Cara, Cara

The season for Cara Cara or blood oranges will be ending soon, and because we love both their color and flavor, we chose this dish that pairs them with scallops. To gild the lily we stayed on the citrus train and made lemon soufflés – woo hoo!

Of note in this recipe is the use of fennel pollen, which has a more intense licorice flavor and aroma than fennel seeds.  The pollen is a powder, but not a fine one.

Although Amazon sells fennel pollen, Sue’s was hand carried by her from Italy.  It was a deliberate search and a special “find”.

Fennel Pollen

As we discussed the menu, we decided an appetizer was in order. Meg suggested the Parmesan Crisps, and Sue readily agreed. It is, after all, cheese.  Why did we wait so long for something this simple and this good?? Ok, we are dim.

Parmesan Crisps

Ina Garten

Total Time:  16 min
Prep:  10 min
Cook:  6 min
Yield:  makes 30 crisps
Level:  Easy

Ingredients
4 ounces Parmesan cheese

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.

Grate 2 ounces of the Parmesan using the side of the box grater that finely grinds the cheese and then grate 2 ounces of the Parmesan using the side of the box grater that makes long shreds of cheese, and then mix them together. Drop rounded tablespoons of the grated Parmesan on the parchment paper to make neat mounds. Bake in the oven for 6 minutes until golden.

Cool slightly and loosen with a metal spatula. Serve at room temperature.

Raw fennel, cleaned and cored

Scallops with Blood Orange, Fennel and Pistachios

Contributed by Michael Tusk
Food & Wine email
TOTAL TIME: 45 MIN
SERVINGS: 10

2 small fennel bulbs—halved, cored and very thinly shaved on a mandoline
2 blood oranges
6 tablespoons fresh blood orange juice
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
10 large sea scallops
1 teaspoon fennel pollen
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons brined capers, drained and patted dry
1/4 cup sliced green olives
1/4 cup unsalted roasted pistachios, coarsely chopped

In a large bowl, soak the fennel in ice water. Peel the blood oranges with a sharp knife, being sure to remove all of the bitter white pith. Working over a bowl, cut in between the membranes to release the sections.

In a medium bowl, whisk the 6 tablespoons of blood orange juice with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Drain the fennel and pat dry. Add it to the dressing and toss to coat. Mound the salad on 10 plates.

In a large skillet, heat the remaining 1/2 cup of oil until shimmering. Season the scallops with salt and pepper and rub with the fennel pollen. Add the scallops to the skillet and cook over high heat until browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Add the butter and capers to the skillet. Turn the scallops over and cook just until white throughout, 2 minutes longer. Set the scallops on the fennel salad.
Cook the capers, basting them with the fat in the pan, until browned and crisp, 2 minutes. Scatter the capers, olives, pistachios and orange sections all around and serve.

Doesn't this just make your mouth water?

Ta  Da! 

We thought this meal merited a bit of bubbly, so to speak, and chose this Cava on the recommendation of Rebecca at our Total Wines store. It was the perfect complement to the richness of the scallops.

Berberana Cava Brut, Sparkling wine, Spain $10.79

Lemon Souffles

Source: “Great Desserts of the American West”, Frances Towner Giedt, Lone Star Books, 1999
Serves: 8

Ingredients

powdered sugar
1 c whole milk
1/3 c plus 1 T granulated sugar
1 T grated lemon peel
3 large egg yolks
¼ c fresh lemon juice
3 T unbleached all-purpose flour
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch salt
2 T brandy

Preheat oven to 400’.  Generously butter eight 2/3 c souffle dishes or custard cups.  Dust with powdered sugar and set on a large baking sheet.

In a heavy medium saucepan, bring milk, 1/3 c granulated sugar, and lemon peel to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and let stand 15 – 20 minutes to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks and lemon juice.  Gradually add flour, whisking until smooth.  Whisk in milk mixture.  Return egg-milk mixture to saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat, cover surface with plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form.  Gradually add remaining 1 T sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.  Stir brandy into chilled egg mixture.  Stir in half of the beaten egg whites.  Gently fold in remaining whites and div ide evenly between the pr3epared soufflé dishes.  Bake until puffed and browned, about 10 – 15 minutes.  Sift powdered sugar over each soufflé and serve immediately.

Our unsolicited and biased opinions:

We cannot emphasize enough the ease and what we see as the limitless possibilities for the cheese crisps. They would be perfect on a party tray, with soup, or on top of a salad. We only made a portion of this recipe (maybe we are dim). Just grate some cheese and make as many as you want, but make more than you think you will need, because they are irresistible.

The recipe for the scallop salad was written as an appetizer for ten people, one per person. We didn’t go that route. Really, one scallop per person?! We decided to serve it as an entrée and have a generous 4 scallops each. What a good idea.

What we loved most were all of the different flavor and texture elements of the salad; the crispness of the fennel, the tangy capers and olives against the sweetness of the blood oranges, a sprinkle of pistachios and the pure indulgence of the scallops. Perfection! We loved every bite!

The only thing we would do differently is cook the capers in the butter separately, because they didn’t get crisp.

Raw fennel was new to both of us, and we were surprised by the mild flavor. The addition of the fennel pollen was a nice layer of stronger flavor without overwhelming the scallops.

You could easily prepare everything for the soufflés except beating the egg whites ahead of time, making this an impressive dessert to wow guests. They were warm, beautiful,  fluffy and lemony. The amount of lemon zest and juice were nicely balanced with the small amount of sugar. We savored each bite with a sip of Cava. 

We are so grateful to be enjoying spring-like weather lately.  If you are digging your way out from a blizzard or just hunkering down, the bright, fresh flavors of citrus, scallops and fennel will remind you that sunshine is only a bite or two away.  Enjoy!

Warm and Wonderful . . . .White Coq Au Vin

Winter has been flexing its muscle here for the last week with day time temps in the 30’s and nights in the teens. We have had some snow almost every day for a week and we are tired of it! Just saying . . . This dinner was the perfect antidote to our winter blues.

Much to Meg’s surprise and delight, Sue gifted herself with a new (and sharp) knife. Meg’s first comment when preparing to slice the vegetables was “Oh darn, I forgot the sharpener” where upon Sue smiled mischievously and whipped out the new weapon, aka the wondrous self-sharpening knife!

Self-sharpening wonder knife!

This white Coq Au Vin is a one pot wonder. It fills the house with enticing aromas for the entire time it is cooking and is a rich and comforting meal. The whole bottle of wine used to create this sauce combined with the vegetables is irresistible. You really need a crusty loaf of bread to dip in the sauce and wipe the bowl clean as we did. (Can you tell we loved it?)

Winter White Coq Au Vin

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
Prep Time:  15 min
Inactive Prep Time:  --
Cook Time:  1 hr 15 min
Level:  Easy
Serves:  4 servings

Ingredients

One 4 to 5-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
1 stick butter
EVOO, for drizzling
1 cup freshly peeled or defrosted drained pearl onions
3 to 4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 ribs celery heart with leafy tops, finely chopped
1 baby fennel or 1/4 small bulb, thinly sliced
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 large fresh bay leaf
One 750 milliliter-bottle dry white wine, such as white Burgundy
1 cup creme fraiche
2 to 3 cups chicken stock, if needed
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves
Baguette, warmed

Directions

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken, working in batches, and then transfer to a plate.

Add a drizzle of EVOO to the pot along with the remaining butter, onions, garlic, celery, fennel and leeks. Sprinkle the vegetables with some salt and pepper and cook until lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in the bay leaf and wine, return the chicken to the pot and cook, partially covered, over a low, rolling simmer, 30 minutes.

Stir in the creme fraiche, reduce to a simmer and continue to cook, 30 minutes longer. If the liquid gets too low, add the chicken stock. Transfer the chicken to a warm platter, and add the mustard and chopped tarragon at the last minute. Serve with warm baguette.

Notes
Cook's Note: Cool and store for a make-ahead meal. Bring to room temperature before reheating over medium heat.

Chicken browning in pot.

Chicken simmering in sauce with vegtables.

The finished dish!

This is mine! 

Our unsolicited and biased opinions:

We used 4 large chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken and substituted fresh thyme for the tarragon, because it was what we had. We only used a total of 4 tablespoons of butter and we did not need any of the chicken broth. We also thickened the sauce, after removing the chicken at the end of the cooking time, with a roux of 2 tablespoons of flour in ½ cup of the cooking liquid and simmered it for another few minutes.

This is such an easy and quick to prepare meal that it would work mid-week and is also special enough for invited guests.

We baked small sour dough loaves for soaking up the lusciousness, but choose a crusty bread of your choice.

The recipe called for a white burgundy, and we learned that chardonnay from the Bourgogne region of France is another name for white burgundy. We chose a 2011 Macon-Villages, Les Mulots, recommended by Rebecca from Total Wines. This was nothing like some of the California chardonnays we’ve tasted. Although it was a bit over our usual wine budget at $15.99, we would buy it to drink with another meal. After tasting it, we chose the merlot to have with the meal.

Chateau St Jean Merlot, $8.99 on sale at Raley's.

Our parting thoughts for this year are of the fun we have every blog week, the wonderful shared meals, the new friends we have made through this blog and the anticipation of continuing this journey next year! Thanks for coming along!

Happy New Year!