Champagne Risotto with Scallops

As if risotto isn't decadent enough, substituting champagne for the usual white wine really pushes this one over the edge. So if you ever find yourself reincarnated as the chef for the Medici family in Renaissance Florence, you know what to make.


Ingredients
2 T butter
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 cup arborio rice1 cup champagne
chicken broth (usually several cups)
1/4 lb. scallops
1/2 c freshly grated parmesan (probably more)

Instructions
Put the chicken broth in a sauce pan and heat over medium/low heat. Meanwhile, saute onions in melted butter for about 3 minutes, add rice and cook in butter for about 2 minutes until opaque, add 1 c champagne and simmer rice until liquid is almost gone. Add 1 c of the hot broth to rice pan and stir rice until liquid is absorbed. Continue until the rice is chewy. Add cheese. For more detailed instructions, see this recipe for 3 cheese risotto.

Sear the scallops just before the risotto is done. The most important things to keep in mind when searing scallops are (1) use a very hot, non-stick pan, and (2) make sure the scallops are dry before searing. If the pan is not hot enough, the scallops will release water and never obtain the perfect sear. So pat your scallops dry with a paper towel while the pan heats up. Place about 1/2 a tablespoon of butter in the pan as it heats, and add the scallops when the pan is almost smoking hot. Do not crowd the pan, which is another enemy of a good sear. We usually sear bay scallops for a only 30 seconds per side (sear sea scallops about 1 minute per side). Just keep an eye on them and flip them when they have a golden brown crust. If you have to sear them in two batches, wipe down the pan with a paper towel between batches, add new butter, and start over.

Served the seared scallops over the finished risotto with a generous dusting of parmesan and chopped parsley.

Scallops 101
We used bay scallops here, but sea scallops are more common, larger, and would perhaps be easier to sear. In fact, we haven't seen any recipes for seared bay scallops, but thought we would give it a try. Sea scallops are usually about two inches long and 1.5 inches thick, whereas bay scallops are much smaller. Calico scallops are often sold as 'bay scallops,' but can be detected by their opaque appearance around the edges. Apparently, they lose their natural flavor when shucked so be careful not to get ripped off.

Other recipes you may like:
3 cheese risotto recipe
shrimp scampi recipe

Blueberry Pancakes

I'm really into brunch food at the moment - why not try brunch for dinner tonight? These pancakes are light and delicious. I found the recipe on King Arthur Flour, my go-to spot for any breakfast food recipe. Use fresh or frozen blueberries.

Ingredients
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, optional
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) melted butter or vegetable oil (1 1/4ounces)
1 1/2 cups (6 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons (7/8 ounce) sugar
3/4 cup (3 ounces) blueberries, fresh or frozen

Instructions
Beat the eggs, milk, and vanilla until light and foamy, about 3 minutes at high speed with a hand mixer. Stir in the melted butter or oil. The key is to use an electric mixer instead of doing it by hand! Add the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar, stirring just to combine, there will be a few lumps still. Set the batter aside to rest while you're heating your pan.

Heat a large frying pan over medium-low to medium heat. Spray with Pam. The pan is hot enough when a drop of water evaporates immediately on contact.

Drop the pancake batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto the hot pan and sprinkle 1 tablespoon blueberries on each pancake. Cook until they’re golden brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip them over, and cook till the other side is golden, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes.

Serve the pancakes immediately or transfer them to a platter, cover, and keep warm in a 200°F oven.

Other recipes you may like:
French toast
chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies

View all breakfast recipes

Tuscan Beef and Pepper Stew

This recipe is from Simply Tuscan, by Pino Luongo. Also known as Peposo (from the large amount of black pepper), this stew is worth the effort.

Ingredients

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 pounds beef stewing meat

2/3 cup finely chopped carrot

2/3 cup finely chopped onion

2/3 cup finely chopped celery

salt to taste

2 cups red wine

3 cups chicken stock

1/3 cup tomato sauce

1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3 cups)

2 T crushed black peppercorns

Instructions

In a heavy casserole over high heat, warm half of the oil. Add the beef and sear it on all sides until dark brown. Keep some spacing between the cubes to prevent them from steaming. You won't be able to sear all the beef at once, so do it in batches. Set the beef aside when done.

Reduce the heat to low and add the remaining oil to the casserole. Add the carrot, onion, and celery, and some salt. Mix the seared beef with the vegetables and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the red wine and scrape the browned beef from the bottom of the pan. This is critical for developing the flavor. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until some of the liquid appears to have evaporated. Add the stock and the tomato sauce and cook for 15 minutes more. Add half of the squash and all the peppercorns. The original recipe calls for 4 T peppercorns, which seemed overpowering. You may even want to use less than 2 T. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for at least an hour. Keep the lid slightly open if you want some of the water to evaporate. When the meat is tender, add the rest of the squash and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Add salt if you wish.

This stew is excellent served over creamy polenta!

World's Best French Toast

We made this french toast for Easter brunch and thought we died and went to heaven! But seriously, this is undoubtedly the best french toast I've ever had. It wasn't mushy or eggy like other recipes we've tried. The key is keeping toast in the oven until it is ready to serve. Eat it with syrup or powdered sugar and sliced fruit. The only thing we were missing was some crispy bacon.


Ingredients
6 to 8 slices challah bread, sliced 1 inch thick
3 large eggs
3/4 cup 2% milk
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons rum
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 T butter
1 T vegetable oil

Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Get out a baking sheet and set aside.

Put the butter & vegetable oil in a large frying pan and turn on medium heat. Let the butter melt while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a small bowl, whisk all remaining ingredients together until smooth (not foamy). Pour the batter into a shallow dish or cake pan large enough for 2 slices of bread.

Put 2 pieces of bread in the batter and let them soak for 30 seconds per side. Place the bread on the frying pan and cook toast for 2 minutes per side. The bread should be golden brown, not dark. Put the bread on the baking sheet & into the pre-heated oven. Cook the remaining slices of bread in the same way, and remove all pieces from oven once ready to serve.

The bread will get a tiny bit more brown in the oven, so be aware of this as you are frying it up.

Dig in! Don't worry, you'll be forgiven for enjoying this sinful dish.

Homemade Pasta with Sage Butter

So simple! The brown butter gets kind of caramelized and mixes with the sage perfectly.



Ingredients for Pasta (tagliatelle is best)
1 2/3 c flour, plus more for sprinkling on counter
3 eggs

Ingredients for Sauce
1 stick salted butter
6-8 sage leaves, minced

Instructions for pasta
Refer to homemade pasta recipe.

Instructions for sage butter sauce
When you've gotten the pasta dough ready & into the fridge, begin boiling your pasta water. Then in a large sauce pan melt the butter on low heat until browned, not burnt. It will begin to smell like caramel corn. Keep the butter over very low heat while you cut pasta. When you add the pasta to boiling water, add the minced sage to your brown butter. It will get a little crispy.

Once the pasta is cooked, put it in a large bowl and pour the butter sauce over it. Toss lightly. Makes enough for 4.

French Onion Soup

A quick version of French Onion Soup you can make during the week. This recipe makes about 4 bowls of soup.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large Vidalia onions, sliced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
4 cups beef broth
4 slices ciabatta bread, cubed
4 slices fontina cheese

Equipment
4 (1 1/2-cup) ovenproof ramekins

Instructions
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium-sized sauce pan. Add the onions, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions become tender (about 10 minutes). Add the thyme and beef broth. Simmer, uncovered, until the onions are soft (about 15 minutes).

Divide the soup between the 4 ovenproof ramekins - or just do 2 and save the rest of the soup for tomorrow. Divide the cubed bread among the ramekins. Top each with a slice of fontina cheese. Place under the broiler, until the cheese is golden and bubbly (about 4 minutes).

Rosemary and Parmesan Buttermilk Biscuits

So.Good.


Ingredients
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon table salt
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (1 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 cup buttermilk (cold)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly (about 5 minutes), plus 2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing biscuits

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, Parmesan, and rosemary in large bowl. Combine buttermilk and 8 tablespoons melted butter in medium bowl, stirring until butter forms small clumps (see photo below).

2. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula until just incorporated and batter pulls away from sides of bowl. Using greased 1/4-cup dry measure, scoop level amount of batter and drop onto parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet (biscuits should measure about 2 1/4 inches in diameter and 1 1/4 inches high - there will be about 12). Repeat with remaining batter, spacing biscuits about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until tops are golden brown and crisp, 12 to 14 minutes.

3. Brush biscuit tops with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 5 minutes before serving.

4. Have a heart attack