Trouble With Toast

Recipe: Seared Scallops with Lemon Orzo

After my foray into fish cakes, I had enough scallops left over for one more meal.  This recipe has popped up on my searches a bunch of times before, but since I generally don’t keep scallops in the house (due to their expense and their relatively short shelf life), I hadn’t actually attempted it until last night.

The same numero uno rule for tofu applies to scallops–make sure they are absolutely bone dry.  Moisture is your enemy here, and it will prevent you from getting the perfect result–a nice, caramelized crust on the outside, and a tender, silky mouth-feel on the inside.  For an example of scallop perfection, see my photo below.  🙂

Seriously, this meal turned out really well.  The orzo cut the richness of the scallops a bit, due to the onions and the acidic punch of the lemon juice.  If I had to register one complaint, it was that the dish didn’t have an element of crunch–though, to be fair, that could easily be remedied with a nice salad or some sauteed vegetables.

Note: Do not attempt this recipe with bay scallops.  Yes, they are less expensive than sea scallops.  However, sea scallops are sweeter and less tough.  Trust me, sea scallops are worth the extra cost, at least in recipes involving just a simple salt and pepper sear.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Stir in pasta, broth, wine, and thyme; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and pasta is al dente. Stir in chopped chives and lemon juice. Keep warm.

Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet (or non-stick, if that’s what you’ve got) over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops evenly with salt and pepper. Add scallops to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Serve with pasta mixture.

Recipe: Spicy Fish Cakes

Sometimes, you just can’t take any more chicken.  Sure, it’s versatile and cheap and healthy, but even the best ingredients get boring if overused.  Fish is a great lean protein, and I love pretty much every variety of marine creature that science has discovered, but what happens if you’re also cooking for someone who’s a little more picky about food that comes from the watery deep?

I admit, fish is easy to screw up.  But this Cooking Light recipe is a fairly fool-proof way to get some seafood into your diet.  It’s also pretty mellow in flavor, so even the fish-averse should give it a try.  Don’t be deterred by the not-so-pretty photo below–my cakes didn’t bind together very well, mostly because I am an idiot and forgot the egg white.  Hey, I got distracted because my dog was doing something adorable.  Sue me.

If you don’t have a food processor (which I don’t–wedding guests, be advised, IT IS ON THE REGISTRY), you’ll have to utilize some knife skills to get all of the ingredients to the equivalent of a course grind.  Even with that extra work, though, this is a simple dish to prepare and is a healthy and chicken-less weeknight meal.  Enjoy!

• 1/3  cup chopped green onions
• 1/4  cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1  tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 2  tablespoons chili garlic sauce (in the Asian aisle at the supermarket)
• 1  teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 2  garlic cloves, chopped
• 1  large egg white
• 3/4  pound skinless halibut fillets, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2  pound sea scallops
• 2  teaspoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place first 9 ingredients in a food processor; pulse until coarsely ground. Divide fish mixture into 6 equal portions, shaping each portion into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties; cook 2 minutes on each side. Turn patties over; wrap handle of pan with foil. Bake at 350° for 5 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Recipe: Crab, Corn, and Tomato Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing

In these troubled economic times, many people–myself included–are trying to find ways to cut their food costs.  Eating out less is an obvious way to save money, but I’ve also been scanning the supermarket ads for the best sales and buying the essential non-perishables (in our house, that’s Diet Coke) in bulk.  This weekend, I will also make my triumphant return to Sunday morning coupon-clipping.

But sometimes, just sometimes, you need a splurge.  Not a big splurge, mind you.  Not a $200 per head restaurant splurge.  Just a little tasty treat to lift your spirits and remind you that everything’s gonna be alright.  Enter this recipe.  Lump crabmeat is a definite splurge, but a little goes a long way.  And when you combine it with such fabulous summer flavors as tomatoes, corn, and basil, you’ll forget the fact that you will have to eat ramen noodles for a day or two to make up for the cost.  😉

This recipe has it all–richness, complexity, acid, sweetness, you name it.  It is satisfying without being heavy, and the flavors just dance on your tongue.  I made four servings and we only ate two for dinner, so I packed the leftovers for lunch the next day to see how they would hold up.  Not too bad–the flavors were still great, but the veggies got a bit mushy from having bathed overnight in the dressing.

With some crusty bread, this was a perfect way to end a tough day and to remind us of all of the blessings in our lives.  Hope you enjoy!

• 1  tablespoon  grated lemon rind
• 5  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice, divided
• 1  tablespoon  extravirgin olive oil
• 1  teaspoon  honey
• 1/2  teaspoon  Dijon mustard
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  cup  fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
• 1/4  cup  thinly sliced basil leaves
• 1/4  cup  chopped red bell pepper
• 2  tablespoons  finely chopped red onion
• 1  pound  lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed
• 8  (1/4-inch-thick) slices ripe beefsteak tomato
• 2  cups  cherry tomatoes, halved

Combine rind, 3 tablespoons juice, and next 5 ingredients (through black pepper) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Reserve 1 1/2 tablespoons juice mixture. Add remaining 2 tablespoons juice, corn, and next 4 ingredients (through crab) to remaining juice mixture; toss gently to coat.

Arrange 2 tomato slices and 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes on each of 4 plates. Drizzle about 1 teaspoon reserved juice mixture over each serving. Top each serving with 1 cup corn and crab mixture.