine Marsala with Mushroom Ragout and Mashed Potatoes. Extras such as a quart of bean soup and meatballs in sauce also are available for $12.

You may see me in line Saturday when I pick up my cassoulet dinner — a perennial favorite for me that’s a lot of work to make at home.

Zack Bruell, who owns several fine restaurants in the area, has three fourcourse menus through January that are ready to order at $70 for two people. That price includes delivery within a 20-minute drive of University Circle.

Orders to, say, Mentor likely would cost $10 extra.

An appetizer, salad and dessert are part of each menu, as are vegetables and a starch. Those stylish sides include a salad of arugula orange segments, hearts of palm and pomegranate seeds along with appetizers and desserts such as shrimp cocktail, imported cheeses with dried fruit, and flourless chocolate cake. Here are the entree choices: Beef Wellington with Mushroom Duxelles; Brown Sugar Glazed Bone in Pork Chop; and Citrus and Cilantro Marinated Salmon.

Orders must be received 48 hours prior to delivery. Call Kim Adelstein with questions and to order at 216-296-3440.

The choices for February will be updated in about a week.

Boston Market, a chain with 17 restaurants across Ohio, including Mentor and Lyndhurst, has a Wednesday-and-Sunday Prime Rib dinner special ($20) that has folks lining up for carryout. Visit BostonMarket.com for hours, locations and prices.