Happy July 1.

Here are some pretty sky pictures I took the other night from my deck.

OK, enough of sky.

Let's eat.

First, I want to explain where I'm going with tonight's meal so it won't seem like I'm all over the board with this post.
Tonight's main ingredient is ...
SCALLOPS.
I'm preparing them two different ways, with two sauces.
I also have a side dish - garden squash and onions.
And LEFTOVERS from last night.
Please enjoy.

I started off with some lovely parmesan crisps.

I like Il Villagio Parmesan from Harris Teeter.
Parmesan is like olive oil. You need to comparison-taste different types to find out what you really like.
I had been eating Sargento from Food Lion for years, until I decided to do something really rash and daring and try a different brand. Let me just say I've never eaten Sargento again.
It is crap.

Anyways, back to the crisps.
You grate the parmesan then press it into a biscuit cutter to make little rounds.
I do them on parchment paper for easier removal.
Bake in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for about 7 minutes.
Watch closely so they don't burn.
When nicely browned, immediately remove them from the pan.
I just set mine flat on the plate.

At this point, since they're very pliable, you could drape them over the back of a muffin tin to make a bowl-shaped crisp,
then perhaps fill it with a salad, say baby spinach, red grapes, orange slices, and toasted almonds and drizzle with a nice vinaigrette.

Oooh. That does sound good.
Maybe I'll make that sometime and blog the results for you.

OK, back to the meal.

Next up, a squash and onion dish.
I just picked the squash and dill from my garden.

I sliced the onions and squash and sauteed them in Bertolli Extra Light olive oil and Land o' Lakes Unsalted Butter.
Salt and pepper.

I always like to add a bit of sugar to my veggies.

Then I decided to chop up a green pepper from the garden and add in some snow peas, courtesy of Food Lion.

And here's the finished dish.
Snow peas are still crisp.

Next, my first sauce.

I used a can of mandarin oranges, with juice, sesame oil, fresh ginger, honey,
and a cornstarch slurry

Pour the honey in with the oranges.

Add a teeny bit of sesame oil.

Then, I used a garlic press to juice the ginger.

Bring to a boil and whisk in slurry to thicken.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Now, my second sauce.

Brandy Cream Sauce:
4 oz. brandy
6 oz. heavy cream
salt and pepper

First, heat brandy in small saucepan.

I just happen to really like this picture.

Now, on to the main event.

Flame the brandy.

Being the pyromaniac that I am,
I relished the flames.

Oooh.
Pretty.

Just let the brandy reduce until the flames expire.

Not ready yet.

Oh my, but this was fun.

Still going.

I like this picture too.
You know me and my action shots.

Ooh, oooh.
Me likey.

It's finally dying down.
The flames lasted a fairly long time -
maybe 4-5 minutes.

Another action shot.
Oh my, I really liked this one.

After the flames are done, add in the cream.
Salt and pepper.

Next, I'm getting my coating for my almond scallops ready.
Almonds in the back, parsley, fresh ginger root, and salt and pepper.

Mix all together.

Rinse off the scallops.

Pat dry.

As I said before, I'm doing two different types of scallops.
At the top is my almond/parsley/ginger coating for my almond scallops
with Mandarin sesame glaze.
At bottom is freshly ground sea salt and pepper for my
scallops au poivre with brandy cream sauce.

On the left are my scallops rolled in freshly ground pepper.
On the right are my scallops encrusted with almonds.

I heated up my pan, added olive oil and butter, then seared the scallops on both sides.
Maybe two-three minutes each side.

Then I baked in a 350 degree pre-heated oven for about 5-7 minutes, until cooked.
Do NOT overcook.

Here's dinner.
Bottom left, squash, onion, green pepper, snow pea saute.
Bottom right, almond encrusted scallops and pepper scallops.
Top left, my Mandarin orange sauce.
Top right, my Brandy/cream sauce.

Now, on to the plating and my LEFTOVERS.
Remember I said we were having leftovers?

On the bottom is the Jambalaya rice from the other night.
On top is my rutabaga/carrot mash from the other night.

I like the way this meal is turning out.

Here's Mr. H.'s plate.
In the middle is the leftover rice and rutabaga/carrot with a parmesan crisp on top.
On the right is the squash/onion saute.
On the left are the almond encrusted scallops with the orange sauce.
At the top are my scallops au poivre with Brandy Cream sauce.

And here's my plate.
The goodie bits on top of the parmesan crisp are
almonds and parsley scraped up from the pan.

I have to say I impressed myself with this.

The scallops were delicious.
Perfectly cooked.
Both sauces complemented their respective scallops and the melding of flavors was a lovely gastronomic experience.

The squash/onion/dill was very fresh tasting.
Well, I guess so, since I just picked everything.

The parmesan crisp was a parmesan crisp and everything that means and more.

Plus, I got rid of LEFTOVERS!

This was an excellent meal.
I enjoyed every flavor in my dish,
and there were so many.

SODAlicious.


Now here's a tease picture.
What's this?

My front yard.
With newly-laid sod and fresh mulch.

My mimosa tree.
With more sod and mulch.

This is a work in progress.
I will blog the whole thing when everything is done.
Just let me say, it involves an irrigation system.
I'm so 'cited!

Another Cooking Class At The Aquarium.

Mr. Hawthorne, Glowria, Xmaskatie, and I headed again this week to Manteo for another cooking class in the wonderful series offered by the North Carolina Aquarium.

Chef Jim Smith of The Black Pelican Restaurant
in Kitty Hawk, NC provided the demonstration.

Ah, such good food.
Mr. H. and I were worried we were going to have fishcakes, since we'd just had them for lunch.
Our worries were unfounded.
The menu was all scallops, and I loves me some scallops.
Rosie was happy.

The first dish was a scallop ceviche.

Here's the recipe:

6 oz. scallops (rinsed and diced)
5 green onions (finely sliced)
1 cucumber (peeled, seeded, and diced)
2 oz. fresh cilantro (minced)
5 limes (juiced)
1 medium tomato (diced)
1 tsp garlic (minced)
1 TB olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients, chill for at least 4 hours, and serve with tortilla chips.

This was good. I wouldn't necessarily order it only because my feeble brain can't work its way around chemically cooked fish, but I'm working on it.

Next up, two different scallop dishes and a rice dish.


First the Rice Recipe:

Now, remember this is a restaurant rice recipe, so just tone it down for normal amounts.

2 qt. rice
2 qt. water
1/4 margarine (I never, ever use margarine. Only butter. Land o' Lakes unsalted.)
2 TB chopped garlic
salt and pepper to taste
2 TB parsley
chopped onion and celery
1 cup julienned carrots
1 cup peas
1 cup shoe peg corn
2 TB vegetable base

Bring water, salt and pepper, margarine (Arrghh. BUTTAH.), and vegetable base to a boil.
Add garlic, parsley, veggies, and rice and bring back to boil, cover and remove from heat.
Let sit, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover and stir.

Almond Scallops with Mandarin Sesame Glaze

Almond Scallops

12 jumbo sea scallops
1 cup almonds, sliced
1/2 cup Tahini
1 tsp fresh cilantro
1 tsp ginger
salt and pepper to taste

Blend 3/4 of almonds, tahini, cilantro, ginger, salt and pepper until it's a paste-like consistency. Add the paste to one side of each of the scallops and top that side with the remainder of the sliced almonds. Saute paste side down,
then bake in preheated 350-degree oven until golden brown.

Mandarin Glaze

12 oz. can Mandarin oranges
1 TB sesame oil
1 tsp fresh ginger
1/4 cup honey
6-8 oz cornstarch slurry (equal amounts cornstarch and cold water)

Bring oranges, ginger, and honey to a rapid boil. Whisk in slurry until desired consistency.

Scallops Au Poivre With Brandy Cream Sauce

Scallops

12 jumbo sea scallops
50/50 blend fresh black pepper and Kosher salt
2 TB olive oil

Put one side of each scallop into peper/salt mixture.
In large saute pan, heat oil to smoking point. Add pepper-encrusted side of each scallop to pan and sear them for 20-30 seconds on each side.
Finish in a 350-degree oven.


Brandy Cream Sauce

8 oz brandy
12 oz heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a small saucepan. Add brandy and flame. Reduce until the flames are gone, then add heavy cream. Reduce by half and add salt and pepper to taste.
Pour over scallops and serve.

This was ... what's the word? ... freaking delicious.

Although the scallops au poivre were a bit too salty (for my tastes), they were still wonderful.
I'd use 1/2 the salt or less, but then I'm not a salt person, so what do I know?
Everyone else raved about them.
Although, xmaskatie did agree with me on the salt factor.

All in all, a very enjoyable demonstration and meal.

Gosh, I love scallops.