February 9, 2020 Brunch – Potato, Smoked Pork cutlet, and onion omelet, Lunch – Lamb and Guacamole Pita Sandwich. Dinner – Scallops Provençal with Cauliflower and broccoli Couscous and Tomatoes Provençal

February 9, 2020 Brunch – Potato, Smoked Pork cutlet, and onion omelet, Lunch – Lamb and Guacamole Pita Sandwich. Dinner – Scallops Provençal with Cauliflower and broccoli Couscous and Tomatoes Provençal

We are going on vacation for one week starting on Wednesday, so tonight we used several of the vegetables, namely broccoli, eggplant, tomatoes, and cauliflower.  We cooked three dishes, Scallops Provençal, Julia Child recipe, cauliflower and broccoli Couscous, and tomatoes Provençal, one of my Mother’s recipes.

Suzette made the Couscous quickly.  She pulverized broccoli and cauliflower flowerets in the cuisinart and then sauteeed the Couscous in a shriller with butter and olive oil.

The second dish we prepared was one created by my mother, a slice of eggplant brushed with olive oil covered with a slice of tomato and then bread crumbs and a bit more olive oil.  She then baked the dish in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes at 359 degrees.

The third dish was from Juila Child’s  Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Here is a picture of the recipe.

I minced ½ cup of yellow onion, 1 T. of garlic 2 T. of shallots.  I then sliced the scallops in half horizontally and cut bite sized pieces of salmon from a tail section.

Suzette took over.  I put the onion in a large skillet with two T. of butter.  Suzette cooked the onion until it became translucent now about five minutes.  She then added the shallots and garlic.

Then she coated the scallops and salmon with flour, salt, and pepper and then sautéed them in a skillet with 2 T. of butter and 1 T. of olive oil.  She then added ½ cup of dry white wine plus 3 T. of water plus a bay leaf and  1/ tsp.of ground thyme.

The combination of liquid with the flour and fat on the scallops created a sauce.  This is the easiest sauce you can make because it makes the sauce for you.

She added the sautéed onions, shallots, and garlic and sautéed it for a minute.

I opened the bottle of Touch Cotes du Gascogne white wine (Trader Joe’s $5.99). It had a little more acidity than most white wines.  Suzette thought it was perfect with the cattiness and richness of the scallops dish.

After dinner we ate a couple of chocolates with glasses of cognac.

For brunch we made an omelet with a diced smoked pork cutlet, three eggs, a diced microwaved potato, 1/3 cup of of Swiss Gruyere and 3 oz. of onion.

At 3:30 I heated a pita bread on an open gas flame, cut it in half, smeared guacamole in both sides and put three slices of thinly sliced roasted lamb.  Suzette returned at 3:45 and I helped her load the hammock frame into the Prius and then rode to Campbell Rd. and back.

We started dinner at 6:00.  See above.

Bon Appetit