Clean(er) Eats: Scallops with Sauteed Spinach & Shrooms

I adapted this recipe from some cute little Brit and made it American.  How?  Bacon.  Bacon fixes everything.  And because how exactly am I supposed to measure a knob of butter?  What is that?

But this looked super yummy, and a good ice-breaker into convincing P to get healthy with me (ie stop tempting me with those delicious pints of ice cream and bags of Doritos):

So I doctored it up with some extra goodness.  Bacon is totes paleo, which I count as a win.  We're not going paleo, per se.  We're not going Whole30, per se.  We're just making healthier choices and cutting out unnecessary carbs and dairy when possible.  (Wine doesn't count, duh.)

So here we go.

Ingredients for 2:
10 large sea scallops (don't season!)
1 piece of bacon, chopped
8 oz. fresh spinach
4 oz. mushrooms (I always go with a fun mix)
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp lemon juice
Olive oil
S&P, garlic powder, red pepper flakes

• Saute the bacon over medium-high heat until crispy
• Remove bacon to a paper towel, but keep the drippings in the pan
• Throw in the mushrooms for 2-3 minutes
• Throw in the spinach leaves, season with spices, and stir to wilt for an additional 5 min-ish
• Remove mushrooms/spinach and drain into a small saucepan 
• Keep heat at medium-high, add oil then unseasoned scallops - don't move them for 3 minutes.  No touchy!
• Season scallops with S&P and flip over to sear for an additional 2-3 minutes (light brown crust)
• Add butter and lemon juice to saved spinach/shroom juice and stir over low heat to make a sauce
• Plate: layer spinach/shrooms, top with scallops and crumbled bacon and drizzle with sauce

Seriously, this was 4 ingredients and some seasoning

Mmmm bacon bits.  Do they sell this smell in a diffuser?
Pottery Barn, I found your next scent.

Spinach 'bout to get all wilty!

My shroomy drippings... I clearly need some extra lemon/butter to pull off any kind of sauce...

Unseasoned little suckers.  One has a little suntan...
You can't season or the salt draws out the moisture and turns them into that nasty
leather-faced lady from Something About Mary.  You know the one.

Crusty never looked so good.

Tah dah!

Sous Vide Savvy

My parents got us this crazy chef contraption for Christmas: a Sous Vide Supreme water oven. We had no idea what to do with it, but after some research in my equally fabulous Modernist Cuisine book, it looks pretty easy!  The idea is basically to cook your food at a specific temperature without the food ever contacting a heating element.  (Shrink wrapped inside of a water filled oven.)  All the temperature cooking without any of the charring/coloring/taste altering effects.  A medium rare steak is medium rare out to the very edges, NO gray.  Sear it for 30 sec a side and there you go, literally melt in your mouth.  

Who knew putting your food in a ziplock bag and giving it a little spa bath for a few hours would make perfectly cooked, tender yummies?  Reminds me of the crazy Japanese practice of massaging cattle for perfectly marbled wagyu beef...  How come my food is getting more pampering than I am??  Hmmmm.....

Going with this year's Christmas gifting theme of one-for-you, one-for-me-too P-5 got us a huge delivery of Omaha Steaks.   Score one for Omaha because those suckers are already shrink wrapped and ready for bath time!
We added the perfectly cooked, ridiculously moist and tender chicken to a risotto recipe from Cooking Light: Pumpkin-Shiitake Risotto with Pancetta and Pine Nuts served with a side Pear and Winter Lettuce Salad (see below)

I used a package of dried Asian shrooms I picked up at an international market in Vegas (because who doesn't grocery shop in Vegas?!)   I subbed in bacon for pancetta because we have 80 pounds of it after our NYE group ski trip in Boone, NC, and Bibb lettuce for the endive bc the endives at Kroger were looking a little janky today...
Popped in a movie and propped up by the fire in our matching little for a comfy little wintery Sunday supper!

Rehydrated shroom assortment (no clue what language that is... but apparently these mushrooms are fancy!)

Omaha shrink wrapped chickies in for a swim!

Saute - take 1

Saute - take 2 (con cerveza)

Risottofied!

Ready for their debut!

Heat up some olive oil on medium, and sear for literally less than a min per side, just for color!

Pear and Winter Lettuce Salad (4 servings, 103 calories): 
2 heads thinly sliced Belgian endive (I subbed 1 head Bibb lettuce)
1 small head thinly sliced radicchio
1 large sliced pear

Dressing
In a large bowl, combine and whisk together:
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tb white balsamic vinegar (I used white cooking vinegar)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper in a large bowl. 

Complete with toasty pine nuts!

Watch Out Richard Blais!

Among a lot of really awesome presents this year, including a Wusthof carving knife from my brother and a lot of sparkle and glam from my in-laws (seriously have worn my new Tori Burch belt every day), my parents and fiance independently have decided I'm a hell of a lot better at cheftastics than I appear to be.  Like more Rachel Ray on crack with a dash of Wylie Dufresne than the reality: Muppets Swedish Chef meets Blues Clues at recess.  Might need an actual cooking lesson that's not from my DVR first, but who's counting.  

I've been drooling since Christmas over the possibilities.

So I give myself two attempts to get from burnt grilled cheese to sous vide braised pork belly with some kind of nifty foam and spherical balls of tater tots.  Hell, maybe I'll just put the whole thing in a sphere, with some raspberry sauce that looks like snow!  Get on it, Blais, it'll pair perfectly with my favorite treat in Atlanta - the foie gras milkshakes at Flip!

Stand by for future disastrous attempts at shrink wrapped submarine food.

1st Holiday Dinner Party

Last night I hosted my first ever seated dinner party, in the new home and in life! Fiancé I hosted his family for a gourmet meal and cocktails at our house and I think it went off rather perfectly!
I notoriously stress the heck out when I'm on a time crunch but luckily I prepped everything beforehand and even wrote out a timing chart for myself!  OCD much?!  Unfortunately I got so caught up in the cooking and entertaining I forgot to take pics of the final products, but lets just say mine made these pro photos look like they belonged at the kiddy table (right...!)

Every recipe I used was a new one, except the cashews and potatoes and I will reuse every one! The tenderloin will take some adapting for a better crust though, as there wasn't any crunch factor. Lots of firsts: 1st lobster, 1st Brussels sprouts, 1st beef tenderloin and 1st cheesecake!

 

My future mamma-in-law got me this adorable apron for the occasion!  So thoughtful!

The Menu
Appeteasers
Rosemary and Cayenne Tossed Cashews
Dips & Spreads (tapenade, spin dip, hummus, etc.)

A Little Sumthin Sumthin
Avocado and Tomato Lobster-tinis
Toasted Baguette with Killer Italian Olive Oil (snuck home from Verona visiting my bestie last year)

The Big Kahuna
Mustard and Horseradish Crusted Beef Tenderloin
Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts and Dried Cranberries
Roasted Rosemary Potatoes and Cippolini Onions

Sweet Treat
Individual Caramel Cheesecakes with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

The Recipes

Rosemary and Cayenne Cashews
These are so fabulous and addicting like crazy! You have to serve them warm though, because as the butter cools it gets a little sticky. These smell just amazing while cooking!  Don't cut out the cayenne, it really makes them pop!

Avocado and Tomato Lobster-Tinis
I adapted this recipe and added cherry tomatoes for some Christmas color! This is a very acidic vinaigrette but quite delicious - I baked the lobster tails, cut the horseradish in half and added more honey but otherwise stayed true to B. Flay.  Next time I'll slow it down on the Worcestershire too I think!

Cut as close to the edges as possible for max yummability

Run your knife around the edges of the meat to separate, as well as get the marinade in the little nookies

Drizzle with the good stuff

Make some fun animals - a whale, a goose andddd a lobster tail, whammy!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic and Cranberries
I've never made Brussels sprouts before this because I don't care for the bitter almost pungent flavor, but after this recipe I am a changed chicky! I didn't even know they were "Brussels" sprouts, as in the location, and have always referred to them in the singular!  Learned something (or 57 things) new!  I used premade balsamic glaze to save time and just tossed the roasted sprouts w the Craisins and glaze until it looked pretty!

Check out that Stalk o' Sprouts!  

Roasted Potatoes and Cippolinis
This is a ridiculously easy, foolproof recipe that I've made a dozen times. I ran out of dried rosemary so I subbed an Italian blend of dried herbs (not fresh!). If you can't find Cippolinis you can chunk up a large onion into similar sized pieces and throw it in instead! I used a fingerling blend that included purple potatoes, who doesn't love that??



Dijon and Horseradish Crusted Tenderloin
This monster was a super easy prep with pretty good results. I marinated for 24 hours which could be why it didn't get a true crust.  It was good, but not super duper great flavor.   Also I cooked it at the same time as the potatoes, so I had to add about 10 min to the cook time for medium-rare. SUCH a tender cut of meat, which I love!  Even after my future sister-in-law nuked hers to a dark gray puck, it was still pretty tender apparently!  

Lather on the goodness!

Salted Caramel Cheesecakes
Oh. My. Goodness. These were amazing. Like make every day and hide them in your pocket amazing. I made 12 for 7 people in case of breakage during playing, which I'm glad I did - not because a single one broke, but because I have 5, FIVE! to devour today!  I made these 6 hours in advance and you definitely need to refrigerate up till the moment you're ready to plate.   I cheated here too and used a squeeze bottle of Ghirardeli caramel to drizzle on top to save time. The salt is a MUST on top.  AND they're from Cooking Light and relatively low cal (254 calories each!)

Drinkable.

Golden little crusties

Such a fabulous meal with fabulous family!

6lb Lamb Roast for 2

The Meat Fairy arrived last week while I was out of town for work! Similar to Santa in many ways, the Meat Fairy hails from a distant land (Omaha) and brings delicious packages of goodness to good little carnivores everywhere. Wrapped in bacon bows or stuffed to the brim with heavenly crab, the fiancé tore voraciously into his expansive yummables without abandon. He shoved them into every nook he could find in the freezer, apparently at the expense of one very stout lamb roast my parents bestowed upon us a while ago.

When I got home from the work trip and went foraging in the fridge for my adult bevy I was greeted by a hunk of meat twice the size of my face mid-thaw. Were we expecting company? No. Was this for next weekend's dinner party I'm hosting for the future in-laws? No. (Something about Bo Peep and a conscience...) Nothing weird, just your standard 6 pounds of mini-sheep for Sunday dinner for two.

So I whipped up a super simple prep for the beast and fresh green beans. Opted to double down on the lamb instead of a starch (meat sweats > carbo load)

Boneless Lamb Leg Roast with Green Beans

5-6 lb boneless lamb leg
Minced poultry herb mix, 3 Tbs each: rosemary, sage, thyme
1 head of garlic (8-10 cloves) minced
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt & pepper

Trim lamb of any excess fat and lay flat
Liberally apply salt on both sides
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1-2 hours to remove gaminess (if desired)
Rinse off salt

Whisk together herbs, garlic, lemon juice, salt & pepper while slowing adding olive oil.


Liberally rub mixture on both sides of roast.


Fold roast up and secure with kitchen twine.


Cover with plastic wrap and marinate for at least 4 hours (up to overnight)

Heat oven to 400
Place roast on roasting pan on highest rack in the oven
Cook for 30 min
Lower oven temp to 350
Cook 1 hour (internal temp 150) for medium-rare
Let rest 10-15 minutes


Garlicky Lemon Green Beans

1/2 lb green beans, trimmed
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbs butter
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt & pepper

Blanch green beans and set aside
Melt butter over medium heat
Sauté garlic until beginning to brown (1 min)
Add in green beans and toss to coat
Add lemon juice, season to taste and continue to toss until heated through

Optional Sauce

Slowly add equal parts chicken stock and red wine to pan drippings, over medium heat to deglaze pan.

Pair with a big glass of wine and enjoy lamb sammies for a month!

Snowpocalypse and the Kitchen Sink Eggs

This recent cold snap has me thinking back to the "Great Snowpocalypse of 2011" where Atlanta shut down for a week due to 1.5" of snow and ice.  Seriously.  The kind of city embarrassment where our only 2 snow plows literally had a head on collision on a 6-lane-each-way highway and were both out of commission.

I had holed myself up at the bf's in Buckhead waiting for an impending day off work and did what Atlanta 20-somethings do best in a time of crisis: drank our faces off at the bars along Drunk Alley (Red Door, Pool Hall, etc.)  

Sure enough, the next morning brought white glistening snow and no work!  The streets were covered in ice, causing pile-ups and wrecks in every direction.  So Buckhead buckled down.  For a day.  By day 2 the novelty had worn off and we got adventurous.  One restaurant down the street had lights on so out we went.

  

More bars started to open slowly throughout the day and more people ventured out, drawn to the lights like a drunk to the bars... Exactly like that.  Many of us were rocking the same outfits from 4 days earlier (slouchy boots seemed like a good idea to me at the time):

By day 5 the hangover was too much.  No more cleverly named Snow Bombs and take out Dominos Pizza.  We needed to dry out.  So we dug in the refrigerator and pulled out everything we had.

Baked Eggs

Eggs

Butter

Cream

Anything choppable and tasty (ours included: tomatoes, truffle paste, spicy Freetos, figs, prosciutto - you know, end of the world food)

Ramekins (or be ghetto like us and use anything that can go in the oven)

Preheat oven to 350

Place carefully selected delicious ingredients in the bottom of each ramekin

Salt & pepper to taste (but don't actually taste... it's more "to sight")

1/2 tsp butter on top

Break an egg into the ramekin

Season with more salt & pepper

Drizzle with cream

Bake 10-15 minutes on a baking sheet

 

Obviously ours was a competition for the most delicious, and obviously mine won. 

Here is my classy fiance, ear candling out the stir crazies of the Snowpocalypse: