Birthday Dinner!

Last week two weeks ago (I've been such a slacker with updates, I have 3 more recipes to type up!) was Mr. Lawyer's 29th birthday! Yikes! On his actual birthday we went our for drinks and then to a nice seafood place in Rittonhouse Square. We got a sidewalk table and were able to people watch while we ate dinner. They had Ommegang! *happy dance*

This inspired me to make a seafood birthday dinner at home on Friday. I went for a light seafood Fra Diavolo. I went with shrimp and scallops because why not? It was served with a side salad and some delicious pesto spiral bread. As for the color scheme....I went with "bright summer colors turning to the more muted colors of fall." Mr. Lawyer just laughed at me.

It was delicious and spicy, a big hit! It made a ton but the leftovers were gone in no time.

Shrimp and Scallop Fra Diavolo

(adapted from skinnytaste.com)

Ingredients:
3 tsp extra virgin olive oil
6-7 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/2 pound raw shrimp, cleaned and deveined

1/2 pound bay scallops
1/4 cup celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
35 oz crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
8 fresh basil leaves, rolled and sliced thin

Parmesan cheese
Desired amount of pasta
Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to directions.

2. Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and cook until golden. Add in the shrimp and cook 2 to 3 minutes until barely cooked. Transfer shrimp to a plate, leaving garlic in the pan, and repeat the process with the bay scallops.

3. Once all the seafood is removed from the pan add the remaining teaspoon of olive oil with the celery and onions, cook for 2 minutes and then add the crushed tomatoes and red pepper. Bring to a simmer.
4. Lower the heat and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes. Add the seafood and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and serve over pasta, top with fresh basil and parmesan cheese.

Saffron & Scallop Splurge

We had an adventure at the aquarium today so it made sense to have some seafood tonight. This recipe had caught my eye. It seemed like a very luxurious, splurge-type recipe due to the cost of ingredients and all that butter and cream! Luckily Mr. Lawyer gifted me some saffron for Christmas. I had been looking for an excuse to use it and today just happened to be a special anniversary, our five year frisbee date! So bring on the saffron and calories!

The saffron had an interesting earthy taste to it. The scallops were delicious but I feel that scallops are always delicious no matter how you cook them. I love ordering them when we're out. No complaints with this recipe!

Scallops in Saffron Cream Sauce

(Pinterest find! from bell'alimento)

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
12 large sea scallops, patted dry
1 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
pinch of saffron threads
Directions:
1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and olive oil in a nonstick pan. Add scallops. Season tops with salt and sear well on both sides. Careful to turn only once. Remove scallops from pan and keep warm.
2. Add wine to hot pan and de-glaze pan. Reduce temperature to medium - low and allow wine to reduce by half. Add cream, remaining butter and allow to combine. Once butter has combined, add saffron threads. Stir well to combine.
3. Return scallops to pan. Turn to coat. Serve immediately.

So fancy!

A Seafood Dilemma

I had a little bit of leftover fish from last night but not enough from a meal so I needed a side. In the freezer I found some leftover scallop pieces from the last time I made Bacon Wrapped Scallops, not enough for a meal but the perfect amount for a side! I found this recipe and used it as a guide. I decreased the amount of butter (reviews also suggested olive oil or a combination) and tossed the sauce with pasta. Then I served it up and topped it with scallops because we only had a handful, I didn't want them to become lost in the pasta. 

The result was delicious! The pasta had a light lemon flavor and the scallops added a little sweetness to each bite. The garlic wasn't overpowering. It was quick and easy (took longer to boil the pasta!) I would love to try this recipe with the original amount of scallops! Mmmmmm...

Garlic-Lemon Scallops

(adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter (I used half a stick)
3 tablespoons minced garlic
2 pounds large sea scallops
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Directions:
1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in garlic, and cook for a few seconds until fragrant. Add scallops, and cook for several minutes on one side, then turn over, and continue cooking until firm and opaque.
2. Remove scallops to a platter, then whisk salt, pepper, and lemon juice into butter. Pour sauce over scallops to serve OR toss sauce with pasta and add scallops.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I started my morning by making surprise Almond Valentine Cookies. This recipe is also known as Candy Cane Cookies but I just shaped mine into hearts instead of candy canes. I was also trying out an almond emulsion instead of extract. Emulsions are often used by professional bakers for a more in your face flavor. They are alcohol free so the flavor doesn't bake off when it's heated. The cookies did come out pretty almond-y!

Almond Valentine Cookies

(Joy of Baking)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsaltedbutter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract (or almond emulsion!)
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
Directions:
1. In a bowl, whisk the flour with the salt.
2. In a second bowl beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough.
3. Remove half of the dough from the mixing bowl. To the remaining half add the red food coloring and beat on low speed until well blended.
4. Take a walnut sized piece of red dough and a walnut sized piece of white dough. Separately, roll each color on a lightly floured surface, into a 4-5 inch long rope. Place the two ropes side by side, gently press together, and twist the two ropes to form a spiral. Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Shape each cookie into a cane shape or a heart!
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake 8-10 minutes.

Almond cookies are a nice alternative to your overly sweet cookie. However, this dough is a pain in the butt to work with and you must have patience when twisting the shapes as it is prone to cracking. The cookies are also very fragile when baked so stick to smaller shapes, not giant hearts that break when you carry them all the way down to city hall.

I also made some chocolate covered strawberries! I had some leftover bittersweet chocolate from my birthday Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes so I heated it up, dipped in my strawberries and boom! I butchered up some milk chocolate with white chocolate Lindt truffles in order to get some white chocolate to decorate them with. Do you know how hard it is to scoop out the insides of a Lindt truffle? Outrageous. I combined these luscious berries with some Bacon Wrapped Scallops to created a platter 'o love and romance.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

(just winging it)

Ingredients:
Strawberries
Dark Chocolate
White Chocolate
Directions:
1. Heat chocolate (I used my ghetto double boiler system consisting of a small frying pan over a pot), once melted dip your strawberries in, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.
2. Let them cool a bit while you heat up your white chocolate. Drizzle your white chocolate over your strawberries.
3. Place in the fridge until time to serve.

And because Mr. Lawyer deserves some bonus points he shall be a special kitchen guest! He surprised me with a very yummy dinner of baked salmon (coated with butter, pepper, smoked danish salt and baked at 400 for 15 minutes), my most favorite asparagus (coated in olive oil, sprinkled with salt, pepper, garlic and baked at 350 until done), and some rice pilaf (from a box). Most impressive and yummy! All washed down with some Catawba wine from Torrey Ridge. (Go NY wine!)

Not food but I love my flowers!

Anything with Bacon is amazing!

The Mother Unit came to visit the other weekend and graced us with her bacon wrapped scallops (and chocolate cheese cake!). They were super yummy, super easy, and super quick!

Bacon Wrapped Scallops

(The Mother Unit)

Ingredients:
Scallops
Bacon
Toothpicks
Directions:
1. Cut bacon in half and cook half way in a frying pan.
2. Cut scallops in half and wrap semi-cooked bacon around it. Pin with a toothpick.
3. Broil scallops, flipping half way through till they are done. How long? I have no clue. Mom was not super descriptive as she made them. Perhaps 5 minutes on each side? Care to enlighten us Mom?

The Mother Unit, doing her bacon-scallop thing.