Sunday, September 2, 2007

Fancy lunch



If you ask some Brits if they like Jamie Oliver, they'll probably tell you that he's a twat. Pay no attention to what they say... they only say it cuz they're jealous! ;)

So today was just another ordinary Sunday where I wake up at about 9am, make myself a cup of Breakfast Blend Starbucks coffee, sit on the settee, watch Lou clean and watch HGTV or FoodTV. I watched a couple of my favs - Design Inc and Sarah's House. Then I got bored and hungry so I switched it to FoodTV. I don't normally watch "Tyler's Ultimate" (Tyler Florence) but he was making Chicken Parmesan with Pasta and home made Caesar Salad Dressing. Then I watched "Jamie At Home" :o) I LOVE THIS SHOW!! I hope one day I can have my own little organic garden as long as it's bug free!! Yeah right... that's wishful thinking isn't it? After about an hour of watching tantilizing dishes, I was inspired to cook up a feast! Well, not a big feast but a perfect light delicious late lunch.

We headed off to the shop to get some ingredients and when we came back, I had the menu all set - Seared Bacon Wrapped Rosemary Scallops, Mushrooms with Mozzarella & Thyme, and a Caesar Salad on the side. The scallop recipe and the mushroom recipe were courtesy of Jamie Oliver and the Caesar dressing was Tyler's own recipe.
I have to say, the $10.00 scallops were worth every penny. (Yes.. I paid $10.00 for 4 large scallops. That's my expensive craving for the week). I've never made scallops before so this was quite exciting stuff for me.

After I plated everything and took my first bite of everything, I have to say that the mushrooms were not as desirable as I thought they were. But I think that's because I took too long taking a damn picture of it that the cheese started to harden. Note to self "eat the mushrooms as soon as they come out of the oven and then take a picture of the last one". The caesar salad was as expected... just another caesar salad but I'm glad I actually tried making my own dressing things time. Tyler's recipe calls for the juice of 1 whole lemon which I found to be too much so next time, I'll only use 1/2 a lemon. And last but not least... MY EXPENSIVE SCALLOPS!! They were simply deeeeeeelish! The flavours of bacon, rosemary, and scallops in my mouth were endless. None of them overpowered the other. It was perfect.

Seared Scallops with Bacon and Rosemary - Jamie Oliver - Jamie at Home
- 4 large scallops
- 4 peices of bacon (Canadian/American bacon is thin and long. UK bacon won't work)
- 4 rosemary sprigs
- extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt & pepper

Take the rosemary sprigs and take off 3/4's of the rosemary leaves off the sprigs so you're left with a sprig that looks like a tiny tree.
Wrap each scallop with a piece of bacon and pearce the wrapped scallop using the rosemary sprigs so that it holds it all together.
In a pan with hot olive oil, place the scallops and sear both sides until the bacon begins to crisp.

Mushrooms with Mozzarella & Thyme
- cremini mushrooms caps
- small bocconcini mozzarella balls
- fresh thyme
- salt & pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 380 degrees farenheit on broil.
In a oven proof pan, place the cremini mushroom caps top side down and tear the mozzarella balls apart and place as much as you want on top of each mushroom cap. Add a little salt and pepper to the mushrooms.
Broil for approx 8 mins or until the cheese has melted to your liking.

5 comments:

Michèle said...

Michelle, first off I am extremely jealous of your Sunday. What I would give for a little HGTV and Food TV! The scallops look great (and so simple-love that). I had to laugh at what you said about the mushrooms. That can sometimes be the pain in the ass part of blogging about what you cook, especially for your other half who might be sitting there waiting to eat while you are busy trying to get a good picture. How we suffer for our art though, right? ;)

Anonymous said...

Why have we never been invited to sample your fine cooking? I'm inviting you and Lou to come to our place and cook for us. ha ha ha

Anonymous said...

Oppsy ... I forgot to mention that it was your "Ate" that invited you and Lou to cook for us. But you'll have to think of a more "simple" recipe for the kids. Perhaps your fantastic langonisa would do. I'll make sure to cook rice. =)

Anonymous said...

I watched that exact same episode of Jamie Oliver at home, and your scallops look just as delish as his...actually, maybe even better. I'm hungry.

Unknown said...

mmm...damn girl, now i'm hungry for scallops!

i'll be waiting for your lumpia recipe! :)