Pan-Seared Scallops w/ Apple-Onion Marmalade, Bacon & Cider Sauce

This is even better than it sounds. Perfect for autumn.

• 6 slices lean bacon
• 18 large sea scallops, patted dry
• 1 cup apple cider
• salt & pepper

For the marmalade:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large vidalia onion, cut through the stem into thin wedges
• 1 large golden delicious or other baking apple, cored & cut into thin wedges
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• ground black pepper

Making the marmalade:

In a large fry pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onions & cook, stirring often, until they begin to soften, about 15 minutes.

Stir in apples & cumin seeds. Cook, stirring, until the onions are golden & the apples begin to soften, about 30 minutes more. Add the cider vinegar, salt & pepper and remove from heat. Set aside.

For the scallops:

In another large fry pan over medium-high heat, fry the bacon until crisp, 3-5 minutes. Using tongs or slotted spatula, transfer to paper towels to drain. Discard all but about 1 tbsp (a light coating) of the bacon drippings from the pan.

Sprinkle the scallops lightly with salt & pepper. Return the fry pan to med-hi heat. When the pan is hot, add the scallops a few at a time & cook, turning once, until lightly browned on both sides, about 1 minute on each side. Transfer to a plate & keep warm while you cook the remaining scallops. When all the scallops are cooked, add the apple cider to the pan & boil until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Pour any juices that have collected on the scallop plate into the fry pan. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, reheat the marmalate over med-low heat until heated through. Serve creatively:

Scallops w/ Parsley Vinaigrette

This was included in a recipe for scallops, but could be used damn near anywhere. :)

• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley (dried is *not* the same)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp lemon zest
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 lb of scallops, halved
• salt & pepper

Put 4 tbsp of the olive oil into a frying pan & heat. Add the parsley, garlilng & lemon zest and cook for a minute or two. Pour into a bowl and leave to cool. Add the lemon juice & balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper (to taste) & whisk to combine.

Heat the remaining oil in another frying pan. Season the scallops with salt & add to the pan. Fry for about 45 seconds on one side, then about 30 seconds on the other.

Drizzle the vinaigrette over the scallops & serve hot.

A Vinaigrette is an emulsion of vinegar (or sometimes citrus juice)and oil, often flavored with herbs, spices and other ingredients. Can be used as a salad dressing, sauce or marinade.

Pan-Seared Scallops with Fennel Puree

This recipe came from Martha Stewart. If you have the time, the fennel really makes this scallop dish sing.

• 6 large sea scallops
• coarse salt
• sunflower or other neutral oil
• 2 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed & chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 3 coups whole milk (or, enough to just cover the fennel)
• 2 tbsp butter
• ground black pepper

For the scallops: follow the recipe for "Perfectly Seared Scallops" in my seafood section.

For the puree:

1. In a small pot, combine chopped fennel & milk & bring to just under a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce to a simmer.
2. Cover & cook until fennel is completely tender (it should not offer any resistance when pierced waith the tip of a knife) but not falling apart, 20-25 minutes.
3. Drain in a sieve, reserving liquid.
4. Cimbine fennel and 1/4 cup reserved liquid ina blender & blend on high speed until smooth, about 4 minutes. Add more liquid a teaspoon at a time as necessary to keep the blending running smoothly.
5. Transfer to a fine sieve set over a large bowl or measuring cup and press with a rubber spatula to extract as much puree as possible. Make sure you do this step well or you will have runny puree and it doesn't work as well.
6. Discard remaining solids & rinse sieve thoroughly. Return puree to the sieve and set ovaer a bowl to drain for 1.5 hours longer. Yes, 1.5 hours longer. Again, I skipped this step and paid for it.
7. Transfer to a saucepan and cook over medium heat until warmed through. Stir in butter.
8. Spoon 1 tbsp puree onto each plate and top with a scallop slice. Garnish with fennel fronds and serve.
   
   

Beka's Cream of Crab Soup

I made this trying to re-create this amazing crab soup I had at a restaurant that is no longer in business. I did lots of research and here's my version.it's very heavy and very thick so it can be a dip as well. If you want it thinner, just leave out the flour.

• 1/2 lb jumbo lump crabmeat


• 1/2 cup chicken broth


• 1/4 cup minced onion


• 1/4 cup minced celery


• 2 tbsp flour


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1/4 tsp celery salt


• couple twists of the pepper mill


• 3 tbsp butter


• 1 pint half & half


• 1/4 cup dry sherry


• fresh grated nutmeg (to taste)


• pinch of ground cloves


• 1 bay leaf

Cook onion & celery in the butter until onion is transparent & tender.

Blend in flour (if using) & seasonings and saute over medium to medium-hi heat.

Add half & half and chicken broth. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Stir in crabmeat & lower the heat so it stops boiling (low to med-low).

Stir in sherry.

Leave on low heat & taste to make changes till it's a flavor you want. I ended up adding more nutmeg.

Crab Salad Hors d'œuvres

It's my best friends birthday and I wanted to make something delicious. I kind of just mixed things is as I went until it tasted right to me but I think I can give you most of the measurements.

• 1 container, crab meat. Doesn't have to be the lump jumbo kind because you're going to break it down anyway.
• mayo, about 2 heaping spoonfuls
• 1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
• 1/4 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• about 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• sea salt
• phyllo pastry cups
• spring onion

Mix crab, mayo, celery, pepper, sauces, lemon juice and maybe a bit of black pepper. At this point I put mine in a sieve for a bit to strain out extra liquid.

Put crab mixture into phyllo cups, top with thinly sliced spring onion, sea salt and maybe some lemon zest. I hope she likes them!

Truffled Lobster Risotto

Another day, another risotto recipe. I didn't cook tonight as our dear friends Mark & Jen took us to dinner. But this recipe is the next one in my old notebook so here it is:

• two 8-oz uncooked lobster tails
• 3.5 cups canned low salt chicken broth
• 3 tbsp truffle oil (white or black)
• 3/4 cup carrots, chopped and peeled
• 1/4 cup shallots, chopped
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup fresh chives, chopped

Preheat oven to 425.

Cook lobster in a large pot of simmering salted water until cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Transfer to bowl of cold water to cool. Drain lobster. Remove meat from shells, reserve shells.

Cut lobster meat into 1/2 inch peices.

Break shells into large pieces. Place on baking sheet; bake 15 minutes.

Blend shells with 1 cup chicken broth in a blender until finely chopped. Strain through a very fine sieve. Reserve lobster broth; discard shells.

Bring 2.5 cups chicken broth to simmer; keep hot.

Heat 1 tbsp truffle oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat.

Add carrots and shallots; saute 2 minutes.

Add rice; stir 2 minutes.

Add brandy; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until brandy is absorbed, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes.

Add lobster broth and 3/4 cup chicken broth.

Simmer until rice is just tender and mixture is creamy, adding remaining broth by 1/4 cupfuls as needed and stirring often - about 20 minutes.

Add lobster and cream, stir until heated through.

Remove from heat. Stir in 2 tbsp truffle oil and chives. Season with salt and pepper.

Quick & Fancy: Shrimp Sauteed in Truffle Oil

Made this up. You can throw it together in 5 minutes, even using frozen shrimp from the freezer!

• medium/large shrimp, butterflied
• truffle oil (they have it everywhere now. It's expensive but lasts a really long time!)
• parsley flakes
• butter
• lemon juice
• black pepper
• salt

Heat butter in pan over medium heat and then add shrimp.

As shrimp begins to finish (they'll curl up a bit), then add the truffle oil.

When the corners of the shrimp begin to brown, you're done. Toss the parsley flakes in, squeeze lemon juice over the top, salt & pepper to taste, and stir to combine.

Goes great over pasta or potatoes, garnished with chives.

Crazy Spicy Jambalaya

Don't remember where I got this recipe but I made it last May and it's very spicy. I had to have our friend Davie come over and eat it because it was too spicy for us to eat more than one bowl. Still, it was delicious & if you go easy on the cayenne, you can make it milder. Many jambalaya recipes call for okra, and I'm not a fan so I was glad to find one that doesn't call for it.

Again, I took the recipe and altered it because just following a recipe is like doing a paint-by-number. It gets boring ... fast!

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped celery (I think I used a full cup)
• 2 tbsp cayenne pepper (less! less!)
• 1 lb smoked sausage (I used sweet italian), sliced into 1/4 inch slices
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 1/2 head chopped garlic
• 2 cups white rice (or less, mine was a little rice-heavy)
• 4+ cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups frozen shrimp
• 1 cup chopped green onion

First, grab yourself a massive saucepan. Heat the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions, peppers & celery (the creole "holy trinity" as opposed to the french "mirepoix" of carrots, onions & celery).

Season with salt & cayenne (easy on the cayenne!).

Saute the vegetables for about 5 minutes, or until wilted.

Add the sausage & saute for 2 minutes. Add the bay leaves, tomatoes & garlic. Saute another 2 minutes.

Stir in the rice & saute 2 more minutes. Add the stock.

Season with salt & more cayenne (resist! taste first!). Bring liquid to a boil & reduce to a simmer.

Cook the jambalaya for 30 minutes, covered, or until the rice is tender & all liquid has been absorbed.

Stir in the shrimp & green onions. Re-season to taste.

Invite a spicy-food loving friend over in case you overdo it with the cayenne.

Creole Holy Trinity: onions, peppers, celery...

Perfectly Seared Scallops

We have tried time and time again to sear scallops. They always turn out well. But this is how to have them perfect. Courtesy of Martha Stewart:

• 6 large sea scallops
• coarse salt
• sunflower or other neutral oil (we used canola)

Start by rinsing the scallops (you bought fresh, right? Frozen usually isn't worth your time), and making sure you remove the small, tough muscle (called the adductor) found on the side of the scallops.

Slice each scallop in half horizontally so that you have 12 pieces.

Heat a large skillet over high heat.

Season scallops on both sides with salt.

When pan is not, add enough oil just to coat the bottom (about 1 tbsp), & swirl to coat evenly.

Working in batches to avoid crowding the pan, add scallops & quickly jerk the pan to keep them from sticking.

Sear until lightly golden, about 45 seconds; with an offset spatula, turn over & cook until opaque throughout, about 30 seconds more (be careful not to turn too soon or the scallops may tear).

Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels & cover to keep warm (if necessary).

These go great perched atop a fennel puree that I also stole from Martha. Let me know if you're interested and I'll add it.

...you want a picture? google the word 'scallop' and click "images". they have tons.