Archives for posts with tag: scallops

Pan-Seared Scallops with Apple Cider Brown Butter and Brussels Sprouts Apple Slaw

November 7, 2014 //
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Pan-Seared Scallops with Apple Cider Brown Butter and Brussels Sprouts Apple Slaw

This dinner is a great celebration of fall fruits and vegetables. Featured in The New Greenmarket Cookbook, this recipe is from Union Square Cafe, which is one of my favorite restaurants in New York. Sadly, Danny Meyer’s first restaurant is slated to close at the end of 2014, but fortunately we have recipes such as this one to keep us going…

This recipe serves four as an appetizer, and two as a main dish.
Scallops w Brussels sprouts and apple slaw

Slaw

1 small to medium-sized cored Honeycrisp apple
7 large Brussels sprouts
1 TB. fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
1 ts. apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper
2 TB. olive oil

Using a mandolin or sharp knife, shave or finely-slice the apple into short matchsticks. Shave or thinly sliced the Brussels sprouts and toss with the apples in a bowl. Dress with lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil, and toss to coat. Set aside.

Scallops

16 large scallops, abductor muscles removed
salt and pepper
2 TB. vegetable oil
5 TB. unsalted butter
6 torn sage leaves
1 TB. fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
6 TB. apple cider

Pat the scallops very dry with a paper towel. Season both sides of each scallop with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a 10-inch saute pan over medium-high heat, until wavy but not smoking. Remove the pan from the heat to add the scallops, then return to medium-low heat. Cook until the scallops are nicely browned on one side, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn the scallops over and cook the other side for another minute – they might not be as brown as the first side, but that’s okay. Transfer to a plate, dark side up.

Pour out the oil or blot the pan with a paper towel. Add the butter and return the pan to medium heat. When the butter is bubbly and golden brown, remove from heat and add the sage leaves to sizzle. Then add the lemon juice, apple cider, and pinch of salt. Swirl all ingredients together and return the pan to the heat, bringing to a full boil while scraping the browned bits off the bottom. Once the liquid boils, reduce heat to low and add the scallops, dark side up, and any juices that may have gathered on their plate. Lightly simmer until the sauce is smooth and thickened, swirling occasionally to keep combined, about 1 minute.

Place the scallops on individual plates with a couple of spoonfuls of apple cider-brown butter over each. Add a bundle the slaw to each and serve.

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Categories Meals

Market Discoveries

November 7, 2014 //
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One of the best things about the local food movement is that it has brought to light so many underused vegetables and fruits. If it weren’t for farmers markets I wouldn’t know about or have gotten a chance to eat fennel, celeriac, or romanesco. Before the proliferation of farmers markets I bet many of you had never seen or eaten a heirloom tomato. Whether you get them now from a farmers market or your local grocery store, the demand for these special, and dare I say better tomatoes, stems from the growth and ubiquity of farmers markets.

It isn’t just brand new foods that markets introduce us to; markets provide a retail space for farmers to try out different versions of some tried and true favorites without the worry that a grocery store will reject them because they aren’t the right shape or color. That’s how I encountered these beautiful carrots seen below. While shopping at my local Greenmarket I stumbled upon a big bunch of carrots in shades of orange, yellow and purple. They were majestic and I had to have them! So, get a little adventurous and try a new vegetable or fruit this week. We are so lucky to live in an age when hard, pink tomatoes are no longer acceptable.
Carrots_Web

Meal #1: Pork Tenderloin with Maple Glaze + Roasted Roots
Meal #2: Penne alla Vodka + Green Salad
Meal #3: Pan-Seared Scallops with Apple Cider Brown Butter and Brussels Sprouts Apple Slaw
Meal #4: Lemon and Olive Chicken + Red Roasted Carrots

Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items:
Honeycrisp apple – 1
Brussels sprouts – 7 large
lemon – 2
onion – 1
beets  – 4 medium to large
carrots  – 1 large bunch (8 or so)
potatoes -1/2 lb.
crumbled dried sage leaves – 2 ts.
sage – 1 bundle
green olives – 1/2 cup
chicken stock – 1 cup
large (28 oz) and small (14 oz) can Italian plum tomatoes – 1 each
penne – 1 box
heavy cream – 1/2 cup
Parmesan cheese – (if don’t already have it)
dried thyme – (if don’t already have it)
crushed red pepper – (if don’t already have it)
maple syrup – (if don’t already have it)
apple cider vinegar – (if don’t already have it)
apple cider – (if don’t already have it)
Dijon mustard – (if don’t already have it)
cinnamon – (if don’t already have it)
paprika – (if don’t already have it)
chili powder – (if don’t already have it)
garlic powder – (if don’t already have it)
pork tenderloins – 2, 12- to 14-ounce
bone-in chicken breast halves – 4
scallops – 16 large
vodka – 1/4 cup

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Categories Meal Plans