So my friend Molly sends me an e-mail:"See you tonight at Meriwethers!" I stare at the computer, shocked. What? It's not that I hadn't remembered, I simply have no memory at all of making dinner plans with her. I scare myself. However, anyone would drop everything to have dinner with Molly, you would, too, so of course I jump at the chance. "See you there!" Actually, I had nothing to drop, wasn't doing anything, no plans, so kind of a win-win, except for the big blank space in my head.
Turns out the mistake was on Molly's calendar, not in my brain. Whew. We laugh, have a good dinner in the outdoor garden in the gentle evening air, lots of flowers in bloom, twinkly lights everywhere. Perfect. As was the scallop salad, which got me thinking about the following recipe.
It's been a workhorse for me, and although it seems a little daunting, you can put the ingredients together the day before a party, if that's how you're planning to use this.
Small digression here: my first thought was to pass along a recipe for scallops which was the first Julia Child recipe I ever attempted, "Coquille St. Jacques a al Parisienne." It's truly wonderful, shows up in the first volume of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I dragged the stepladder out of the closet and into the kitchen so I could reach Julia, who lives on the top shelf (for no very good reason), and found the page. But I would change nothing, so it seemed more sensible to simply point you to the recipe than copy it here. I don't know if you can find it on line, but you really should have the book, anyway.
Instead, this morning, here is "Paella Salad," as interpreted after many iterations. This recipe comes from another favorite book, the Nantucket Open-House Cookbook, which I must have come across while visiting Jenny on the magical island that summer. This cookbook is fat with recipes I like and is unusual in that I haven't simply parked on one or two recipes, but keep turning the pages for new treasures.
I've cut the formula in half for you, but even so you will end up with a party-sized amount. If this is just for 6 or 8 people, you can pare it down further (although it's darn good the next day as well, if you like left-overs)
1 quart chicken stock
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. saffron threads
1/2 tsp. fennel seds
1/2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
3 TBS olive oil
1/2 large red onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
1 whole boneless, skinless, chicken breast, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled, deveined, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 to 1 1/2 pounds fresh dry scallops
1 TBS each butter and oil
1/2 pound hot Italian sausage
3 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 bunch green onions, sliced
1 red pepper, seeded, small dice
1 yellow pepper, seeded, small dice
1/2 cup pitted black olives, sliced
2 cans marinated artichoke hearts, sliced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 to 2 cups mayonaise
salt and pepper to taste
1. Heat oil in large skillet. Stir in onion and garlic, cook, stirring 5 minutes. Add rice and stir to coat with oil. Cook 2 minutes longer. Stir in chicken stock. Simmer, covered, until liquid has been absorbed (approx. 35-40 minutes). (At this point you can put rice into large bowl, cover and refrigerate over night. )
2. Chop the vegetables and add to rice mixture
3. Saute sausage meat in skillet until cooked through, add to rice mix. In the same skillet, add oil if necessary, and saute chicken pieces until cooked through. Add to mix. In same skillet, saute shrimp until done, add to mix. The flavors of all these meats will blend if you don't wipe out the skillet between one meat and another.
4. Now clean skillet, return to burner and allow to get very hot. Add butter and oil and then scallops. Allow to sear on one side, then turn and sear other side until cooked through. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces and add to mix.
5. Add all vegetables and olives to mix and toss well. Combine lemon juice and mayonnaise and pour over salad, tossing and mixing well. Season to taste. And that's it.
I like to cook all the meats and chop the veggies and keep everything in the refrig overnight. Several hours before serving, set everything out to bring to room temperature, then combine everything and add the dressing. Kind of a lot of prep, and this way, you can get the kitchen clean, go pick up the kids from school, take one of them to soccer, get pizza for dinner and have a great dish ready for the party the next night.
And don't forget to put Julia Child's volume on your letter to Santa, if you don't have it already!
No comments:
Post a Comment