Memorial Day Dinner

Tomorrow I leave for the summer, so I decided to make Montana a nice dinner as both her birthday and the anniversary of our first date take place in the next few weeks. The dinner menu is pasted to the right.


The first course was underwhelming, and the story of the ins and outs of why I did what I did and what I should have done instead are far too tedious to bother posting here. The dessert course is described in a previous post, and was delicious (I made the macaroons the night before - 4 courses by oneself is a lot in one day, though I have done 8 on my own...)

The third course was taken from Richard Olney's excellent Simple French Cooking. It's basically chopped fine mushrooms with any fresh herbs (tarragon and parsley for me), lemon juice, salt, pepper, and olive oil. I won't write a full description here, but the chicken turned out wonderfully. The mashed potatoes and carrots were an unbelievably great treat, so much so that I just made another batch. It's exactly what it sounds like - use half and half carrots and potatoes, and proceed as you normally would for mashed potatoes. The carrots provide a depth and sweetness that is lacking in typical bland mashed potatoes (and a greater complement of vitamins).

The second course, though, is where I shined. Here's a full recipe (my own creation, borrowed from experience), and a photo:

6-8 large deep sea scallops
1 vidalia or other sweet onion
1 red bell pepper (preferably roasted)
1 cup frozen peas
2 T yogurt
1 clove minced garlic
fresh herbs (I used parsley and tarragon)
butter
olive oil
white balsamic vinegar (I used Trader Joe's)

To make the red pepper coulis:
Roast the red pepper (please do this - it's easy, and really adds flavor). Chop the roasted pepper, and then add to a food processor with a few drops of the vinegar. Add salt and pepper and fresh herbs to taste (yes, it's that easy). You can also add good olive oil to it, though I prefer the lighter version without any oil. Can be made the night before.

Slice the onion into thick slices, ~1/2 inch thick. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides and then grill. I broiled mine (flipping once the first side began to brown), as I don't have a grill.

Puree the peas in a food processor, add garlic, yogurt, herbs if you like, and salt to taste. Very colorful, very bright flavor, and will make you rethink your thinking about frozen peas.




Now prep the scallops. Here is my tried and true routine. Rinse the scallops, salt and pepper both sides. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a metal pan, then add an equal amount of butter. The butter solids will begin to brown immediately. Place your scallops in the pan far enough away from each other that their own steam does not steam the scallop (otherwise you get soggy, not seared scallops). Do not touch the scallops, they will release from the pan on their own. After 3-4 minutes flip them over (if they stick to the pan, they are probably not ready - they should have a nice golden brown crust). Cook 3 minutes on the other side.

In order to eat the first course with Montana, at this point I placed the pan in the oven on the oven's lowest setting, which allowed the scallops to finish cooking. You can check them for doneness and eat immediately if you prefer. Simply spoon pea puree onto a plate, place the grilled sweet onion slice on top, arrange 3-4 scallops on the onion, top with the coulis, and sprinkle with herbs for presentation. Delicious.