October 18, 2012 Dinner – Sautèed Herbed Scallops and Squash on a bed of couscous and Baked Quince and Pears

October 18, 2012 Dinner – Sautèed Herbed Scallops and Squash on a bed of couscous and Baked Quince and Pears

I ate sashimi at Azuma yesterday for lunch so I must be on a fresh fish jag and so when I had an idea for a meal of sautéed scallops in the morning, I took a 1 lb. package of scallops out of the freezer.  I knew we had a piece of PPI roasted large French squash with a bright orange flesh in the fridge that needed to be used.  I had a bottle of Merry Edwards 2010 Sauvignon Blanc that my client Aaron Lohmann had given me that I wanted to try so I put a bottle in the fridge to chill around noon and then went to La Salita with Mike Verhagen for lunch.  I tried La Salita's posole and liked it very much with a rich broth flavored with a generous amount of cumin.  On the way home I stopped and picked up some Genoa salami for Willy and a 1 lb. package of veal stew meat at Alpine Sausage Kitchen on Indian School Rd.      

It was a sunny warm day so I rode ten miles at 4:30 p.m. and then showered.  Max Argon came over around 6:00 p.m. and after we fetched beers from the basement, we toured the garden and I filled a basket with three or four sprigs each of lovage, thyme and garlic greens and about 1 lb. of kale leaves.

We then went inside and talked while I minced the herbs and put them in a bowl .  Then I stripped the stems from the kale and sectioned it into bite sized pieces.  I then took the 2 lb. piece of roasted squash from the fridge and cut the rind off of it and diced it into ½ to 1 inch pieces and minced about 1 Tbsp. more garlic greens and tossed them onto the diced squash.   Finally, I diced about ½ cup of brown onion.

Suzette arrived at around 6:30 p.m. and had a drink and watched T.V. for a few minutes and then we talked about dinner.  When I showed her the ingredients she suggested that sauté everything and make a one dish dinner and use the PPI couscous and kale from last night also.  This sounded great and fast and Willy had come home from soccer practice and was hungry.  So Suzette put two large skillets on the stove and put 2 ½ Tbsp. of butter in one of them and 1 Tbsp. of olive oil in the other and fetched the container of PPI couscous, cherry tomato and kale from the fridge.

When the butter and olive oil were heated, Suzette added the minced onion to the olive oil and cooked it for about a minute then added the cubed squash and then the kale to one large skillet and covered them with a wok lid to cook and steam.  In the other skillet with the hot butter she then added the scallops and their salty juices and sautéed them for several minutes and then added 1/3 cup of white wine and the minced herbs and a generous squeeze of lemon juice, while I heated the PPI couscous in the microwave.

In about ten minutes all of the dishes were ready and Suzette plated up four plates with the heated couscous on the bottom, then a layer of the sautéed squash and kale and finally a generous spoonful of 4 or five herbed scallops while I opened the bottle of Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc and Willy a lemon into four wedges and I garnished each plate with a small yellow cherry tomato and a lemon wedge.  We turned off the TV and ate a lovely light dinner with a fabulous glass of wine.   My recollection is that the 2010 Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc was selected as the best new wine of the year several years ago by Wine Spectator.   It was around $11.00 two years ago and now it is around $33.00 at Costco in Albuquerque.  I guess what I would say is that if you want the most balanced bottle of Sauvignon Blanc you have ever tasted, you should try it.  It has a balanced combination of lemony flavor with a slight oakiness and a lot of fruit flavor on the front.  I think it is rated as the best American Sauvignon Blanc, so well worth a try.

After dinner Suzette went back into the kitchen and filled parfait glasses with a large spoonful of the candied quince and pears we made Tuesday evening and a dollop of Alto crema sin sal (Pro’s Ranch Market).  We ate and crumbled a few Swedish Anna's Almond cookies (Lowe's $2.19) into the parfait glasses, that improved the flavor of the dessert and reduced the sweetness of the fruit. 

Suzette then turned the conversation to eating healthy and said that to maintain good health it is suggested that we eat at least 6 portions of fruits and vegetables each day and that a portion is really quite small; probably no more than two ounces.  We discussed this concept and agreed that the dinner contained at least 6 portions of fruits and vegetables.  I thought the dinner was incredibly light and delicious; fresh seafood, organic vegetables and herbs from the garden and a great glass of wine.  What could be better or easier or quicker to make?

I awoke at 4:30 a.m. not because my stomach was churning but because Suzette got up for a minute.  I feel great.  As Suzette says, "Good food puts you in a good mood!" 

Bon Appètit