Pasta with Scallops and Fresh Garden Vegetables

I love to hunt for interesting pastas from TJ MAXX stores - Marshall's, Maxs and Home Goods. They are a bargain compared to the gourmet prices on imported Italian pastas. 

Tonight we had Barilotti with scallops and fresh vegetables. I searched our frig and garden and came up with a 23-ingredient dish! It was easy to cook, despite all those ingredients. (WHAT IS BARILOTTI? It's a hearty pasta made of semolina flour and water. Shaped like an empty pea pod, it's a perfect form for cradling sauce, according to Ciao Ciao Bambina.)

Ingredients: Sea scallops, pasta, Manchego cheese, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, celery salt, olive oil, butter, bacon, spinach, basil, chives, shallots, roasted garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, shishito peppers, olives, cream, white wine, egg,

First, I cooked and drained about 8 oz. of the Barilotti pasta. Interestingly, I couldn't find Barilotti in my pasta encyclopedia. The $6.00 bag cost me $3.99 at Home Goods. It's a pasta that creates a nice pocket for a rich creamy pasta sauce. I cooked it just past al dente so as not to have any crunchiness. I drained it and set it aside. 

I gathered olive oil, butter, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, butter, heavy cream, white wine, 1/4 c. sliced olives,  and one egg. Grated some Manchego cheese (or Parmesan or other hard cheeses.)

While I was cooking the pasta, I chopped my veggies:

• 1 ripe tomato, diced
• 10 stems of fresh chives, sliced 1/8 
• 10 sprigs of Globe Basil (less of sweet basil leaves)
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1 T. roasted garlic
• 2 shishito peppers or mixture of bell peppers to make 1/2 cup thinly sliced
• 1/2 yellow and 1/2 zucchini squash, sliced vertically and sliced into1/4 in. slices

I tossed the zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, shallot and garlic with olive oil and 1/4 tsp. celery salt, salt and pepper and roast in 400 degree oven about 10 min. until roasted (not crisp, but not too soft.)

In a hot skillet, I cooked 4 slices bacon diced.  When cooked, I tossed the pasta in the bacon and remove it to to another pot to stay warm. I added a few large handfuls of fresh spinach leaves and olives. Covered to keep warm.

In the empty skillet, I added a T butter to the bacon grease left in the pan and placed about 20 washed and dried sea scallops, seasoned with salt and pepper. Quickly sauteed so they were seared. 

I added 1/4 c. white wine and cooked for a scant minute. Removed scallops to the pot with pasta and bacon and spinach. Added 1 Tsp. red pepper flakes to the pot. Covered again to keep warm and wilt the spinach. 

To the white wine and scallop liquid, I added 2 T. butter and 1/4 c. heavy cream. Cooked about 1 minute and added diced tomato and basil leaves. Slowly whisked in 1 egg, whipped with a fork. Turned off heat. This was nice and creamy. Added in the roasted vegetables. Stirred.

Poured this mixture over the pasta/spinach/bacon/scallops in the pot. Mixed quickly. Plated and garnished with cheese and chives and some basil leaves. 

Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake

I needed a quick cake for dessert a few Friday nights ago and found this one on the Dance Around the Kitchen blog. I adapted it somewhat because I didn't have lemon pudding. Well, I did, but didn't see it in the pantry!

It was delicious and moist (as all cake mix Bundts are).

Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare your Bundt pan, making sure you get the spray into every nook and cranny. 

Cake ingredients:

1 box lemon cake mix (I used one with pudding in the mix)

1 3.4 oz box instant lemon pudding mix (I added some powdered lemon juice instead and used vanilla pudding)

1 c sour cream

1/2 c vegetable oil

1/2 c butter melted

4 eggs

1/2 c water (you could add Limoncello!)

In a large bowl (or stand mixer), beat together the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, oil, melted butter, eggs and water. Mix for 1 minute on medium speed, stopping halfway through to scrape down the sides of the bowl; set aside.

1 c fresh  blueberries and 1 tbsp flour. In a small bowl, add the blueberries and sprinkle the flour over them. Gently stir to coat the blueberries.

Pour the blueberries into the cake batter and gently fold them in. You might want to pour some right into the Bundt pan so that you have some on the top of the cake. 

Pour the batter into a well-greased bundt pan.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. (A few moist crumbs are okay, but it shouldn't be doughy).

Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan onto a cooling rack.

Glaze

Mix 1 1/2 c powdered sugar and 2-3 tbsp lemon juice (I used lemon paste because I LOVE lemon.) Dizzle on cake when it is cool. 

If you want to make it spectacular, top with candied lemon peel.

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Spicy, Sweet Peach Barbecue Sauce

 

Gerry found a recipe for Blackberry Barbecue Sauce and I knew that some ripe peaches would make another great sauce for chicken or pork ribs. You’ll want ripe, sweet peaches. I used several online recipes for inspiration. 

5 large peaches, peeled and quartered

1 large sweet onion, cut into large thick slices

1T roasted garlic (optional)

½ c. white wine or cooking wine

1 habanero pepper, diced

1 t. mustard seeds

Salt and pepper

Cook the onion in a deep saucepan until softened and add the peaches and pepper and salt and pepper

Cook on low heat about ½ hour until softened to use an immersion blender to blend into a fine-to chunky sauce.  I take a long piece of aluminum foil and fold it in thirds and cut a hole in the center to fit the immersion blender. This stops hot droplets of liquid.

Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until it is a reduced, rich sauce (20 min. to 1 hour). Taste for salt and pepper.

¾ c. brown sugar

¼ c. honey

1 T. Worcestershire Sauce

2 t. ground coriander

2 t. smoked paprika

½ c. Peach balsamic vinegar

½ c. Balsamic vinegar (add a few T. Fig or Pear-induced balsamic)

¼ c. Bourbon

Few dashes Liquid Smoke

Star Anise Ice Cream

I made the Star Anise Ice Cream using the base from Jeni's ice cream cookbook. I love star anise and add it to anything Indian, including all rices as they are cooking.

I added the star anise to the cooked custard as it cooked. Next time, I will definitely add it to the custard as it is cooking and then strain to remove. I will also add a tsp. of 5 Spice powder (Chinese Five-Spice is traditionally cinnamon, anise, cloves, anise seed, ginger and fennel seed) to the custard as it cools.

I sprinkled the ice cream scoops with Five-Spice/Sugar and topped with a star anise.

Grilled Chicken Thighs with Blackberry Barbecue Sauce

Gerry found a recipe on the Food Network. This is slightly adapted from one by MICHAEL SYMON.

In a small bowl, combine 1 T. coriander, 1 T. paprika and 1 T. salt. Pat 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs dry with paper towels, season on both sides with the spice mixture and place in a gallon-size zip-top bag. Refrigerate for several hours but preferably overnight.

Brush the chicken thighs with olive oil and grill, basting with the sauce.

Blackberry Barbecue Sauce

3 pints fresh blackberries

12 oz. dark beer

1/2 c. peach balsamic vinegar

1/2 c. Moderna balsamic vinegar

1 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 c packed light brown sugar

1 onion, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced (or 1 T. roasted garlic)

1 habanero pepper, seeded and diced

1T. ground chipotle chile powder

1T. finely ground coffee

1T. ground coriander

1 T. ground cumin

In a large saucepan, combine the blackberries, beer, vinegars, sugar, onion, garlic, habanero, chipotle powder, coffee, coriander and cumin. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours. Carefully puree the sauce in a blender or food processor, then strain or not (seeds are not obnoxious.)

Store extra sauce for the future.