Champagne Poached Scallops With Red Pepper Pesto Food

LAVENDER HONEY SCENTED SCALLOPS

Steps:

• In small saucepan, over high heat, add 2 cups grapeseed oil and bring to 350 degrees F.
• Carefully drop the leeks into the oil and fry until golden brown. Remove them from oil to paper towels to dry and set aside until plating.
• In a separate saucepan over low heat, blend the honey, lavender, sugar and lemon juice. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, being careful not scorch.
• In a large saute pan over high heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil and heat to the verge of smoking. Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel, season with salt and pepper, and add them to the grapeseed oil, in batches if necessary. Cook until golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Arrange the leeks on a serving platter and top with the scallops. Drizzle with lavender honey and serve.

POACHED ACHIOTE SCALLOPS

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over moderate heat. Saute the onions with the salt until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and achiote paste and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon to avoid scorching. Add the tomato paste and pour in the fish stock or clam juice and boil 5 minutes longer. Stir in the pepper and vinegar and remove from the heat.
• Transfer the sauce to a blender and puree. Pass through a strainer. The sauce keeps up to 4 days
• To finish, pour the sauce into a large skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the scallops or shrimp, reduce the heat to medium and cook 3 to 5 minutes. Serve over a bed of white rice and garnish with the capers.

ALE-BRINED ROASTED-TURKEY SANDWICH WITH RED-PEPPER PESTO

Steps:

• Brine the turkey: Combine the beer, mustard and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the turkey, seal the bag and place in a large bowl; refrigerate 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the pesto: Roast the bell peppers on a grill, directly over the flame of a gas burner or under a preheated broiler, turning with tongs, until blackened. Seal the peppers in a plastic bag and let cool at least 10 minutes. Peel the peppers and discard the stems and seeds (do not rinse).
• Pulse the peppers, basil, garlic, parmesan, pine nuts, red pepper flakes, anchovy paste, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper in a food processor until combined.
• With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil through the feed tube. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Refrigerate the pesto if not using immediately.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the turkey from the brine (do not rinse) and place on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Roast until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 165 degrees F, about 1 hour. Transfer to a cutting board to cool.
• Assemble the sandwich: Remove the meat from the bone and slice on a diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Roughly chop the marinated vegetables and mix with 1/4 cup pesto in a bowl. Slice the bread in half horizontally to make a giant bun. Pull some of the bread out of the inside of the top half to hollow it out. Spread pesto on both halves. Layer the lettuce, provolone, turkey and vegetable-pesto mixture on the bottom half of the bread, then cover with the top half. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap to squeeze the sandwich together. Refrigerate 20 minutes, then slice into pieces.

SCALLOPS IN CHAMPAGNE SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Pat scallops dry with a paper towel.
• Add scallops to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; keep warm.
• Add mushrooms and shallots to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates and mushrooms darken.
• Stir in Champagne, mustard, salt, and tarragon, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.
• Remove from heat; stir in sour cream.
• Serve with scallops.

LORI'S SEA SCALLOPS WITH ROASTED RED PEPPER PESTO

Steps:

• For pesto:.
• Place Red pepper on foil in oven under broiler to roast. Turn over every 2-3 minutes until outer skin in blackened all around. Place in a small paper bag or wrap in foil to sweat for about 10 minutes. Skin will separate from pepper and peel off easily. Remove skin, seeds and stem from pepper and cut into medium pieces. This may be done ahead of time.
• Turn oven down to 350 degrees.
• Place pine nuts in a pie or cake pan and roast until light brown. Check every 2-3 minutes and shake pan to stir. Cool slightly, then put pine nuts in food processor, grind until coarse, add Garlic, Kosher salt, Lemon juice and red pepper. Blend well, then add the Olive oil, continue to blend. Add the Parmesan and mix until just blended. Set aside.
• For Scallops:.
• Rinse scallops and dry well- salt lightly with Kosher salt on both sides.
• Melt/heat butter and olive oil over medium high heat in medium pan.
• place scallops in pan and sear just until browned on both sides. Will not be cooked through yet.
• Remove from pan. Add wine to pan, stir to loosen brown bits and reduce sauce by approximately 1/2.
• Place scallops into a medium shallow baking dish. pour wine reduction over scallops, place a spoonful of pesto on top of each scallop. If have extra left keep adding over scallops. Sprinkle top with remainder of Parmesan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 - 15 minutes (depending on size of scallops) until pesto is bubbly and lightly browned.
• Remove from oven and serve.

SEA SCALLOPS WITH SWEET ROASTED RED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler or prepare a charcoal grill.
• Place the peppers under the broiler or on the grill. Cook them on all sides until the skin is well charred. When cool enough to handle, split the peppers in half, core them and discard the charred skin and the seeds. Rinse in cold water. Pat dry with papers towels and cut them into 1/2-inch cubes.
• Remove and discard the ends of the snap peas.
• Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet and add the peas, cook and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the scallops, the red peppers, shallots, garlic, thyme, pepper flakes, liqueur, butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring and tossing over high heat for 4 minutes or until the scallops are cooked through. Do not overcook. Sprinkle with the coriander.