Scallops with Summer Corn Hash

For Father's Day we were going to make scallops wrapped in bacon as a appetizer. We ended up at the Mexican Cafe and Aldo's and didn't do any cooking at all. So I ended up with lots of ingredients at my house that I hadn't planned on having. After looking at a few thing on the Internet, I came up with this recipe. This was my first time making the large sea scallops and I cut them in half to ensure more even cooking. This was also my first time using beet greens. They are related to swiss chard and cook similarly. My mom had some beets in the fridge and the greens were crisp and beautiful. I absconded with them (just the greens, she kept the beets) and a bunch of other goodies from the weekend.

Scallops with Summer Corn Hash

3 strips of bacon
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 ribs of celery, diced
2 red potatoes, peeled and diced
4 ears of white corn, kernels removed
greens from 2 beets, stems chopped and leaves chiffonade
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1 tbsp butter
scallops (I used 9 cut in half)
salt and pepper to taste (season throughout process)
a couple dashes of Tabasco sauce (I used chipotle flavored)-optional

1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet. Set aside bacon and heat 1 tbsp of bacon grease. Add potatoes to bacon grease and cook.
   
2. Add onion, carrots, celery, garlic and beet greens stems. Cook until potatoes are almost done.
3. Add beet leaves and wine and cook down until greens are wilted and wine has evaporated.
4. Add Tabasco and corn and cook until potatoes and corn are done. Crumble bacon and add back to hash.
   
5. Meanwhile heat butter in another skillet.
6. Season scallops with salt and pepper.
   
7. Sear scallops in butter, turning once.
   
8. Serve scallops with hash.

I found that the potatoes were a little bland unless I seasoned liberally with salt. FYI whenever I say salt in my blog. I am always referring to kosher salt. I don't use table salt unless I am baking and even then I don't always remember. All in all it was a really fun meal to plan and cook. As you can see the last few recipes haven't been adapted, they have been all my own. I'm sure that if I made this again I would change a few things. I think I would put the onion and garlic in with the potatoes because they didn't have enough flavor. I would also use salt and pepper more liberally and more often. The beet greens were very good. I have another two sets that I plan using on pizza later this week.

Red Chard Risotto

This year I am sharing a share in a CSA with my friend, the German teacher. She and I split each of the the medium share boxes we get each Tuesday. Last Tuesday we got our first batch of red chard. I have never eaten (that I can remember) chard and I know I have never cooked with it. It's really a gorgeous color combination. I decided that i wanted to try to make a risotto, that way if I didn't like it, it would be well hidden. I think I like the chard but the recipe for risotto I chose was a little bland. TGT (the German teacher) told me that she and her husband decided to make a recipe with proscuitto, garlic, and cream. MMMMM it sounds good doesn't it? I have some bacon in the fridge, so maybe if we get more tomorrow, I'll have to include some bacon in next week's chard recipe. J doesn't like risotto but I grilled some sirloin to go with it in case he hated it. He agreed it was bland but ate what I put on his plate.

Red Chard Risotto (adapted from Bon Appétit)

4 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large, sweet onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 bunch coarsely chopped red Swiss chard leaves
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Additional grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 7 minutes.
   
3. Add rice and chard and stir until chard begins to wilt, about 5 minutes.
   
4. Add wine and simmer until absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes.
   
5. Add 1/2 cups broth at a time. Stirring until each 1/2 cup is absorbed.
   
6. Simmer until rice is just tender and risotto is creamy, stirring frequently.
7. Mix in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese; season to taste with salt and pepper.
   Serve with additional cheese.
   
   

Stir Fried Chicken and Broccoli Rabe with Peanuts

With our Biggest Loser contest, I am now able to get J to eat more and more vegetables. This is one of the recipes I made the first week. He normally hates broccoli rabe, but this version he actually liked. This was also the first time I got to use my brand new wok. Yay wok! I don't usually keep salted peanuts in the house but I think it may be better for this recipe to go ahead and buy some. I didn't and the peanuts tasted a little out of place. It was a super easy recipe and very filling with how much broccoli rabe we ate. J likes the stir frying so much he wants me to make one once a week. He did say he would have preferred some soba or ramen with his chicken, but I don't really think it needed it. The recipe also suggested other greens if you don't like broccoli rabe, but when I see that as part of a recipe I naturally gravitate towards it. My friend told me that it is because I'm Italian. The funny thing is, we never had broccoli rabe at home growing up. Once in a while at a deli or sandwich shop they would sell it with sausage and my dad would get a little tub of it and we might eat it on bread. When I was in college I think it was more readily available in grocery stores and my mother starting making a Giada de Laurentis recipe using hot Italian turkey sausage and broccoli rabe.

Stir Fried Chicken and Broccoli Rabe with Peanuts
(adapted from Bon Appetit)

2 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
2 tablespoons dry Sherry, divided
3 teaspoons Asian sesame oil, divided
2 teaspoons golden brown sugar, divided
1/2 pound skinless boneless chicken breast, cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-wide strips
1 tablespoons peanut oil
4 green onions, white parts and green parts chopped separately
2 teaspoons chopped seeded serrano chiles
1 large bunch broccoli rabe, thick stems removed, cut into 1" chunks
1/4 cup peanuts

1. Whisk 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Sherry, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon sugar in medium bowl. Add chicken; marinade 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Whisk remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Sherry, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon sugar in small bowl and reserve.
3. Heat 1/2 tablespoon peanut oil in wok over high heat.
   
4. Add white parts of onions and chiles; stir 30 seconds. Add chicken; stir-fry just until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken mixture to bowl.
   
5. Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil to same skillet; heat over high heat. Add greens by large handfuls; stir just until beginning to wilt before adding more. Sauté just until tender, 1 to 6 minutes, depending on type of greens.
6. Return chicken to skillet. Add reserved soy sauce mixture; stir until heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowl; sprinkle with green parts of onions and peanuts.

Fig, Brie and Watercress Pizza with Prosciutto

Every once in a while I invent a recipe that tastes fabulous and I'm amazed with myself. This was not one of those times. I wanted to use up some ingredients I had in the house and I wanted to try something new. Personally I didn't think this was terrible but J once again was not a fan. I think it would have been a little better with more cheese but c'est la vie. Considering this wasn't one of the pizzas/flatbreads that I had "invented" for my "imaginary restaurant" I wasn't too crushed that it didn't taste fabulous. Firstly I wanted to use some figs and brie I had around. This may not have been the ideal vehicle. I also think the figs they have at me grocery store aren't really the best so it could be better under different circumstances. But enough of making excuses. Here is the recipe, perhaps your at home food critics will like it better than mine.

Fig, Brie and Watercress Pizza with Prosciutto

1 whole wheat pizza dough
1 tbsp cornmeal
8 dried figs
2 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup water
1 hand full watercress
4 oz. brie cubed
4 slices prosciutto, torn into pieces

1. In a small sauce pan heat figs with sugar and water until softened. Drain reserving 3 tbsp liquid and puree in a mini-prep food processor until the consistency of preserves.
   
2. Spread dough and press into cornmeal. Heat oven to 400 degrees and spread some cornmeal over the pizza stone.
   
3. Spread fig spread over dough. Top with cheese and cress.
4. Bake 15-20 or until dough is baked and cheese is melted. Remove from oven and top with uncooked prosciutto.