This weekend was so relaxing and wonderful. We finally got a break in this terribly cold winter. To celebrate we decided to cook some really really delicious food! I didn't use a recipe for these, so these amounts might not be perfect. Use your best judgement and taste, taste, taste. The first thing we made was:
Scallops with Beluga Lentils and a Cranberry Gastrique
Beluga Lentils:
- 1 cup beluga lentils (they look like beluga caviar)
- water
- 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
- 1/2 medium onion, small dice
- salt/pepper to taste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- olive oil
- Heat olive oil in a stock pot and add diced onions. Heat until golden and add garlic.
- Add beluga lentils, salt, and pepper to taste and stir until the lentils are coated with oil. Add enough water to cover the lentils by 1 inch.
- Bring to a boil. Add sundried tomatoes, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Take out the sundried tomatoes and simmer for 5-10 more minutes until the lentils are tender.
Cranberry Gastrique:
- 1 cup dried cranberries (unsweetened)
- little less than 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tsp ground fresh ginger
- salt to taste
- Heat a small sauce pan and add all ingredients. Simmer vigorously for about 25 minute. Taste and add more ginger if necessary.
- Strain the liquid from the cranberries. Set aside and also save the cranberries.
Scallops
I bought frozen scallops from Whole Foods because I got a coupon for $2 off, but for the record. I don't recommend buying them from Whole Foods. There was a lot of sand in them. I wasn't happy with how these turned out. I need to make scallops again to make these better.
- 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 7 scallops
- salt/pepper to taste
- Pat dry scallops and lightly salt and pepper. Heat pan on medium high heat. Add butter and olive oil. Once the pan is hot add the scallops. Cook about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes on each side. It should have a golden look on each side. I didn't get the pan hot enough and I didn't pat the scallops dry enough.
The next day, I didn't want to waste anything so with
the left over cranberries that were drained from the gastrique, I decided to make a chutney for a delicious appetizer. We also had a lot of the beluga lentils and cranberry gastrique left over, so we added to those and made a second meal...
Cranberry Chutney on Creamy Cheese and a Fresh Sourdough Crisp
Cranberry Chutney
- Cranberry mixture left over from Cranberry gastrique
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 granny smith apple, small dice
- 1/4 onion, small dice
- salt/pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- Preheat oven to 400˚ F.
- Heat pan on medium heat and add 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Add dice onions, apples, and salt to taste Cook until golden.
- Add 1 tsbp white vinegar and cook for about 1 minute
- Add onions and apple to the cranberries mixture and process in a food processor until jam consistency.
- Cut sourdough pieces and place a good creamy cheese like brie on the sourdough slice. We used a cheese that was on special at Silverglades at Findlay Market. I can't remember what the cheese was, but wow it was so good!
- Add chutney to the top of the cheesy crisp.
- Enjoy!
Baked Butternut Squash and Apples with Beluga Lentils, Cranberries Gastrique, and Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
Butternut Squash and Apples
- 1 butternut squash, small dice (from my garden last fall)
- 1/2 granny smith apple
- 1/4 large onion
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt/pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp hot pepper flakes
- Preheat oven to 350˚F.
- Mix together all ingredients and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes then raise temperature to 400˚F and bake for 15 more minutes.
Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
- 1/2 lb Asparagus
- 6 pieces of bacon (from Gorman Heritage Farm)
- olive oil
- Cut asparagus into 2 inch pieces
- wrap 4 pieces of asparagus with a slice of bacon.
- Sprinkle with olive oil and bake at 400˚F for 15 minutes.
Les and I felt inspired and wanted to practice with food styling. You know real fine dining. This is how ours turned out. I would say a job well done!!
