Pan-Seared Scallops on Linguine with Tomato-Cream Sauce

Pan-Seared Scallops on Linguine with Tomato-Cream Sauce

From Cooking Light

Serves 2

1 C dry white wine
1/4 C minced shallots
2 T fresh lime juice
1 T grated peeled fresh ginger
2 T whipping cream
1 T butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 C chopped seeded plum tomato
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 t salt
1/8 t black pepper
1 1/2 C hot cooked linguine
Cooking spray
3/4 pound large sea scallops
1/8 t salt
Chopped cilantro

Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium skillet, bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 C (about 5 minutes). Drain mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, reserving liquid; discard solids

Return wine mixture to skillet. Add cream; cook over medium heat 1 minute. Add butter, stirring until butter melts. Stir in tomato, 2 tablespoons cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Add linguine; toss well. Cover and keep warm.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Arrange scallops in pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Add scallops to pasta mixture; toss gently to combine. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.

**Notes from Em**
To get a good sear on scallops make sure you pat them dry. Once you think they're dry, pat them again. Seriously. They hold a lot of water and if you don't get it out, they will boil/steam rather than sear.

The sauce is really pretty runny. I added an extra 1-2 tablespoons of cream to help thicken it up.

If you don't like scallops, this recipe is fantastic on salmon, shrimp, tilapia etc.

Harvard Beets

Growing up my mom would make pork roast, parmesan potatoes, and Harvard beets fairly often for Sunday dinner. I was too afraid to try the beets because I was a picky child and beets were a scary vegetable. I've since come to appreciate how yummy they can be.

From Jean Patterson
Serves 4-6

1/2 C sugar
1 T corn starch
1/4 C white vinegar
1/4 C beet juice from can (add water to get full amount if needed)
1 can of beets (sliced or diced)

In a small sauce pan combine sugar and cornstarch, mix until well combined. Slowly add vinegar and beet juice/water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thickened. Add beets and return to a boil.

Steak, Sweet Potatoes, and Wild Rice Pilaf

My husbands birthday was yesterday, and as I expected he requested to have steak for dinner. He would be content with eating just a steak, but my stomach needs something more than just meat. So here's the meal that I put together for us, and his parents.

Ribeye Steak
White and Wild Rice Pilaf
Spinach Salad
Baked Sweet Potato
Chocolate Satin Pie

For the sweet potato bake at 450 F for 45. When they're done, slice it open lengthwise and top it with a little butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

Spinach & Mushroom Calzones

Spinach & Mushroom Calzones

Makes 4 Calzones

1 (10-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups spinach leaves
1/4 C red onion, diced
1 package cremini mushrooms
1/4 C ricotta cheese
1 small can of beets, diced
Fresh basil, thinly sliced
1/4 C Zesty Italian Dressing

Unroll dough onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; using a pizza cutter, cut into 4 quarters. Sprinkle garlic, onion and beets evenly over dough rectangles. Drop a few small dollops of Ricotta cheese on top of the onions, garlic, and beets. Top with mushrooms, spinach, and basil. Bring 2 opposite corner to center, pinching points to seal. Bring remaining 2 corners to center pinching all points together to seal. Bake at 425F for 12 minutes or until golden. Drizzle with Italian dressing and serve warm.

**Notes from Em**
This is something that I'm sort of developing on my own, after being inspired by a couple of other recipes. It's kind of a work in progress. We didn't LOVE it as the recipe above is done, but it definitely has potential. You might want to put a creamy marinara or something with it. If I do it again I'll re-post it with its modifications.

One of those

I KNOW! I haven't posted anything in a while, but I promise there are some really tasty recipe's coming up, I just need to try them myself before I tell you that they're fantastically awesome. It's just been one of those weeks...or couple of weeks. Ya know? I'm not going to complain, but I am going to blame my lack of cooking lately on my body suddenly feeling VERY pregnant. But here's a sneak peek of the recipe's that are coming up soon.

* Baked Lemon Pudding
* Spinach and Mushroom Calzones
* Harvard Beets
* Pan-Seared Scallops on Linguine
* Baked French Toast Casserole

Homemade Oreo Cookies

From Rochelle Fee
Makes about 20 finished cookies

1 box German chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
3/4 C butter, cut into small pieces
1 container cream cheese frosting

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Place dry cake mix into a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry cutter, combine butter with cake mix. Add eggs one at a time and mix well.

Once combined, roll dough into 1 inch balls and lace on a baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are firm and look dry. Remove baking sheet and allow to cool for 3 minutes. Transfer cookies to cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Frost one half of the cookies, then top with an unfrosted cookie.

Hollandaise Sauce

Somehow, growing up, this sauce became MY sauce. Whenever we needed it for dinner, I was always assigned to make it. It comes from an ancient copy of Fannie Farmer's cook book. I don't think this particular book has a cover anymore, it's got all sorts of stains on it, and it's been well loved for a very long time.

Hollandaise Sauce

Makes 8 servings

3 egg yolks
2 T lemon juice
1/2 C butter, melted
2 T hot water
1/4 t salt
Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

Place a small sauce pan on low heat or over a double boiler. Add egg yolks and beat until smooth but not fluffy. Add remaining ingredients. Stir constantly until sauce begins to thicken. Sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.

**Notes from Em**
If your sauce "breaks" (gets clumpy and curdled looking), add hot water 1/2 T at a time and whisk until it becomes smooth again.