We felt like seafood tonight, so we scoured the web for something fusion-ish. Came upon this recipe from Bon Apetit magazine this month.

Recipe here

Seared Sea Scallops on Sautéed Spinach with Hoisin Butter Sauce Bon Appétit | April 2009

by Molly Stevens The terms spring onions and green onions aren't synonymous, but the two vegetables are often interchangeable. Spring onions have a larger, rounder bulb end, and they’re slightly stronger in flavor. Look for them at farmers' markets and specialty foods stores. Yield: Makes 6 servings 1/4 cup hoisin sauce* 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar 1/4 teaspoon hot chili sesame oil* 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, divided 1/4 cup chopped shallot (about 1 large) 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger 4 garlic cloves, minced, divided 1 serrano chile, seeded, minced, divided 4 5-ounce bags baby spinach Coarse kosher salt 2 pounds sea scallops, side muscles removed 1 tablespoon peanut oil or vegetable oil 3/4 cup finely chopped spring onions or green onions (white and pale green parts only) 1/4 cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)* Whisk first 3 ingredients in small bowl to blend and reserve. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add shallot,1 tablespoon ginger, 2 minced garlic cloves,and half of minced chile. Sauté until shallotis soft, about 2 minutes. Increase heat tomedium-high and add 1 bag spinach. Stiruntil beginning to wilt. Add remainingspinach, 1 bag at a time, stirring betweenadditions until just wilted. Season withcoarse salt and pepper. Keep warm. Sprinkle scallops with coarse salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon butter withpeanut oil in heavy large nonstick skilletover medium-high heat. Cook scallops untilbrown on both sides and just opaque incenter, about 2 minutes per side. Transferscallops to plate; tent with foil.

pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon butter withpeanut oil in heavy large nonstick skilletover medium-high heat. Cook scallops untilbrown on both sides and just opaque incenter, about 2 minutes per side. Transferscallops to plate; tent with foil.

Add 1 tablespoon butter, spring onions,

remaining 1 teaspoon minced ginger, 2minced garlic cloves, and remaining half ofminced chile to skillet. Sauté until onionsbegin to soften, 1 to 2 minutes. Add mirinand simmer until reduced to glaze, 1 to 2minutes. Whisk in hoisin mixture. Reduceheat to medium-low. Whisk in 2 tablespoonsbutter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide spinach among plates. Top

with scallops, dividing equally. Spoonsauce over and serve.

* Available in the Asian foods section of

some supermarkets and at Asian markets.

Add 1 tablespoon butter, spring onions, remaining 1 teaspoon minced ginger, 2minced garlic cloves, and remaining half ofminced chile to skillet. Sauté until onionsbegin to soften, 1 to 2 minutes. Add mirinand simmer until reduced to glaze, 1 to 2minutes. Whisk in hoisin mixture. Reduceheat to medium-low. Whisk in 2 tablespoonsbutter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide spinach among plates. Top with scallops, dividing equally. Spoonsauce over and serve.

All-Clad!

So, since I'm starting to be more serious with cooking food, I've been salivating after some hard-core cookware. Lo and behold, I got a pair of All-Clad pieces in the last two weeks. The first is a saute pan I picked up on sale online. Even better deal though was the new CopRChef 12" fry pan I found at a local store on clearance today. Sweet!!

Ratatouille

Jenny made a special request for Ratatouille the other day, a dish we've enjoyed since watching the movie a couple years back. It was good stuff! I don't have a ring yet, so i made one with aluminum foil, and it turned out quite well!

(Recipe from epicurious.com)

yield: Makes 8 to 10 side-dish servings

active time: 50 minutes

total time: 2 hours

• 2 1/2 lb tomatoes (4 large)
• 8 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 20 fresh basil leaves, torn in half
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 lb eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 large onions (1 1/2 lb total), quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
• 3 assorted bell peppers (green, red, and/or yellow; 1 1/2 lb total), cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 medium zucchini (2 lb), quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• Garnish: Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings and fresh basil

Cut an X in bottom of each tomato with a sharp paring knife and blanch together in a 4-quart pot of boiling water 1 minute. Transfer tomatoes with a slotted spoon to a cutting board and, when cool enough to handle, peel off skin, beginning from scored end, with paring knife.

Coarsely chop tomatoes and transfer to a 5-quart heavy pot with garlic, parsley, basil, and 1/3 cup oil. Simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes break down and sauce is slightly thickened, about 30 minutes.

While sauce is simmering, toss eggplant with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large colander and let stand in sink 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook onions in 3 tablespoons oil with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer onions with a slotted spoon to a large bowl, then add 3 tablespoons oil to skillet and cook bell peppers with 1/4 teaspoon salt over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer peppers with slotted spoon to bowl with onions. Add 3 tablespoons oil to skillet and cook zucchini with 1/4 teaspoon salt over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer zucchini with slotted spoon to bowl with other vegetables.

While zucchini are cooking, pat eggplant dry with paper towels. Add remaining oil (about 1/4 cup) to skillet and cook eggplant over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 10 to12 minutes.

Add vegetables, remaining teaspoon salt, and black pepper to tomato sauce and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender, about 1 hour. Cool, uncovered, and serve warm or at room temperature.

The Sunday Stack

Having missed out on free pancakes at IHOP this week for National Pancake Day, we decided to celebrate ourselves this weekend by doing pancakes right. Jenny found the recipe below.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

While I decided to go the old-fashioned butter and maple syrup route, Jenny wanted to do a Strawberry topping, so we used this recipe from Cooks.com

3 c. fresh strawberries
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. water
1 tbsp. cornstarch

Wash and hull strawberries. Crush 1 cup slice remainder and set aside. Combine crushed berries, sugar, water and cornstarch. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Boil and stir 1 minute.

Fold in sliced berries. Yield 2 cups.

Verdict: Awesome. Much better than that store-bought mix crap, and better than IHOP too. Excellent texture, good flavor.

(Update) For lighter/healthier pancakes:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

(Update) Buttermilk version
(From Serious Eats)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for cooking
1 cup blueberries (optional)

Dinner: Individual portion rolled lasagna

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch ground nutmeg

Lasagna:

• 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for salting water
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella (about 4 ounces)

Directions

To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk the salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the bechamel sauce.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Whisk the ricotta, spinach, 1 cup Parmesan, prosciutto, egg, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.

Add a tablespoon or 2 of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water. Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

Butter a 13-by-9-by-2-inch glass baking dish. Pour the bechamel sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on a work surface, then spread about 3 tablespoons of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Starting at 1 end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching, atop the bechamelsauce in the dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture. Spoon 1 cup of marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls. Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over the lasagna rolls. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining marinara sauce in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat until hot, and serve alongside.

Verdict: A winner. The proscuitto ricotta spinach mixture is incredible. Perfect amount of flavor.

Dinner: Salmon in Lemon Brodetto with Pea Puree

From Giada DeLaurentis

Salmon in Lemon Brodetto with Pea Puree

Ingredients

Lemon Brodetto:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 shallot, diced
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 lemon, zested
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves

Pea Puree:

• 2 cups frozen peas, thawed (about 10 ounces)
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Salmon:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 (4 to 6-ounce) pieces salmon
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

To make the Lemon Brodetto, warm the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until tender, about 7 minutes. Add the lemon juice, zest, and broth. Bring to a simmer, and keep warm, covered, over low heat.

To make the Pea Puree, combine the peas, mint, garlic, salt, and pepper in a food processor and puree. With the machine running, add the olive oil in a steady drizzle. Transfer the pea puree to a small bowl and stir in the Parmesan. Set aside.

To make the Salmon, warm the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Season the salmon pieces with salt and pepper. Sear the salmon until a golden crust forms, about 4 to 5 minutes on the first side. Flip the fish and continue cooking until medium-rare, about 2 minutes more depending on the thickness of the fish.

To assemble the dish, add the tablespoon chopped mint to the Lemon Brodetto and divide between 4 shallow dishes. Place a large spoonful of Pea Puree into the center of each bowl. Place a salmon piece atop each mound of Pea Puree. Serve immediately.

Verdict: Excellent. Light, very flavorful. Enjoyed with a spinach, pear, and gorgonzola salad with balsamic and olive oil vinagrette.