Rosie Masters The Parmesan Frico Cups.

Here's lunch last week. Can you look at the picture and tell what it is? Please try before proceeding. Just do it for me, pweeeeeeease? Now, I will ramble about this particular lunch, which I made in honor of Youngest Hawthorne. Remember about 6 weeks ago when I first attempted to screw up Giada's Parmesan Frico cups?

And about 4 weeks ago when I made another feeble stab at the Parmesan cups? I vowed then:

"I will master the Parmesan Frico Cup!" And my friends, with diligence, determination, and perseverance, I finally have. This lunch menu was for Youngest Hawthorne, who was the first of my brood to leave this month for school. It's his favorite - Seared scallops on a bed of seasoned risotto on a Parmesan crisp with caramelized onions and pesto. Whatever happened to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Whenever you ask him what he would like for a meal, he immediately recites this recipe. I guess he actually expects me to have fresh scallops and pesto on hand at all times. A couple of years ago, he bussed tables at The Flying Fish Cafe in Kill Devil Hills. When clearing off the plates of one set of diners, he noticed the lady hadn't touched her scallops. When he got back to the kitchen, he hated the idea of tossing the food in the trash and wasting perfectly good scallops, so Youngest Hawthorne ate the scallops. After all, he said the lady looked very clean. Now Middle Hawthorne would rather gnaw off his arm than eat anything that has been touched by anyone. I don't know how he thinks I've prepared his meals all these years without touching anything but I'll let him keep believing whatever he needs to. Feed the fantasy. Back to the scallop dish, Youngest Hawthorne thought it was da bombe and wanted me to make it for him. The first time Youngest Hawthorne requested it was during the time Mr. Hawthorne and I were taking our cooking classes at the North Carolina Aquarium and it just so happened that the chefs from Flying Fish came and presented this very dish. You can read about it here. I was able to make this for all the Hawthornes and it is one of their favorites. Please indulge me first with my PARMESAN FRICO CUPS.

I coarsely grated my Il Villagio Parmesan wedge and placed some rather thick circles of cheese on my silpat baking mat.

Baked in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until a nice Outer Banks Beach Tan. I let them sit in the pan for 2-3 minutes on my cold granite before trying to remove.

Then, working with 4 hands (3 shown, the fourth was taking the picture), I scraped up the rounds with those ultra thin spatulas for cookie baking scraping. I turned them on an upside down muffin tin instead of a right side up tin, so the grease in the cheese would work with gravity and ... gravitate. I took a paper towel to absorb more grease and shape the cups.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you ... Parmesan Frico cups. Mission accomplished. Next up - PESTO.

Here's my mise en place: big bunch of fresh basil cup or more of pecans garlic cloves wedge of Parmesan ELBOO (Extra Light Bertolli Olive Oil) I'm not giving you cups and fractions thereof. Just look at the picture and try to recreate. There are no rights and wrongs. Feel free to experiment. Process all of the above except the oil, then pour in the oil, processing as you add it, until you have a nice, rich paste. Add freshly ground salt and pepper if you like.

Keep adjusting, layering, and adding flavors until you get the blend you like. It's not rocket science. There are no absolutes. Do it to your tastes. Next step - CARAMELIZED ONIONS.

Slice one onion.

Slide the slices into a hot pan with hot 1/2 and 1/2 light olive oil and unsalted buttah. I like using Bertolli Extra Light Olive Oil. By using a light olive oil, The flavor of whatever you're sauteeing stands out. It's not masked by a heavy oil inserting it's own headiness onto a light, delicate tidbit.

Keep sauteeing over low heat ...

... for about 20 minutes or so, until the onions start to brown. Then add in some Chardonnay (or any white wine or sherry). Just a few tablespoons.

Let the wine steam up and cook off, then cover and set aside.

Next up - RISOTTO.

First, I poured some boiling water over top of a couple of sun dried tomatoes.

Next, I heated up a few tablespoons of ELBOO (Extra Light Bertolli Olive Oil)

Delicate and mild	Bertolli Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil
This olive oil has just a subtle hint of olive flavor. Use it in place of plain vegetable oil in all types of cooking, including baking. Extra Light Tasting is an excellent choice for high heat sautéing and stir-frying because it has a higher smoke point than our other olive oil varieties. Available in various sizes.
TOP>

and added about a cup or so of Arborio rice.

Constantly stir the rice, letting it tan a bit and cook. Then gradually add in chicken stock. Maybe 1/8 - 1/4 cup at a time. Let it simmer and soak up the stock, then add in another 1/8 - 1/4 cup. (I used 2 cups chicken stock.) Making risotto is a gradual, labor-intensive, act of love. You must stand over the rice and its additions, stirring and scraping constantly.

Remember the other day when I baked a hen. ... here's my chickie. I poured the chicken joos out and refrigerated that. When the fat congeals on top I'll scoop it off and use the stock for something else.

My stock has been in the fridge for several days and has congealed on top. Simply pull out the fat topping and discard. Then you have a jellied, flavorful stock on which to base your dishes.

I had about 2 cups of the stock. And I used about 1/8 - 1/4 cup at a time, adding it to the risotto, letting the rice absorb the liquid, before adding more.

Here are the next ingredients for my risotto: chopped parsley chopped softened sun-dried tomatoes In addition to, or instead of, parsley, chopped spinach would serve in a pinch.

While I'm preparing all this for Youngest Hawthorne, he came in the kitchen to show me the kiwi face he'd carved with one of the knives I'd given him for his birthday earlier this month. Ya gotta admit it: The kid is talented. That college edumacation is paying off.

After I'd added 2 cups of chicken stock, I drizzled in some white wine.

Then some cream.

Throw in the parsley and softened sun-dried tomato.

And some buttah. Always, buttah. You could also add grated Parmesan at this point, but I figgered I had enough Parmesan flavoring what with the frico cups. Cover and set aside. Onto the SCALLOPS.

Rinse the scallops off and please, please, please, don't make me go into the Dry vs Wet Scallop thingie again.

Drain and blot dry on paper towels then add freshly cracked pepper.

Heat up the pan, add ELBOO and LOLUB (Extra Light Bertolli Olive Oil and Land O' Lakes Unsalted Butter), heat, and add scallops.

Maybe 90 seconds each side. Remember to not overcook. All food continues to cook after being taken off the heat. Allow for residual cooking. Take the scallops out, and drain on paper towels.

Keep heat going in the scallop pan and add in white wine to deglaze the pan. Keep heating and scraping over low heat ...

... until you get a beautiful, rich reduction. Here's our lunch:

Perfectly seared scallops atop a bed of fragrant risotto, flavored with parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, and wine, nestled in a cozy Parmesan frico cup, crowned with caramelized onions, adorned with a basil pesto, and drizzled with a reduction of intense wine and scallop flavorings Sheer bliss.

Bon Appetit!

Magnificent Scallops For Lunch.

Now this was a meal. A very good meal. Dare I say ... "A delicious meal" ?

It's seared scallops with a fresh tomato sauce puree and a mint/pea pesto pasta in a PARMESAN FRICO CUP! Oh, and a sprig of mint. And scattered green peas. If you've been a regular reader, then you know I attempted Giada's Parmesan Frico Cups last month and posted about my sad little experience here. Yes, Rosie shares both her triumphs and her failures with her loyal readers. And I vowed to master the Parmesan Frico cups:

I truly suck at this.

But I promise you this:

I will master the Parmesan Frico cup.

Mark my words.

But first, my pesto.

My ingredients: 1 cup frozen peas (Do NOT use canned peas. I will hunt you down, find you, and hurt you.) 1/2 cup toasted almonds (Toasting nuts really brings out their flavor.) juice and zest of 1/2 lemon handful of mint leaves salt and pepper olive oil

I put the peas in my mini-processor, added the juice of 1/2 lemon, and the zest of 1/2 lemon.

I grated the Parmesan cheese ...

... added my mint leaves ...

... and the toasted almonds ...

... and processed while adding in my olive oil ...

... until I got this nice pesto. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Next, I added rotini to salted, boiling water.

Drained the pasta and added some of the minty pea pesto. Set aside. I wanted some colorful accents for this meal and something else that had mint in it besides the pesto so I googled mint and tomatoes and found a recipe for a blackened tomato with a mint paste.

I went out and picked some small Roma tomatoes and some large cherry tomatoes and the mint. The other ingredients are 1 TB sugar salt and pepper olive oil

I salted, peppered, and sugared the sliced tomatoes.

I chopped the mint and added enough olive oil to make a paste.

I drizzled the tomatoes with olive oil, smeared each with the mint paste, and drizzled again with some more olive oil.

The recipe said to cook for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, until the tomato kinda blackened. I tasted at this point and was a tad disappointed. The tomato reminded me of a not real soggy piece of sun-dried tomato. I was looking forward to the mint flavor, but there was none. And I don't think mint is supposed to be black. So I screwed this one up. Now on to my tomato sauce puree:

Sadly I only had 1 ripe tomato left since I'd used the good part of my tomatoes for my last disappointment. So I opted for 1 can of diced tomatoes garlic onion mint basil fresh bay leaves (If you use dry, cut back to 1.) Anaheim pepper ( I used an Anaheim because that's what's ready in my garden. You could substitute any sweet pepper.) That's my bay tree.

First, I sauteed the chopped onion in some olive oil for a couple of minutes.

Then added minced garlic and cooked for about a minute. Rosie Tip #213: Don't brown the garlic. Makes it bitter.

I added in my fresh bay leaves and stirred for another minute.

Then I added a can of diced tomatoes ...

... and about 2 cups of my chicken consomme ...

... my minced Anaheim pepper ...

... and my basil leaves. And cooked over very low heat for about 20 minutes.

Then I pureed the tomato mixture in my mini-processor, just batches at a time. Rosie Hint # 122: Don't fill a blender or processor with hot liquid and mix or process. Either cool the mixture first, or better, process in small batches. Now on to the dreaded Parmesan Frico Cups. I think I can I think I can I think I can ...

I grated 2 cups of Parmesan cheese. This time I used the coarse grater, not my very fine rotary grater which is what I used last time and actually hypothesized that the coarseness of the grate might have something to do with the success of this little edible bowl. From my last post about the Frico cups:

And the next time I attempt this,

I'm going to coarse grate the cheese

instead of micro-rotary-grating it.

That might just be my problem.

I made little 1/4 cup piles of coarsely grated cheese and pressed them into little 4-inch circles.

Baked at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

I let these sit for about a minute before trying to remove from the pan. Right out of the oven, they're too much of a molten mess. And I used a micro-thin cookie spatula for removing them. I placed each round over top my inverted muffin cups and pressed around to make a cup shape. The end result: This is a start. Another evolving recipe for me - like the corn fritters. This attempt was certainly better than the first, but none of my 8 cups was "pretty." I need to figure a way to de-grease them Perhaps I should have blotted them with paper towels. I wanted them browner, but it didn't seem to work. I didn't like the texture. I wanted smoother and more uniform. Oh well. If anyone has any suggestions for me, please dish. I think I will experiment with a less coarse grate and also try different types of Parmesan cheeses. I will master the Parmesan Frico Cup! I think there's gonna be a whole bunch of posts about Rosie Asks Rosie: How do you make a damn Parmesan Frico Frickin' Cup??!!?? On to my scallops:

Beautiful, fresh, large ocean scallops. Do I need to go into the whole dry vs wet scallop thing again? I rinsed them off.

And blotted dry.

Freshly ground pepper. And I don't think sea scallops need any salt. They're nice and oceany and briny as it is.

But then I saw a lime so I had to grate its zest over the scallops.

I heated my pan, added some butter (for butter flavor) and some Bertolli Extra Light Olive Oil (to raise the smoke point) E!L!O!O! That's EXTRA LIGHT OLIVE OIL!!!!!!! Oooh ... I came up with a catchphrase. Can I have my own program on Food Network? Oh, sorry. Back to the scallops. Put 'em in the butter/oil. And Rosie Tip #235: When sauteeing or frying, resist the temptation to push the meat or veggie around. Leave it alone. If you push it before it has time to form a "skin" the meat will just stick to the pan and you'll tear it by trying to move it. If you wait long enough, the meat will caramelize and you'll have a nice, seared piece that releases itself from the pan.

For 2-3 minutes each side.

Then I deglazed with a few tablespoons + of sherry. You could use any white wine. You know what? Just for a hoot ... a HOOT! ... I tell ya, being the rebel I am, one of these days I'm going to DEGLAZE scallops with a RED wine. Stay tuned for that post.

This sauce is light, buttery, oceany, with a bit of citrus, all chastely kissed with sherry.

Here's Mr. Hawthorne's dish: Parmesan Frico Cup (evolving recipe). Pasta with a minty pea pesto. Fresh tomato puree. Seared seasoned scallops. Green peas scattered thoughout. Sprig of mint.

Here's mine. Mr. Hawthorne asked me why I got 3 scallops and he only got 2. Silly man. (And by the way, there are 7 scallops left.)

I like using these spiral pastas. The pesto or sauce will adhere to the insides. I need to look up the difference between rotini and fusilli.

This was delightful to me. The scallops were light, almost fruity, and bathed in ocean. The tomato sauce was delicate, sweet, and a perfect bath for the scallops. The green peas were green and peas. And they were a beautiful accent and tasteful flourish on a lovely entree.

The tastes, flavors, aromas were qibswedyk. That's my new word: qibswedyk. It's "wonderful" when your fingers are moved over one key to the left.. Hey ... The Damn Parmesan Freakin' Freako Frickin' Cup. It was a good try. But I know I can do better. And when I do, you'll be the first to read about it.

I almost forgot to put a picture in of the sad little baked-to-hell-tomato-slice with no mint flavor. The tomato would have been good if I'd just followed my instincts and not cooked it as long as I did and maybe put more olive oil over top before I cooked. But I did what the recipe said and was cooking and doing 5 or 6 other things so it got dropped through the cracks. I'm sorry. There is no excuse for my inefficiency in this matter. I humbly apologize and beg your forgiveness. But, once again, I give you the agony of my defeat. But sometime in the future, I will give you the triumph of victory. This could be really good, so I add it to my ever-evolving pile: Corn Fritters. Parmesan Frico Cups. Minted Tomato Slices.

I WILL MASTER THESE.