Sunday dinner... Seared Scallops in a Garlic Cream Sauce

Of course, I can't help myself. We cured and smoked bacon in class this week, so of course I needed to come up with a dish to use it in this weekend. I chopped the bacon and fried it, rendering the fat so I can sear the scallops in it. From that I made a simple pan sauce by adding garlic and white wine to deglaze the pan. Next cream was added. A little salt, pepper and parsley for color. I plated the scallops on a bed of fresh spinach and a side of pasta garnished with the bacon and parsley.

Beef... it's what's for dinner!

Guess what! We had beef again for dinner tonight. I made a steak salad with all the leftover cuts of steak that I had from the week. Sauteed up some onions and red peppers. Added some greens, tomatoes, cucumbers and tossed in some blue cheese dressing.... done! It was WAY yum!

Beef, beef and more beef!

This weeks protein was beef. I'm not a huge fan of it, but i do enjoy it from time to time. This week was an absolute overload of it for me. I learned some great and delicious sauces that compliment beef very well, but I think I'm good. I won't be needing to eat this for a long time.

First up... Beef Bourguignon. I've made this many times before and this was a variation on the one I make at home. I add more wine and carrots to mine and cook it for quite a bit longer. It was still very good!

This steak dish features two types of steak. The flat iron (left) and the flank (right). The flat iron I grilled and topped with a julienned roasted red pepper. The flank was done in a carne asada style marinade and grilled. The middle is a compound butter made with garlic, lemon, cayenne, parsley and a little salt. It tasted great with the steaks. My daughter, Tiff, loved it on bread as well!

Fresh made Chorizo Sausage wrapped in Caul Fat

If you have to ask what caul fat is, you won't eat it. Caul fat is the stomach lining of a pig. Yep... it sounds disgusting but once it's cooked you don't taste it at all. It makes the sausage stay together and keeps it nice and moist.

Sauteed Boneless Pork Chop

This dish was part of the whirlwind two days we did on pork. I sauteed the pork chop with a oil and butter. I made a jus with the pan drippings, white wine, veal stock, butter and parsley. The sides are french cut green beans and roasted potatoes, carrots and shallots with herbs de provence and olive oil. My fiance, Steve, said it was delish!

Potato pizza garnished with garvlox

This pizza was inspired by the gravlox, a sugar and salt cured salmon, we made in class and all of the ingredients that Chef said would go well with it. So, I made pizza with a sauce of creme fraiche and chives with sliced brie layered with baby red potatoes. When the pizza came out of the oven I garnished it with the gravlox and more chives for color. Everyone at home loved this one!

Tastes like chicken!

Coq au vin. YUM! Nothing like chicken sauteed in butter with bacon, mushrooms and pearl onions and then braised in red wine. Plated with carrots, zucchini and cocotte potatoes.

Chicken Paillard is the other dish we made that night. Chicken pounded flat and marinaded in lemon juice and olive with herbs de provence and salt and pepper. Grill it for a few minutes on each side. Delish! Served with shoestring potatoes.

Fish and Seafood from Culinary III

This is a photo of one of the first dishes we made in class. It's a poached trout with a buerre blanc sauce and a side of asparagus and cocotte potatoes and turnips.

These are scallops cooking two different ways. The left is a classic saute with oil and butter in the pan. The right is a dry method where you coat the scallop in oil and place it in a hot pan and sear it.

Again left classic method, right dry method. Both are delicious!

mmm... mussels!

This is Spike the lobster....

This is Spike taking a little dip in the hot tub. And no, he didn't kick off the lid of the pot!

This is Spike cooling off in his ice bath. He was so yummy!