Butter + leeks = delicious: Scallops with Melted Leeks and Egg Noodles

A recent dinner out brought home a new cooking technique for us—“melting” leeks by cooking them slowly in butter. They’re a sweet complement to sautéed scallops and pasta. Recipe below.

We’ve used leeks any number of ways here. Sautéed, puréed in soups, braised with duck legs, baked into tarts and quiches, even cooked almost whole as a side dish. But melted?

That’s how they were served with a nicely cooked piece of halibut when we ate at Frontier in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood recently. As delicious as the fish was on its own, the melted leeks took it to a whole new place. We knew we’d be trying something with them here soon. Continue reading “Butter + leeks = delicious: Scallops with Melted Leeks and Egg Noodles” →

Scallops, fresh mushrooms and wine: Romantic decadence for two

Sea scallops with Shiitake and Oyster Mushrooms is a slightly indulgent, slightly exotic dish that’s perfect for Valentine’s Day—or any special dinner. Recipe below.

As Saveur magazine so accurately puts it in their provocatively titled newsletter Saveur’s Entirely Aphrodisiac Menu, “Who doesn’t love sensual and tasty indulgences like caviar, chocolate, foie gras and truffles?”

And to that list I’d add slightly exotic [or at least slightly extravagant], slightly grown up ingredients like sweet-tasting sea scallops and fleshy, earthy, decidedly non-button mushrooms. Throw in some butter, a little dry white wine and fresh ginger and suddenly, it’s time for candlelight and knowing smiles. Continue reading “Scallops, fresh mushrooms and wine: Romantic decadence for two” →

Scallops with Sautéed Spinach: Simply Impressive

Scallops are as impressive as they are easy to make. Recipe below.

Okay, let’s all just admit it. One of the big pleasures of cooking is serving a dish that is so delicious, beautiful, sophisticated or [D] all of the above that your guests are blown away. And when said dish is also quick and brainlessly easy to make, you’ve got a real keeper.

Dishes with scallops tend to fall squarely into this camp on all counts. Both the larger sea scallops and their smaller brethren bay scallops have a delicate, slightly sweet and decidedly unfishy taste. And like mushrooms and tofu, they readily take on flavors of herbs, sauces and other seasonings.

Visually, their plump, drumlike shapes—think marshmallows [sea scallops] or miniature marshmallows [bay scallops]—lend themselves to an array of beautiful presentations.

And in terms of simplicity, it just doesn’t get much easier than scallops. In fact, the hardest part of cooking them may be trying to rinse away any tiny particles of sand that can get lodged in the scallops while they’re inside their shells [yes, they are shellfish, so check with guests for any shellfish allergies before adding them to your menu].

I rinse them under cold running water while gently brushing a finger over all surfaces, feeling for grains of sand. It’s a mostly successful method, but occasionally you may bite into a teeny grain that escaped your attention. Big deal. It’s sand, unlike the euphemistically named “vein” in shrimp [which, as we all know, is the shrimp’s, well, guts]. I did look online to see if there was any secret to washing scallops that I didn’t know about. Pretty much everyone just said, “wash scallops to remove grit.” One person did opine that if you’re getting grit on your scallops, you should change sources for buying them—but with so many others telling you to rinse the grit away, one can only wonder at this person’s rarified fishmonger sources. If anyone has a secret tip, I’d love to hear it.

Scallops aren’t just easy to prepare—they’re quick. About the only way you can really screw them up is to overcook them, in which case they’ll come out tough and chewy. So you’re forced to cook quickly [we’re talking minutes here] and not belabor things.

Here’s a quick, impressive recipe that’s actually two great dishes. You can make them separately, but they’re especially wonderful together. Continue reading “Scallops with Sautéed Spinach: Simply Impressive” →