Skillet Doux

Protein, Protein and More Protein

Pan Dripping Vinaigrette	Dominic Armato

Doesn't look like much, but this has been one of my lifesavers over the past couple of months.

It turns out that the Top Chef hiatus came at a pretty good time. Since the holidays, my ladylove has been on a doctor-ordered very low carb diet. The imminence of our second offspring has caused her blood sugar to go a little wonky, and some corrective action was necessary. It's only temporary. But by the time she's done, it will have been a four month stretch with very little sugar, and no rice, fruit, bread or pasta... pasta. More accurately, I should say by the time we're done, because in a show of spousal solidarity, I've been doing it with her. Though the pasta thing is killing me, I'm mostly okay with the rest. In some ways, it's been a fun challenge. One of the first things I did was to make a forty-something item low carb menu containing a ton of recipes I've been wanting to try but haven't quite gotten around to. The long and short of it is that we're eating a ton of meat. And if this dietary sacrifice means I have to go pick up a good dry-aged steak once a week for us to share, I'd say we'll get through the next two months just fine.

Anyway, back to the photo above. These days, I'm a huge fan of pan vinaigrettes. We don't have a grill here, and it's been too cold outside anyway, so most of our meats have been of the braised or pan-seared variety. For the latter, I can't stand to let good pan drippings go, and balsamic vinegar is like ambrosia when you're on a low carb diet, so you do the math.

Here's a quick favorite we've made a few times during this run. Cauliflower is a fairly low carb vegetable, and given our love for sauteed cauliflower, we've been hitting it pretty hard. Here, I actually make the vinaigrette in the pan that was used for the cauliflower, which I think marries the meat and vegetable nicely. I've also been playing with Cook’s Illustrated's oven-then-pan method for steak cookery and getting some pretty impressive results out of it, hence the method used below. But if you're a traditional sear-and-blast person, by all means, cook it up that way. Or toss it on the grill if you're also in the midst of the unseasonably warm weather we're having this weekend. I realize mace and mint isn't the most orthodox combination, but after the first run I thought the meat needed something a little earthy and spicy and mace fit the bill. I think it works.

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Dominic Armato 1 head cauliflower 5 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided 4 cloves garlic coarse salt & pepper 12-16 oz. thick NY strip steak 1/2 tsp. ground mace 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar 2 Tbsp. fresh mint chiffonade

Steak with Sautéed Cauliflower
and Mint Vinaigrette

Serves 2

After you move your oven rack to the center and preheat it to 275°, a little light prep. Trim the cauliflower and break it into small florets, slicing larger ones into halves or quarters, giving it time to dry after washing. Also, halve the steak with a single vertical cut through the middle, to create two filet-sized chunks. Sprinkle them all over with coarse salt and pepper and put them on a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Pop the steaks in the oven and cook until they read 95° in the center (a little warmer for medium, a little cooler for rare -- if you want them well-done, why are you reading this blog?).

While the steaks are warming in the oven, start up the cauliflower. Put 3 Tbsp. of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high, peel and crush the garlic cloves very lightly and toss them in the pan. Let them fry in the oil for a few minutes, turning, until they're lightly golden on all sides. Then remove them from the pan and discard them. Immediately toss in the cauliflower and spread it evenly around the pan. For the next minute or so, resist the urge to stir it. Let it be, so that the underside takes on a nice, golden color. Then toss it well, season with salt and pepper and continue cooking, occasionally stirring and tossing, for about 10-12 minutes until it starts to soften a little. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking gently for another ten minutes or so, until it's tender and flavorful.

Meanwhile, sear up the steaks. Heat the vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet over high heat, and once the steaks have hit their internal temperature, remove them from the oven and lightly dust them on all sides with the mace (don't let them cool before searing!). Then transfer them to the pan, cooking for just a minute or two on each side to sear them, give them some nice color and finish cooking them. Continue to give them a very quick sear on the edges, then return them to the wire rack (out of the oven, this time), tent them with foil and let them rest for about ten minutes.

That'll give you time to finish up the cauliflower and cook up the vinaigrette. Once the cauliflower is done, check its seasoning and adjust for salt and pepper if necessary. Transfer the cauliflower to a warm plate or bowl, turn off the burner and add the remaining 2 Tbsp. olive oil and balsamic vinegar to the warm pan. Whisk them together, scraping up all of the seasoning and little bits of browned cauliflower, then mix in 1 Tbsp. of the mint and set the vinaigrette aside, off the heat.

To plate, divide the cauliflower between two plates. Thinly slice the steaks, fan them out and plate them with the cauliflower. Spoon the vinaigrette over the steaks, sprinkle them with the remaining fresh mint, and get them on the table.

Cauliflower Pasta

Cavatappi con Cavolfiore, Zafferano e Mente	Dominic Armato

Hey, we haven't had a good pasta recipe around these parts in a while!

Cauliflower has become my go-to pet pasta ingredient as of late. It's easy to prepare, it gets beautifully sweet when caramelized, it pairs perfectly with a chaotic, chunky pasta and it loves parmesan. The obsession started with an absurdly simple Batali recipe that's threatening to unseat Rigatoni all'Amatriciana as the official Armato/Scudiere household pasta and has persisted through a few spur of the moment variations, of which this is one of my favorites. Plus, bonus... what Italian word is more fun to say than cavolfiore?

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Dominic Armato 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 2 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed 1/2 head cauliflower salt & pepper 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter 1 pinch saffron threads 1/4 C. chopped fresh mint, divided 1/2 lb. cavatappi grated parmesan

Cavatappi con Cavolfiore, Zafferano e Mente

Serves 2 as an entree, 3-4 as a primo

As always, first refer to the Ten Commandments of Dry Pasta for instructions on general pasta cookery.

While your water is coming to a boil, you can do all of your prep and start the cauliflower. Trim the cauliflower and break it into small florets, slicing larger ones into halves or quarters, giving it time to dry after washing. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat and, when hot, toss in the garlic cloves. Cook the garlic cloves, turning as necessary, until they're light golden all over, then remove and discard them (or, if you're me, set them aside, salt and eat them). Immediately toss in the cauliflower, spread it evenly around the pan and for the next few minutes, resist the urge to play Chen Kenichi, practicing your pao action, and don't touch it. You want each piece to take a nice browned color on one side. When the underside of the cauliflower has started to brown nicely, toss well and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking for another ten minutes or so, tossing occasionally, until the cauliflower is browned all over and has started to soften. Rather than constantly stirring, try to leave it alone for a couple of minutes at a time so the cauliflower has time to develop its color. If it starts to burn, however, turn the heat down and take it off the fire, stirring constantly, to give it a moment to cool.

When the cauliflower has reached this point, drop your cavatappi in the water, turn the heat under the cauliflower down to low, and let it cook gently, tossing occasionally, for another 7-8 minutes.

When your pasta is just a couple of minutes away from being done, the cauliflower should be browned and tender, but maintain some texture. Shove the cauliflower to the edges of the pan and drop the butter into the middle. When the butter melts, add the saffron threads, stir the butter and let the saffron warm in the butter for a minute or two until your pasta is just about ready. Toss the cauliflower and saffron butter thoroughly and check and adjust your seasoning. Drain the pasta, add it to the cauliflower skillet and toss for a minute to combine and let the flavors come together. Just before serving, quickly chop the fresh mint, add two tablespoons to the pasta and toss.

Plate the pasta, top with a bit of the remaining mint and some parmesan cheese, and serve.

Fiori di Zucca

Zucchini Blossoms from Brown's Cove Farm	Dominic Armato

One of the things I've come to love about our temporary home here in Baltimore is that I'm spoiled by not one but now two weekly farmers' markets. We've been hitting the always impressive Baltimore market under the highway on Sundays since our arrival last summer, and with the recent addition of the Harbor East market on Saturdays, just a couple of blocks from home, I have access to great produce straight through the weekend. I have a full report on the new Harbor East market coming shortly, but in the meantime I couldn't wait to share my favorite find thus far.

For the past three weeks, the Brown's Cove Farm stall has had piles of stunning zucchini blossoms, and what could be more perfect farmers' market fare? They're delicate and sweet with a flavor that walks the line between vegetal and floral, and they just scream summer. The trouble with zucchini blossoms, however, is that they're ultra perishable. If they're picked Saturday morning, they're already wilting by Saturday evening, and they've lost all of their life by Sunday brunch. So when the vibrant orange of their petals caught my eye last Saturday, I went a little nutty and bought about five dozen of them. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but that didn't matter. You don't pass on an opportunity like that.

A while back, I was perusing one of Wanda Tornabene's cookbooks, and I came across her recipe for Frittelle di Fiori di Zucca -- Italian fried zucchini blossoms. What struck me at first was that she used an unusually heavy batter for this purpose, made with yeast and allowed to rise for an hour before frying. My interest was already piqued, but then I read this passage...

"With absolute confidence I can boast that my Frittelle di Fiori di Zucca are the best in the world."

...and I figured I'd better lock that one away for future reference. So naturally, the first thing I did upon returning home with my bounty was to fire up some simple, traditional Italian-style fried zucchini blossoms alla Tornabene.

Fried Zucchini Blossoms	Dominic Armato

I don't know that I'm qualified to accurately place Signora Tornabene's frittelle in the world pantheon of fried zucchini blossoms, but I will say that I found them exceptionally delicious. While most versions I've had tried to keep the batter as light as possible, Tornabene's is rather goopy going on, and while light and crispy once fried, it makes for a fully-armored blossom. The genius, as it turns out, is that the blossom is protected from the oil and almost liquefies while cooking, so the crispy batter shell gives way to a downright creamy vegetable filling. Despite the heavier batter, I found that I actually got a better taste of the blossoms themselves... and this got me to thinking. Zucchini blossoms are so ethereal and so difficult to come by in quantity that you're almost always limited to tiny little tastes. I thought it would be great to make a recipe that took a whole pile of blossoms and concentrated the flavor somehow so that you could get a bite of them that actually packed a bit of a wallop. It didn't take me long to settle on ravioli as the vehicle for a concentrated zucchini blossom mixture, and I ditched my stuffed blossom dinner plan in favor of turning the blossoms into the stuffing themselves.

The result was a pasta that isn't practical unless you can get the blossoms cheaply and in quantity, but if you come upon a trove of them, this may now be my favorite way to treat them. It's a very elegant dish with a quick and easy last-minute prep, which would make it great for a dinner party. The fried blossoms on top make for a beautiful presentation and I like the contrast of the crispy fried petals against the stewed filling, but they're hardly essential and you can streamline the recipe by omitting them altogether, or tossing some raw petals into the saffron butter while you're warming it up. Though most establishments (even farmers' markets) like to push the popular female blossoms that look ohsocute attached to the end of a baby squash, the ones you want are the males, which you can identify by the fact that they terminate in stems rather than vegetables. The difference in flavor is significant. When it comes to fresh pasta, I've been meaning to post a tutorial for a while and maybe this is the kick I need -- the manufacturing of the pasta dominates the recipe and I'd love to link to it rather than having to include it -- but everybody has their tricks, so if you have a preferred method, there's nothing special about the one I describe here. Do whatever you're comfortable with.

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Dominic Armato 5 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided 1/2 C. thinly sliced leeks 4 dozen large (3"+) zucchini blossoms 1/4 C. chicken stock 1/2 tsp. coarse salt 2 Tbsp. ricotta 1 C. all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting 2 large eggs 1/4 C. unsalted butter large pinch saffron threads black pepper grated pecorino

Zucchini Blossom Ravioli
with Saffron Butter

Serves 2 as an entree, 4 as a primo

First up, do a little chopping. Thinly slice the leeks, using only the white and light green parts, and roughly chop enough of the zucchini blossoms to yield 6 C., reserving the rest whole (you should have about a dozen left over).

To make the ravioli filling, start by heating 2 Tbsp. of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high. Once the oil is hot but not smoking, add the leeks and cook, stirring constantly, until the leeks soften and turn translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Toss in the 6 C. of chopped zucchini blossoms and continue cooking and stirring until the blossoms start to soften, about another two minutes. Add the chicken stock and coarse salt and continue cooking down, stirring frequently, until the stock has cooked away. The mixture should still be quite moist, but you don't want anything more than a touch of excess liquid in the bottom of the pan. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and cool for a few minutes. Once it's no longer hot, gently stir in the ricotta, adjust the salt to taste and refrigerate the mixture until you're ready to stuff the ravioli.

To make the pasta dough, mound 1 C. of the flour in the middle of a large, smooth surface, make a well in the center and add the eggs and 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil. Using a fork, beat the eggs and slowly incorporate more and more of the surrounding flour, switching from the fork to your hands when it seems appropriate, until ithe flour has mostly been absorbed and you have a cohesive mass of dough. When you've incorporated enough flour that you can work the dough without it sticking to your hands, set the ball of dough aside, scrape the work surface clean, dust it with fresh flour and continue kneading the dough, adding more flour as necessary to reach the desired consistency. The exact amount you'll use will depend on the size of your eggs, the nature of your flour and the humidity, but you want to end up with a dough that's very firm and just barely tacky. To borrow Marcella Hazan's shorthand test of doneness, the moment you can stick your thumb into the middle without anything sticking to it, you've added enough flour. At this point, continue kneading the dough for a full ten minutes -- do NOT skip or shortchange this step, as this is how the pasta gains its density and bite. While kneading, lightly dust the work surface and your hands as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Stretch the dough away from you using the palm of your right hand pressing into the work surface (if you're a righty), flip the dough over, rotate it 90° clockwise, fold it in half right to left, and repeat over and over again until it's been at least ten minutes, the dough fights you every step of the way and its surface is baby bottom smooth. Immediately wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and let it rest while you prepare to roll the ravioli, but don't let it sit for too long or your ravioli won't seal.

To roll out the pasta dough, clean and dust your work surface ever so lightly with a touch more flour, then slice off a quarter of the ball of dough and rewrap the portion you aren't yet using. Take the portion of the dough you're using and flatten it into a small packet about 1/2" thick, measuring about 4x2". Feed one of the short ends into a pasta roller at the thickest setting, lay the resulting strip on the board in front of you, fold the two ends into the center to reduce it to about a third of its size (it will now roughly match the original packet), poke it with your fingers to get the layers to stick together, then feed it back through the machine. Repeat this about 8-10 times until the packet is very firm and perfectly smooth. During this entire process, dust lightly with flour if you need to keep it from sticking to the machine. With ravioli dough, the trick is to add just enough flour to keep it from sticking to the machine, while remaining tacky enough to seal your ravioli. It's a delicate balance and takes a little practice, but you'll catch on quickly. Once the dough is perfectly smooth, don't fold it over again, but instead narrow the pasta rollers by one notch and feed the short end of the pasta sheet back through, stretching it out further. Feed it through a second time, then narrow the rollers one more notch. Repeat this process, sending the pasta sheet through the rollers twice before adjusting the thickness and slowly stretching the pasta out, until you have a long sheet of pasta and the rollers are one or two steps away from the thinnest setting. You don't want to use the last setting or two, or your pasta will be too thin. It depends on the machine, but use your best judgment if you haven't made ravioli before. By now, you'll have a very long (3-4') sheet of pasta that you want to lay out on the board and immediate fold into ravioli, before it can dry out and lose its tackiness.

Starting at one end of the sheet, put heaping tablespoon dollops of the filling in the center, spacing them just over 3" apart, until you reach the midpoint of the long sheet. Fold the remaining half of the pasta sheet back over the filling and, cupping your hand, press all around the dollops of filling to seal the layers of pasta, capturing as little air as possible (if you find it easier to slice the sheet of pasta in half rather than folding it over, there's no reason not to). Using a circle mold, cookie cutter, carefully trimmed soda can or other circular cutting implement, cut out the ravioli, pulling away and discarding the excess pasta dough. Transfer the ravioli to a tray covered with a kitchen towel, dusting them lightly with flour, squeezing the edges slightly to ensure they're sealed, and making sure they don't touch so they don't stick to each other. Repeat the whole process with the remaining dough until you've used up all of the filling. You should end up with about 15-16 large ravioli. You can cover them with plastic wrap and transfer them to the fridge if you aren't going to cook them immediately, but it's best not to let them sit for more than a couple of hours. If they do sit, be sure to flip them periodically so the pasta on the bottom doesn't become soggy.

When you're ready to cook the ravioli, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (no pinches here -- make the water nice and salty!) and prepare the whole blossoms and saffron butter while it's coming to a boil. Take the remaining whole blossoms and if they aren't open, slice the petals down to the base. Heat the remaining 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a skillet over medium-high until hot but not smoking, and while the oil is coming to heat, dust the whole blossoms with flour, shaking to thoroughly remove any excess. Add the blossoms to the heated oil and fry, turning when appropriate, until they're lightly browned and crispy. Transfer them to a place lined with paper towels and reserve. Obviously, it's best to do this right before the ravioli are ready, but if that's a lot to juggle, they'll be quite tasty if they sit for a little while, if not quite as crisp.

To make the sauce, combine the butter and saffron in a large sauté pan that can accommodate all of the ravioli and heat over medium. Once the butter has completely melted, continue heating and stirring occasionally for just a minute, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting, just enough to keep the butter warm. If necessary, move it off the burner and keep it in a warm place. Salt the saffron butter to taste and set aside.

Once your pasta water has a nice rolling boil going, drop in the ravioli, give them a stir, and boil them for just a couple of minutes until the pasta is cooked and the filling is warmed through. Fresh ravioli cooks very quickly -- it'll only take a couple of minutes. Drain the ravioli thoroughly, transfer them to the skillet with the saffron butter and toss them to ensure they're coated all over, then plate them with a tiny bit of freshly ground black pepper and a light sprinkling of the grated pecorino, and top them with the fried blossoms. Spoon the excess saffron butter on and around the ravioli, and get 'em on the table.

This is one dish where you might want to consider keeping the grated cheese off the table. Anything more than the lightest dusting will bury the delicate flavor of the blossoms, and somebody will inevitably dump grated cheese all over the place and never know what the filling tastes like. I'm all for letting people manage their own cheese, but zucchini blossoms are so special and so delicate that this is an exceptional case where I like to exercise a little chefly discretion and dictate the cheese level.

Winging It

	Dominic Armato

Last night I was craving something new, so I went cruising the net in search of a recipe for tonight's dinner. But it was one of those nights when nothing was grabbing me. So when this morning rolled around and I still had no plan, I decided it was a good day to wing it.

It's one of my favorite things to do, actually. Walk into the store, see what looks good, and try to think up something new on the spot -- the only requirement being that it has to be something I've never seen before, even if it's just a subtle twist on an old favorite. It's a great way to break out of a rut and exercise your creativity. You have to be willing to fall on your face sometimes, but that happens less frequently the more comfortable you get, and every once in a while you strike gold that you never would have found any other way.

Today, the store had some really nice cherries out for tasting, so I decided to start there. I thought chicken, pork and shellfish would go well with cherries, but we've been eating a lot of chicken and my ladylove hasn't been feeling the shellfish lately, so I grabbed some beautiful boneless pork chops out of the meat case. Cherries kind of walk that sweet/sour line, and I was in the mood for something sweet-sour anyway, so I figured a cherry vinaigrette would be a nice topping for pork. But those are some bright flavors, so I needed something to ground it and suck up the liquid. A root vegetable puree, maybe? Beets would just be doubling up on sweet. Carrots are close, but a little too aggressive. Parsnips, on the other hand -- fairly subtle, nice and peppery -- perfect. The parsnips need a little something... ginger complements both root vegetables and fruit. And it needs something green and fragrant. Mint should do nicely. I also thought a little cinnamon would work well, but after accidentally grabbing the wrong jar off the shelf, it occurred to me that the five spice would probably be even better. And it was.

Anyway, this was definitely one of the successes.

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Dominic Armato 1/2 Lb. parsnips 1 thumb ginger 2 Tbsp. cold butter 2 Tbsp. whole milk 1/2 tsp. five spice powder 2 boneless thick-cut pork chops 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided 1 small shallot 3 Tbsp. sherry vinegar, divided 2 Tbsp. water 1/2 C. stemmed, pitted, chopped cherries 2 Tbsp. fresh mint chiffonade, divided

Five Spice Scented Pork Chops with Ginger Parsnips and
Cherry Vinaigrette

Serves 2

The parsnips have to cook for a while, and you can get all of your other prep done while they're boiling, so start with them. Peel them, slice them into 1/4" rounds and put them in a saucepan with cold water to cover. Scrub the thumb of ginger clean (no need to peel it), slice it in half lengthwise and toss it in the saucepan with the parsnips. Salt the water, bring it to a boil, and continue boiling the parsnips until they're tender, about 35-45 minutes. Once they reach this point, drain the water from the saucepan, throw out the ginger and mash the parsnips with a fork over low heat. Cut the butter into small cubes and mash them into the parsnips until thoroughly combined, then whisk in the milk until you get a nice, creamy consistency. Salt and pepper them to taste, then either remove the parsnips from the heat, or leave them on very, very low and watch them carefully to make sure they don't scorch. You just want to keep them warm until the chops are ready. If you leave them on the heat and they get a little dry, you can revive them by adding a touch more milk right before serving.

While the parsnips are boiling is a good time to get your other prep done. Pit and chop your cherries, mince the shallot and wash and dry the mint (but don't chop it yet). Dry the pork chops as much as possible using paper towels, then season with salt and pepper and rub them with the five spice powder. Just a light sprinkling on each side will do. You want it to be a subtle flavor, not overpowering.

When the parsnips are tender and you're almost ready to drain them, that's a good time to start cooking the pork. Add one tablespoon of the olive oil to a cold skillet, swirl it around and then add the pork chops. Put the skillet over medium heat and cook the chops, undisturbed, until they've developed a nice color and they appear to be cooked about a third of the way through, about 5-7 minutes. Flip them over, cover the skillet, and continue cooking until the chops read 140° in the center with an instant read thermometer, about another 5-7 minutes. Don't go by the times, though -- go by temperature. When the chops are done, remove them from the pan and set them on a plate covered with tented foil to keep them warm.

While the chops are resting, make the vinaigrette. As soon as you've removed the chops from the pan, toss in the minced shallot and sauté it for about a minute until it starts to turn translucent. In a small bowl, combine the water and two tablespoons of the sherry vinegar, then pour them into the pan, scraping up all of the good crusty stuff the pork chops left behind. Continue cooking the mixture over medium heat until the vinegar and water mixture reduces down by about half, then add the remaining two tablespoons of the olive oil and the cherries, and continue cooking for just a minute or two so the cherries warm up and soften just a touch. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the remaining tablespoon of the sherry vinegar along with any juices the chops have released. Taste the vinaigrette, making any adjustments and adding a little salt if necessary. Chop up the fresh mint, mix one tablespoon of it into the vinaigrette, and get the dish plated.

To plate, divide the parsnip puree between two plates, and top the puree with the chops. Spoon the vinaigrette and cherries on and around the chops, sprinkle with a bit more fresh mint, and get it on the table.

Asparagus Season

	Dominic Armato

I hate -- HATE -- getting a great idea for a dish out of season, but I suppose the extra time percolating in the noggin isn't a bad thing. I think I cooked this one twenty or thirty times in my head before I finally got the chance to make it this week, and that's probably why it turned out so well. I'd originally planned on using fresh peas, but I think the Baltimore farmers market opened a little late for them. Asparagus, however, is everywhere this time of year, and it turned out to be a lovely substitute.

This particular recipe is not exactly in the quick and easy file. It's a four burner dish that combines an awful lot of elements and involves some critical timing. Plus, this is the snooty restaurant version of the recipe (not that I have a restaurant in which to serve it), but that doesn't mean you couldn't simplify it if you wanted. I've never tried them, but I understand there are some methods for baked risotto that are entirely respectable, if not quite the same consistency as the stovetop version, and the morels can sit for a bit after they've been sautéed. So it's possible to do this without having to simultaneously juggle multiple items. But if you're feeling brave, there's nothing like chicken stock simmering on the rear left, risotto stirring on the front left, salmon searing on the front right and morels sautéing on the rear right.

Admittedly, it's a little rich for spring far. But the flavors are there, man -- it turned out great. And the acid in the vinaigrette helps to keep it from getting too heavy. Incidentally, this is exactly the kind of dish I like to point out to those who insist that Carnaroli rice is "better" than Arborio. You want your risotto to have a little body so it stands up to being plated with the salmon fillets, and wonderfully creamy as it is, I think Carnaroli is a little too loose for this purpose.

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Dominic Armato 1 lemon 1/3 C. extra virgin olive oil 1/2 C. loosely packed mint leaves 1 bunch asparagus 2 C. chicken stock 4 tsp. balsamic vinegar 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice 1 Tbsp. very finely minced mint leaves 1 pint fresh morels 1 Tbsp. butter 1 Tbsp. extra virgin oilve oil 2 Tbsp. butter 1 1/2 oz. diced smoked pancetta 2 Tbsp. minced onion 1 C. Arborio rice 1 Tbsp. grated parmigiano reggiano 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1 lb. salmon fillets, in four pieces

Seared Salmon with Sautéed Morels, Asparagus Risotto and Lemon-Mint Vinaigrette

Serves 4

The lemon-mint oil you'll use to make the vinaigrette can get pretty murky, so I think it's best to make it a day ahead of time if you can. If not, it'll still taste great, it just won't be as pretty. Using a vegetable peeler, peel all of the zest off one lemon, except for a bit at the ends (you'll need that later). Then lay the strips of lemon zest on a cutting board, outside down, and using a very sharp knife, lay the blade flat on a strip of zest and carefully shave off all of the white pith, leaving only the bright yellow zest. Once all of the pith has been removed, combine the zest with 1/3 C. extra virgin olive oil in a small saucepan or skillet and heat over medium. When the lemon zest curls up and gets golden around the edges, remove the pan from the heat and let it cool. Once it's cooled enough to transfer but is still warm, combine the oil and zest with 1/2 C. fresh mint leaves in a blender or mini prep and buzz away until they're completely combined. Let the oil sit for 2-3 hours at room temperature, then strain it through a fine-meshed sieve lined with cheesecloth. Discard the solids and refrigerate the oil overnight, if possible in a round-bottomed bowl. The next day, all of the muck should have settled at the bottom. Carefully spoon the clear oil off the top, discarding the cloudy stuff at the bottom. You should end up with about 1/4 C. of lemon-mint oil.

If you're making this dish the way I do, there's a lot of mise en place to get ready. You'll be doing way too much at the stove to be going back to the cutting board. So first, do all of your prep and have everything ready right by the stove. If you wash your morels, do that first and give them a chance to dry a little bit before you use them. Otherwise, start with the asparagus. Snap off the tough bottom ends and throw them away. Cut off the tips and save those in their own prep bowl. If you have larger, tougher asparagus with stringy skin, you may need to peel the skin off first. But hopefully you picked up some beautiful, fresh, tender asparagus at the farmers market. Snap one stalk in half and take a bite out of the middle to test it. If it's pleasant to chew raw, leave it alone. If it's stringy, peel it. At any rate, after removing the bottoms and tips, chop the rest into 1/4" slices if you have larger asparagus, 1/2" lengths if you have small, pencil-thin asparagus. You want to end up with 1 C. of chopped asparagus. Put enough salted water in a small saucepan to cover the chopped asparagus and bring it to a strong simmer. Then toss in the chopped asparagus (but not the tips!) and blanch it for a couple of minutes until it's tender but still a little crisp. Strain the asparagus, saving the asparagus water, and shock the asparagus in ice water. Then drain and reserve it. Meanwhile, combine 1 C. of the leftover asparagus water with 2 C. of chicken stock in a saucepan and bring to a simmer on the stove.

While your stock is coming to a simmer, you can do the rest of the prep. Halve or quarter the morels, depending on their size, and check the cores for little critters. Cut the smoked pancetta into 1/4" dice, mince up your onion, get 3 Tbsp. of butter sliced up and at the ready, slice your salmon into four fillets and set them out, get all of the other ingredients next to the stove, and get all of the necessary pans on the stovetop. You don't want to be rooting through cabinets and the fridge while you're in the middle of firing this thing.

Lastly, before you start, mix up the vinaigrette. If you didn't quite get 1/4 C. of lemon-mint oil, add enough olive oil to bring it up to 1/4 C., then mix it with 4 tsp. balsamic vinegar, 2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1 Tbsp. of very, very finely minced fresh mint. Give the vinaigrette a little stir, but don't whisk it -- you want it to separate and look pretty on the plate, so you don't want it to emulsify.

On the stovetop, start with the risotto. Have your asparagus water and stock mixture simmering at the ready, with a ladle at hand. Then combine 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil and 1 Tbsp. butter in a small, heavy pot and heat over medium-high until the butter foams and then subsides. When it does, toss in the diced smoked pancetta and sauté it until the edges just start to turn golden, about 4-6 minutes. Add the minced onion and continue sautéing, stirring frequently, until the onion turns translucent. Toss in the rice and cook, stirring constantly, for about a minute, so that the grains are completely coated with the oil and fat. Lower the heat slightly to medium, add a ladleful of the simmering stock mixture to the rice and stir until all of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Continue this process, a ladleful of stock at a time, waiting until it's completely absorbed before adding more, stirring almost constantly, until the risotto has cooked thoroughly, the grains are tender but still have some individual bite, and the mixture has a very nice, creamy consistency. If you haven't made a lot of risotto, just keep adding, absorbing and tasting until the texture seems right to you. If you run out of stock mixture and the rice still hasn't absorbed enough liquid, switch to simmering water so as not to make the flavor too intense. Once the risotto is cooked to the desired consistency, stir in 1 Tbsp. of butter and 1 Tbsp. of grated parmigiano reggiano, salt and pepper to taste, and get it off the heat. Ideally, you want to time the morels and salmon to be done at the same time. If the risotto has to sit for a few minutes, it's not a tragedy, but it's best eaten right away.

To cook the morels, heat 2 Tbsp. butter over medium-high heat until the butter foams and then subsides. Toss in the asparagus tips and cook, stirring, for about a minute. Then add the morels and cook for another minute or two until they're tender but still have some body. Remove from the heat, salt to taste, and reserve. If any of the hot components need to sit, let it be the morels.

To cook the salmon, heat 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. While it's coming to heat, season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Once the oil's hot but before it starts smoking, add the fillets to the pan, flesh side down, and sear them for 2-3 minutes until you have a nice crust and the filets are cooked about a third of the way through. Then flip them and cook another 2-3 minutes on the skin side until the salmon is cooked to your desired doneness. Personally, if that light pink color creeps all the way into the middle, I say they're way overdone. But it's a very personal call.

To finish the whole shebang, divide the risotto between four plates. Top the risotto with the morels and asparagus tips, and then the salmon fillets. If you're feeling saucy, pick out a couple of particularly pretty tips or morels and set them on top of the fish. Spoon the vinaigrette on and around the salmon and risotto, and then grate a little bit of fresh lemon zest over the top.

It's, uh... just that simple.

Opening Day

	Dominic Armato

In our household, the opening of the Baltimore Farmers Market has been received like a holiday.

It's been marked on my calendar for a few months now. I spent the winter in a culinary rut, and couldn't wait to be inspired by some beautiful, fresh produce. We didn't arrive in Baltimore until the middle of last summer, so I was curious to see if it would be in full swing off the bat. I'm pleased to report that while it isn't quite summer abundance, the spring market is just barely off its peak. Asparagus is all over the place, and that'll be my primary target next week. But for opening day, we hit some old favorites. The mushroom stand, in particular, was looking fantastic and I splurged on some morels, as well as some fresh eggs, onion chives and ciabatta to go with them.

Dominic Armato

We also grabbed some snacks we'd missed since the fall. The mushroom stand makes some outstanding mushroom fritters, fried on the spot and served with feta cheese, mesclun greens, basil and hot sauce. This is one of my favorite mushroom dishes anywhere, light and crisp but still juicy and moist inside. They're worth the trip all on their own. I'm also a fan of the chive buns from the Vietnamese stand and the chicken tamales, though the latter was absent this week. So we wandered around, snacked a bit, and went on home to cook up some breakfast.

It isn't the most unique recipe, but I don't know of any better way to celebrate the opening of the farmers market than by preparing its bounty as simply as possible. If you're somebody who has always cooked scrambled eggs hard and fast, you owe it to yourself to make them this way. There's no going back. Here, I've just dressed them up with some of Sunday's haul. It's a snooty-looking recipe, but it doesn't have to be. I like the little bit of tartness that the buffalo milk butter provides, but don't go hunting it down. Plain old unsalted butter will be just as awesome. Similarly, any old chives will do, and of course this would work great with a myriad of mushrooms. I'd avoid the really watery mushrooms like button and crimini in favor of varieties like shiitake or oyster, but again, it's all good -- use what you have.

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	Dominic Armato 1 Tbsp. buffalo milk butter 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 1 pint morel mushrooms 1/4 C. chopped onion chives 6 large eggs 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter toast 1 Tbsp. grated parmigiano reggiano salt and pepper

Scrambled Eggs with Sautéed Morels and Onion Chives

Serves 2

The eggs require a lot of attention and the morels can sit, so you want to prepare the morels first. There are two schools of thought on whether or not morels should be washed, and I'm still on the fence. But if you wash them, try to give them plenty of time to dry before sautéeing them. Halve or quarter them lengthwise (depending on their size) so you can remove anything that might be inside the hollow stems. To cook the morels, heat the buffalo milk butter and olive oil over medium-high heat, then add the morels and sauté until they just soften. Toss in 1 Tbsp. of the chives, remove the mushrooms from the heat, salt and pepper them to taste and set them aside.

Then, to make the eggs, combine the unsalted butter and eggs in a cold nonstick skillet, preferably one with sloping sides. Put the skillet over medium heat, and gently whisk the eggs as they warm up. You don't want to beat them and make them foamy, but you want to keep them moving. As the eggs start to heat and thicken, you need to watch them very carefully. Whisk them constantly, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the skillet. If they start to stick just the slightest bit, remove them from the heat, keep whisking for a bit, them return them to the heat. After five or six minutes, small curds will start to form. At this point they can go from liquid to overcooked in a matter of moments, so periodically remove and return them to the heat, whisking the whole time, until they reach kind of a loose oatmeal consistency. At this point, you want to get them off the heat, stir in 2 Tbsp. of the chives, salt to taste, and quickly split them between two plates. You want them to be loose and a little wet (they're actually a little overdone in this photo), and they'll keep cooking for a good 20-30 seconds after you remove them from the heat, so don't wait too long to get them off the heat.

Top the eggs with the morels, the parmigiano reggiano and the rest of the chives, and serve with toast.

Smoked Pancetta

	Dominic Armato

Yeah, I realize the title is basically a contradiction in terms, but allow me to explain.

For a long time now, the short answer to the "what's the difference between pancetta and bacon" question has been that bacon is smoked, pancetta isn't. This wasn't entirely true, as I believe smoked pancetta has always been present (if uncommon) in some pockets of Northern Italy, but for all practical purposes, at least in the States, it was true. But a recent development is complicating that answer somewhat, as Leoncini has started to import a smoked version of slab pancetta. It got a quick mention in the New York Times about a month ago and I've been anxious to get my hands on it since. With my Baltimore-based guanciale search coming up empty, I need a new pet pork product anyway. So this past week I was chatting with Nino, my neighbor and friend who is one of the owners of Il Scalino next door, when he happened to mention that he was getting in some special smoked pancetta from Italy the next day. 24 hours later, I was walking out with a pound, half of it in one large chunk, and half of it sliced super thin.

It's good. Really good. But it's not the shocking departure that you might expect. It's nothing like regular pancetta, to be sure. Essentially, it's bacon. Really, really good bacon. I want to say that it's a little cleaner and sweeter than the typical American slab bacon to which I'm accustomed, but it's still a very strong smoke and, in any case, it's extremely good. I spent the weekend playing around with it a bit, and frankly, my favorite usage so far is just to eat it as-is, sliced paper thin, with a good crusty bread and maybe a little cheese or fruit. There are a couple of ideas that are still percolating, but in the meantime, here's one quick and easy dish I've made with it. This hardly merits a recipe -- it's just a simple five-minute vegetable dish -- but I thought it worked nicely. For the Baltimore folks, if you want to pick some up, I'd recommend calling first. They were already running low.

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Dominic Armato 3 oz. smoked pancetta 1/4 C. diced onion 12-15 small Brussels sprouts 1 1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Smoked Pancetta and Balsamic

Serves 2-4 as a side

This is a dish that you sauté up very quickly, not unlike a stir-fry (in fact, a wok would be a great way to make it), so you want to have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go next to the stove before you get cooking.

Slice the pancetta into short strips about 1/4" wide and 1/8" inch thick. Remove the stems from the sprouts and discard them. Slice the sprouts into little rounds about 1/4" thick, or a little thinner. Some will hold their shape and some will fall apart to make a pile of shredded sprouts. That's exactly what you want. You should have about 2 C. worth.

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat and, when it gets hot, add the pancetta. Sauté the pancetta, stirring constantly, until some of the fat has rendered and the pancetta has softened a little. Then add the onion and continue sautéing until the onions soften just slightly and the pancetta has gotten just a touch crispy around the edges. This should only take a minute or two. Add the Brussels sprouts and continue stir-frying until the sprouts have turned bright green, just thirty seconds to a minute. Finally, add the vinegar, scraping up anything that's stuck to the bottom of the pan, and toss the mixture with the vinegar for about 30 seconds.

Remove from the heat, salt to taste (the pancetta is pretty salty, so you might not need any) and serve right away.

Maple or Mushroom?

	©2006 Ron Wolf

Waaaaaay back last summer our little crew held its tenth Iron Chef competition with an ingredient that had been on just about everybody's wish list since the inaugural competition. We have a few hardcore dessert lovers, however, so early on I think there was a little resistance to theme ingredients that people couldn't imagine in a sweet context. But seven years into it, I think folks have learned to trust the chefs a bit, and as such they entrusted us with mushrooms for the most recent battle.

Admittedly, as sweet applications of savory ingredients go, this was a tricky one. But a couple of years before, I'd read about a unique little breed of mushroom that I put in my back pocket to save as my secret weapon should an Iron Chef Mushroom be announced. Enter the candy cap.

Candy cap mushrooms are puzzling little fellows. When fresh, as pictured here (in a lovely photo graciously provided by Ron Wolf... thanks, Ron!), they don't taste like much at all. But as they dry, they take on an intense maple aroma and flavor, making them absolutely perfect for desserts. They're a little tricky to find, so I ordered mine from Millard Family Mushrooms, a tiny operation run by friendly folks who harvest and sell wild mushrooms out of Oregon. A quarter ounce bag sells for $5 plus shipping, but mine were still quite fragrant after six months so it's worth stocking up. I figured they'd make a damn fine cheesecake (though it turns out I'm far from the first to think so), and I used some goat cheese to bridge the gap between sweet and savory. Then we worked some chanterelles into a sauce for their overtones of apricot, and threw in a little crispy candied porcini for fun. The result? The highest scoring dish in Iron Chef Chicago history. But I think that's only because the judges gave the previous course, the challenger's dessert, a huge score and left themselves with no choice other than to give me an obscene score.

In any case, I was thrilled with it. It turned out really well. If you didn't tell people, they'd just assume you flavored it with maple syrup. But though the resemblance is uncanny, it isn't quite the same heavy, cloying sweetness as maple. Rather, it's a little spicy and earthy, which I actually prefer. The sauce is a modification of a Charlie Trotter sauce I've always liked, and though he pairs it with chocolate and ginger, I think it works great in this context. If the chanterelles in the sauce are pushing the whole mushroom dessert frontier a little too much for you, you can skip the fresh chanterelles and chanterelle reduction. We wanted to push the mushroom for our purposes, but it's still fantastic without the chanterelles -- a mushroom dessert disguised as a normal dessert. Nobody will guess what's in the cheesecake.

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Amanda Magnano 2 C. graham cracker crumbs 6 Tbsp. melted butter ½ oz. dried candy cap mushrooms 24 oz. cream cheese 8 oz. chèvre or similar soft goat cheese ¾ C. sugar 4 eggs 1 fresh porcini mushroom ¼ C. light corn syrup 2 oz. dried chanterelle mushrooms ¼ C. butter 1 C. sugar ¼ C. orange juice ¼ C. heavy cream ½ C. chopped fresh chanterelle mushrooms 1 C. chopped pears

Candy Cap Cheesecake with Chanterelle Caramel Sauce and Candied Porcini Bark

Start off by preheating the oven to 350° and setting the cream cheese and goat cheese out so they come to room temperature. Butter up a 9" spring form pan, then mix the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter, and press them into the bottom of the pan. Cook the crust in the oven for ten minutes, until the crust is dark golden. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool while you work on the cheesecake.

Toss the dried candy caps in a spice grinder and grind them into a powder. Alternatively, you can use a mortar and pestle, but you want to make sure you end up with a very fine powder. Using beaters or a stand mixer (or a wooden spoon, if you're masochistic), beat together the cream cheese and goat cheese until smooth. Then, add the candy cap powder and sugar, and beat in the eggs one at a time at low speed, just until evenly incorporated. You don't want to overbeat here, or you could end up with cracks in your cheesecake later.

Give the sides of the spring form pan one more shot of butter, then pour the cheesecake mix into the pan. Carefully wrap the bottom of the spring form pan with aluminum foil so that water won't get through. Then place the spring form pan in a roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with warm water about halfway up the sides of the spring form pan. Transfer the whole thing to the oven, still at 350°, and cook until the cheesecake is ready. It'll probably be about 50 minutes, but it can vary widely depending on your oven, the heat of the water, the shape of the roasting pan, etc. etc. You'll know it's finished when the outside is set, but the 2-3" in the center are just a little jiggly. Remove the pan from the oven, lift the spring form pan out the water, and set it on a wire rack to cool. Run a knife along the inside of the pan to separate it from the cake, then when the cheesecake has come to room temperature, transfer it to the fridge and let it chill for at least six hours, preferably overnight, to set.

While the cheesecake is cooling, you can prep the porcini bark. Slice the porcini mushroom into paper thin slices, as many as you plan on serving. Hope you have a sharp knife. Or a truffle shaver. (Doesn't everybody have a truffle shaver?) Lightly oil a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil, then lay out the mushroom slices and brush them, both sides, with the corn syrup. You probably won't use it all. Bake the mushroom for about five minutes, remove the pan from the oven, flip them, and bake for about another five minutes until they are a golden color. They'll crisp up as they cool. Store them in an airtight container until you're ready to use them.

To prepare the sauce, start with the dried chanterelle mushrooms. Combine them in a small dish with half a cup of very, very hot water, and let them steep for about half an hour. Remove the mushrooms, squeezing any liquid into the dish, and discard them. If there appears to be any grit in the liquid, strain it through a fine strainer or paper towel. Put the chanterelle liquid in a small pan, bring it to a simmer and reduce it down to two tablespoons. Combine this reduction with the orange juice (freshly squeezed, please) and keep it hot.

In a separate pan, heat the sugar over medium-low heat for about ten minutes, until it's golden brown and caramelized. At first, it'll look like nothing is happening. Resist the temptation to turn up the heat. When it goes, it'll go quickly and if the pan is too hot it'll burn. Stir the sugar to ensure it's evenly melted, then add the mushroom/orange mixture and stir again combined. Add the butter, the cream, the sautéed chanterelles and the chopped pears and continue cooking for about ten minutes, stirring frequently, until the pears and mushrooms have softened slightly and the sauce comes together. Don't be afraid to turn the heat down if it looks like it's cooking too fast. There's no rush and you don't want burnt caramel.

To serve, slice up the cheesecake, stick one or two pieces of the porcini bark in the top, drizzle with the hot caramel sauce and serve it up. Then be prepared for nobody to believe you when you tell them the only seasoning in the cake is mushrooms.

Belated T-Day

Believe me, this is progress.

I knew I wanted to post recipes. I took copious notes! Then I sat on them for a month and a half. Oh well. In any case, here's one of this past Thanksgiving's successes. It's probably better if you ignore the amount of butter involved. Or promptly forget it once you've finished cooking.

Incidentally, as is done with the butter here, is it nice to have it broken into logical steps in the ingredient list, or is it annoying to not know at a glance, without adding, how much you'll need total?

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Dominic Armato 2 pork tenderloins 2 Tbsp. butter 6 oz. bacon, sliced into short strips ½ tsp. salt 1 C. diced onion 1 C. diced Granny Smith apple 2 Tbsp. butter 2 C. coarse fresh bread crumbs ¾ C. port 1 cinnamon sticks ½ tsp. whole allspice ½ tsp. whole cloves 1 Tbsp. butter 1 small shallot, thinly sliced 2 Tbsp. pork or dark chicken stock ¾ C. fresh cranberries 2 Tbsp. sugar ¼ C. butter salt & pepper 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil ½ C. chopped toasted walnuts

Pork Tenderloin with Apple Bacon Stuffing and Spiced Cranberry Sauce

Serves 4-6

To get the tenderloins ready for stuffing, take the longest, thinnest knife you have (a boning knife is perfect) and push it through the tenderloin, making a long slit lengthwise through the middle. If the knife won't go all the way through, insert it in one end at a time so the cuts meet in the middle. Then, turn the knife 90 degrees and do the same, so that the hole running through the tenderloin is cross-shaped. Then, take a wooden spoon with a long handle, insert the handle into the hole and stretch it until it's about ¾ of an inch wide. I find it helps to use one spoon on either end and rotate them around each other. Refrigerate the tenderloins until you're ready to stuff them.

To make the stuffing, heat 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium high. When the butter is melted and the foam subsides, toss in the bacon and sauté it, stirring, until it's slightly crisped on the edges. Add the onions, reduce the heat to medium and cover the pan. Cook the mixture for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender. Remove the cover, add the diced apple and continue to cook until the apples are tender but still have some bite, about another 10 minutes. Take the mixture off the heat and salt to taste.

Meanwhile, combine the bread crumbs (a good crusty country loaf is best) with another 2 Tbsp. of butter in a large skillet and cook over medium low heat, stirring, until the crumbs are golden and crispy, about 15 minutes. Combine the crumbs with apple mixture, add a little salt if necessary, and stuff the tenderloins. Stuffing pork tenderloins is a little tricky. Just don't be shy about it. They call it stuffing for a reason.

To prep the cranberry sauce, combine the port (I think LBVs work nicely for this sauce) with the cinnamon, allspice and cloves in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then continue simmering over low heat until it's reduced to half its original volume, about 15-20 minutes. Strain the port through a fine-meshed strainer and pitch the spices.

In a clean saucepan, combine another 2 Tbsp. butter and the sliced shallot over medium heat, and sweat the shallot until it's translucent. Add the port reduction, the pork or chicken stock, cranberries and sugar and cook just until the cranberries have popped, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth, then pass the mixture through a fine-meshed strainer, discarding the solids left behind. You want as much of the liquid as possible, so you'll probably need to stir the mixture a bit as you pass it through the strainer. This sauce base can be prepped ahead of time and refrigerated overnight.

To cook the tenderloins, first preheat the oven to 400°. Before cooking, season the stuffed tenderloins with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over high heat, and when it just lets off a wisp of smoke, add the tenderloins, searing and turning until browned on all sides. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast the tenderloins until the centers read 140° on a thermometer, about eight minutes. Transfer the tenderloins to a platter to rest for 5-10 minutes, covered with tented foil to keep them warm.

To finish the cranberry sauce, warm the sauce base in a saucepan over medium low heat, and whisk in the ¼ C. butter.

To serve, slice the tenderloins and top with a little bit of the cranberry sauce and the toasted walnuts.

Farmer's Market Bounty

I finally stopped by the main Baltimore farmer's market for the first time on Sunday morning, and ho boy, is it a doozy. We'll be revisiting this subject sometime soon, but for now, a little dinner assembled from the bounty we brought home with us. Nothing fancy about the recipe, but when you have produce this good, the best thing is to just stay out of its way.

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Dominic Armato 2 pints fresh fava beans, shells on 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 2 strips bacon 2 cloves garlic 6 sea scallops salt & pepper paprika 1 Tbsp. butter 1 small shallot, minced 1 ear corn 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar ½ C. sweet miniature tomatoes 1 Tbsp. basil chiffonade 2 slices crusty bread extra virgin olive oil

Seared Scallops with Summer Vegetables and Bacon-Balsamic Vinaigrette

Serves 2

Sourcing quality ingredients is, of course, always integral to a dish's success, but there are some dishes that particularly depend on stunning produce, and this is one of them. If you don't have beautiful fresh corn, tomatoes and beans, save this one until you do. In particular, make sure you can get some really tiny, candy-sweet tomatoes. I think they're particularly key.

Once you start cooking, the dish requires your total attention and comes together very quickly, so you want to assemble your mise en place like you would for a stir-fry. Don't turn on the heat until you have everything prepped and assembled in little bowls, ready to go.

To prep the fava beans, blanch them in boiling water for 5-6 minutes until they're very slightly undercooked, then shock them in a big bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. When they're cool, shell them, save the beans and toss the shells. Slice the kernels off the ear of corn, combine them with the favas and set them aside in a prep bowl. Slice the strips of bacon the short way into thin little matchstick slices. Peel the two cloves of garlic. Slice the tomatoes in half and combine in a prep bowl with the basil chiffonade. Get your shallot minced up and put it in a small dish with the tablespoon of butter. Brush the bread with a little olive oil and grill it or toast it. I had it oiled and sitting in the toaster, ready to hit the button. Rinse the scallops and then use paper towels to pat them as dry as possible. The drier you get them, the nicer your brown crust will be when you sear them. Set them on a plate and season both sides with salt, pepper and a little paprika. Got all that? Okay. Moving on.

In a large sauté pan, combine 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil and the bacon strips over medium-high heat. When the bacon gets a little crispy, but before it turns dry, remove it from the skillet and set it aside on paper towels, leaving as much of the oil and bacon grease in the pan as possible.

Immediately toss the garlic cloves into the hot pan, and swirl them around a bit. Add the scallops to the pan and cook them, turning once, until they're nicely browned on both sides and just barely cooked in the middle, about 1½ - 2 minutes per side. Remove the scallops from the skillet, set them aside and keep them warm. Leave the garlic cloves in the pan.

If your bread is in the toaster on standby, now would be a good time to hit the button. In either case, immediately add the butter and shallot to the skillet and sauté, moving constantly, for about a minute. Add the corn and fava beans and continue to sauté for another minute or so. Add the vinegar, remove the pan from the heat, and stir up the mixture, scraping as much of the browned gunk off the bottom of the pan as possible. Mix in another tablespoon of olive oil, add the tomatoes and basil, then adjust the seasonings, adding a little salt and pepper if necessary. Remove the garlic cloves from the mixture before you plate. Or don't, if you relish the idea of a garlicky surprise. But I think it's a little much for the dish.

To plate, lay down the toasted bread and top it with three of the scallops. Take any juices that the scallops have released while they've been sitting and pour them over the top. Sprinkle the bacon crumbles over the scallops, scatter the vegetables all around, and spoon some of the pan juices over the top. Dining al fresco is optional, but c'mon... tell me that dish doesn't belong under a sunset.