Pan Seared Sea Scallops with Sweet Potato Mash and Burnt Sage Butter Drizzle... and Changes...

Nothing really ever remains the same, does it?

So many of my friends and family are going through major life changes right now. A dear friend is moving, having sold her home after some 20 years.. she is busy packing and sorting and reliving memories of raising her two children in their family home.

My amazing sister is moving into a smaller home with her two boys.

A long time friend has bought her first home and is moving after 18 years in her apartment.

Yet another dear friend has taken on a new job.

And me, well... things keep changing and I'm realizing the truth behind the old adage "the only thing that remains the same is change".

One thing that won't change is my love of Sea Scallops ((Placopecten magellanicus). They are a virtual blank canvas that can be pared with countless ingredients and endless cooking techniques. Rice, potatoes, vegetables, salad, stir fried, broiled, baked, grilled, seared, you name it, a beautiful, fresh, plump scallop can handle it. Here is one of my favorite presentations of these lovely mollusks.

Pan Seared Sea Scallops (with sweet potato mash and burnt sage butter drizzle): (serves 2)

For the scallops:

1/2 pound (6 to 8) large wild caught sea scallops (muscle removed)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
drizzle of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon powdered sage

For the sweet potato mash:

2 medium sweet potatoes
drizzle of milk or half and half
pat of unsalted butter
salt and pepper to season

Wash and prick the sweet potatoes. Microwave on high about 6 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. When cool enough to handle, peel and mash with the back of a fork. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons milk or half and half and a pat of butter and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. You can make this ahead and reheat in the microwave.

Make the scallops:

Remove scallops from fridge 20 minutes before preparing them.

Pat the scallops dry (very important) with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.

Melt the butter with the oil over medium high heat in a medium saute pan (big enough so as not to crowd the scallops). When the butter/oil is very hot, add the scallops. Pan sear for about 3 minutes or until carmelized on one side (if the scallop is sticking, wait for a minute, cooked food does not stick). Turn and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove scallops from pan. Stir sage into pan.

Plate:

Place a dollop (1/2 cup or so) of sweet potato mash in center of plate. Top with 3-4 scallops, drizzle with sage butter.

As always, Bon Appetite.

Pan Seared Shrimp and Scallop with Lime Hollandaise and Jalapeno Bacon RECIPE plus one more

As promised:

Pan Seared Shrimp and Scallop with Lime Hollandaise and Jalapeno Bacon (serves 4)

4 pieces bacon, diced
1 small jalapeno pepper, split in half, seeds removed
4 collosal shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 jumbo sea scallops

Fry bacon pieces in a large saute pan with the jalapeno pepper until bacon is crisp. Remove from pan and drain. Discard jalapeno pepper. Pour grease out of pan but do not wipe out pan.

Take scallops and shrimp out of refrigerator 30 minutes prior to preparing. Dry on paper towels and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.

Prepare the Hollandaise sauce (recipe follows)

Heat pan over medium heat and when hot add shrimp and scallops. Sear about 2 minutes per side, turn and continue to cook for another 2 minutes until firm and cooked through. Do not overcook!

Lime Hollandaise:

4 egg yolks
4 tablespoons very hot water
4 tablespoons melted butter
Zest and juice of 1/2 a lime.
1/4 teaspoon (or to taste) salt

Place egg yolks in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water. Whisk to combine eggs. Add hot water to the yolks one tablespoon at a time, whisking well after each addition. Slowly add melted butter to eggs and water, whisking constantly. Eggs will thicken in about 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in lime zest and juice until well combined. Taste and correct seasonings with salt. Turn heat off and cover. Prepare the scallops and shrimp.

To serve:

I make tri-colored couscous but rice or regular couscous is just as good. Spoon the starch in a shallow bowl or small plate. Top with one shrimp and two scallops, sprinkle with bacon pieces. Drizzle Lime Hollandaise over seafood and serve immediately.

Not thrilled with bacon, jalapenos and lime? Try making this dish omitting these ingredients and substituting orange juice and orange zest. Melt a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil in the pan you will cook your seafood in. Pour off the excess fat but do not wipe out pan.

Bon Appetite everyone.

Bacon and Jalapeno cooking

Plating

Dinner

Alpacas, Pygmy Goats and Scallops with Hazelnut Vinaigrette

The weekend found TBHITW and I all alone. The girl was staying with friends and the boy was attending a two day interview at his summer camp in the hopes of being accepted into the Counselor in Training program (he made the grade!).

Two whole days with nothing to do except what we wanted to do.

And how did we choose to fill the hours?

We dreamed of course.

We talked about our future.

The land, the new house.

And for me, any future plans have to include a few animals. Yes, I'm one of those kind of people.

I am an animal lover.

We have our Holly Bear now. And some koi in a backyard pond. Do fish count as pets?

Anyway, we talked and I googled. There is a lot of information out there regarding small farm animals. Much more research and of course some solid courses are needed in the future but for now we have decided we would like:

Some Pygmy Goats AND some Alpacas

Alpacas are known to be gentle, intelligent animals and are raised for their luxurious fiber. Pygmy goats are well, just look at them, how cute are they? And their milk is sweeter and has more nutrients than cow's milk; not to mention goat cheese making is on my list of kitchen activities.

Of course we will also have some chickens. And TBHITW wants to add two Miniature Australian Shepherds to the mix as Holly will be entering her golden years (or at least middle age years) by then and may be more content laying in front of the fire instead of herding alpacas, goats and chickens.

These boys look up to the job, no?

All the dreaming and talking and planning put us in the mood for a romantic dinner for two. This is an elegant meal that is luxurious to eat, yet easy to make. While one of you tends the scallops and vinaigrette, the other can stir the polenta. While stirring, dream your own dreams.

Scallops with Hazelnut Vinaigrette over Soft Polenta: serves 2

1/2 pound fresh caught scallops

4 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons shallots, minced

2 tablespoons hazelnuts, rough chopped

2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup arugula

First, make the polenta:

2 cups chicken broth, simmering

4 tablespoons polenta (quick cooking kind)

3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons heavy cream

Bring the broth to a simmer. Whisk in the polenta (slowly, no lumps). Cook until thick (about 5 minutes). Switch to a wooden spoon. Stir in the parmesan cheese. Set to very, very low. Stir occasionally while you make the scallops.

For the scallops:

Place the butter in a large saute pan and melt over medium low heat until melted and foamy.

Pour off the butter (save). Do not wipe out the pan.

Dry the scallops on a paper towel and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Heat the pan over medium heat and add the scallops. Turn after 2 minutes. Cook for another 2 minutes. Remove to a warm plate and keep warm by loosely tenting with foil.

Put the reserved melted butter back in the pan and add the shallots. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes, just until soft. Add the hazelnuts and toss around to warm. Add the white balsamic vinegar and heat through - it will sizzle up. Toss in the arugula.

The finished vinaigrette is richly sweet, tangy and nutty.

Quickly, finish the polenta by stirring in the butter and cream. Ladle some polenta into two shallow bowls. Top with some scallops. Drizzle the hazelnut vinaigrette over the scallops and serve.

A Cook's Notes: of course every romantic meal needs an equally romantic dessert and what is more romantic than something chocolate? Tomorrow I'll give you the fastest, easiest make ahead recipe in the world for Individual Chocolate Lava Cakes. Until then, Bon Appetit!

The Quilting Room and Pan Seared Scallops with Pea and Ricotta Puree

When all my littles and middles were here in the nest every room in this big old house was occupied.

Now, that one or two of them have flown the coop there is room to spare.

At one time, if I needed to sew or iron, I would set up my machine or board in the kitchen.

When I was done with the task at hand (or more likely, something else commanded my attention) I would disassemble everything, store it away and move on to the next "thing" that needed to be done. And so on and so on...

I now have the luxury of a sewing room. A place where I can set up my machine, the ironing board, my material cutting station, etc and leave it all intact. No tearing down or setting up required. Bliss. I sit down and begin to sew or cut my fabric for the quilt I am making and after an hour or two, I just get up, close the door and move on to whatever else is demanding my attention at the moment. No tear down. No set-up required.

I never would have guessed that something as simple as a sewing / quilting room would bring me so much joy.

I have just finished all the "nine piece" patches for the quilt. On Thursday, my friend Anne will give me a lesson in piecing together the top of the quilt. After the top piece is done she will show me how to add the batting and the back. From there, it will need to be hand quilted.. but I get ahead of myself. Before the next lesson, before the top is stitched and before anything else, I need to make dinner.

Pan Seared Scallops with Pea and Ricotta Puree (serves 4)

1 pound sea scallops

dashes of salt, pepper and paprika

8 ounces frozen peas, cooked according to package directions

1/2 cup fat free ricotta cheese

rind of 1/2 lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Pat scallops dry with paper towels. Season with a sprinkle of salt, pepper and paprika. Set aside.

Yes, I know that's not a scallop on the left. The 16 year old does not like scallops - I cooked him Haddock instead (I spoil, therefore I am a mother)

Cook peas according to package directions using 1/4 cup water. When peas are done cooking, place in bowl of food processor, along with any liquid and process until almost smooth.

Add lemon rind, juice, 1 tablespoon butter and ricotta cheese. Season with a dash of salt and fresh ground pepper.

Process again using short bursts. Taste and adjust seasonings. Transfer to a microwavable serving bowl.

Heat oil and the last tablespoon of butter in large saute pan over medium high heat. Add scallops (and Haddock if you tend to spoil too) and saute for about 2 minutes. Turn and continue to saute for about 2-3 minutes more. Remember, food will release when it is done. If scallops are sticking, cook for another 30 seconds and try to turn again.

Warm the pea puree if necessary in the microwave for one minute. Stir.

Serve scallops immediately on a smear of pea puree.

A Cook's Notes: Veal, Halibut, Haddock, Chicken and Shrimp are all lovely served on top of this puree. For this meal, I served roasted fennel and tomatoes and a crusty loaf of french bread on the side. A chilled Sauvignon Blanc would round out this food beautifully. Bon Appetite!