Grilled Scallops with Basil Stuffing

This is one of my newly found favorite seafood recipes. I made this for iheartcookingclubs and I picked this Mark Bittman's recipe for this week's "Herb Garden" theme. We have been cooking with Mark Bittman for sometime now but I havn't had a chance to participate till now. This recipe is so delicious, quick, and easy. I wanted to find larger scallops but these worked out just fine for me. The sweetness of the scallops and the tasty herb stuffing goes so well together and I will be making this again and again. Here is the recipe:

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds or more large sea scallops

Mince the basil, garlic, salt and pepper together until very fine, almost a puree (you can do this in a food processor, but it really won't save you time or effort). Mix in a small bowl or cup with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.

Make a deep horizontal slit in the side of each of the scallops, but don't cut all the way through. Fill each scallop with about ? teaspoon of the basil mixture; close. Pour the remaining oil onto a plate or pan and turn the scallops in it. Let sit while you preheat a gas grill or start a charcoal fire; it should be very hot before grilling, with the rack about 4 inches from the heat source.

Place the scallops on the grill (don't pour the remaining oil over them, as it will catch fire), and grill 2 to 3 minutes per side, no more. Serve immediately, with lemon wedges.


The basil stuffing.













Stuffed scallops.
















I did mine in a cast iron skillet on the stove instead of grilling to save time.










Browned and ready to eat scallops.














Delious!!! I was thinking how wonderful this would be if paired with the right wine.....

Coconut Macaroons....Tea Time Trouble

This weeks theme for iheartcookingclubs is Tea Time and I decided to make coconut macaroons. Sounds fun, right? That's what I thought too but I didn't have fun while I was making these. I did have some fun afterwards talking and laughing about how I messed these up. I have made these once before and I remember they came out well and it was not hard to make. However this time was a bit different because I had some”OOPs and OMG moments”. I was upstairs using my computer to Google a Nigela Lawson recipe for this week since I don’t own any of her cook books. I decided to write down all the ingredients that I was supposed to use for the macaroons on a piece of paper and came downstairs to make them. I mixed all the ingredients in a glass bowl and scooped 13 scoopes onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet and put them in the oven. I do not like the number 13. It’s unlucky for me. I decided to check on them after about 15 min. They were all flat and connected in one sheet. OMG..I thought to myself and had to come up with a rescue plan quirkily. I scrapped my macaroon mixture with a spoon and fill up some mini muffin liners and bake them in a mini muffin pan for the rest of the baking time. They were edible… probably not half as good as they were supposed to be but at least I didn’t have to throw them away. I hate throwing food away. I will use this recipe and make these again but next time I’ll follow directions and beat the egg whites. That was my problem. I didn’t beat the egg whites like I was supposed to they didn’t hold their shape. OOPs! Anyway, here is the perfectly good Nigela's recipe from sarahmeyerwalsh's blog which will give you some yummy macaroons if you follow the directions.

Coconut Macaroons
makes 16 large macaroons

2 large egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp ground almonds (I used flour instead)
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup shredded coconut


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat the egg whites until foamy, but not any more than that. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks are formed. Add the sugar one teaspoon at a time until all the sugar is incorporated and the peaks are stiff and shiny. Fold in the almonds, salt, vanilla and coconut. The mixture will be sticky and hold it shape when clumped into a ball.

Form into the appropriate macaroon-sized balls (I like them to be about 2″ in diameter). It is best if they are heaping before going in the oven and they will spread just a bit while baking. Cook for 20 minutes or until they turn the slightest golden color and then quickly remove them from the oven. Be careful not to over-bake them.

Thai Tom Yum Shrimp.....Hot and Sour Soup

This week's theme for iheatcookingclubs is Sustaining Soups and Stews. Having failed to participate the last two weeks in a row was making me feel guilty and so I made sure I participate this week and cooked up this delicious soup. Our featured chef Nigella Lawson calls this soup Hot and Sour Soup and it is hot and sour. This is a very popular Thai soup also called "Tom Yum" in Thai language. I am already very familiar with this soup since I lived in Thailand. I did look at Nigella Lawson's recipe but added a few things such as the galangal root (aka Blue Ginger, picture shown above left) and culantro leaves. Here is her recipe from food network.


Ingredients
6 1/2 cups chicken stock (I made shrimp stock and used that instead)
1 heaping tablespoon tom yam hot and sour paste
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped, optional (or use lime zest if it's easier)
1 stalk lemongrass, bottom, inner part only, roughly chopped
1 lime, juiced
4 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
2 to 3 small jalapenos or fresh red or green chilies, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons, straw or button mushrooms, halved or quartered
1 pound (2-ounce) peeled, raw shrimp
5 (1-inch) pieces small scallions, sliced thin
1 bunch cilantro, leaves chopped

Directions
In a medium saucepan, heat chicken stock, tom yam paste, lime leaves, lemon grass, lime juice, fish sauce, chilies, and sugar. Once it has come to a boil, add mushrooms and simmer for 2 minutes. Add shrimp and scallions and cook for 2 to 3 minutes allowing the shrimp to cook but still be tender. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve immediately. Place extra cilantro on the table for people to add more.



Tom yum paste can be found easily in any Asian grocery store or online. Also, can be made from scratch but I'll save that for another post. :)
Shrimp is often used but chicken, fish or mixed seafood is also delicious!
Making shrimp stock using the shrimp shells/ and or heads is easy. Just boil with some water and salt.
Herbs are very important to get the wonderful flavour of this soup. Culantro is also a good herb to add besides cilantro, green onions, and lime leaves. I remember having to go cut lemongrass and pick some lime leaves for my mom from our yard when she made this back home.
I used babybella mushrooms today but the best is fresh straw mushrooms which I cannot get easily here. The second choice is oyster mushrooms. Mix different mushrooms for more flavor and fun!
Serve this with Jasmine rice and other Asian dishes or as an appetizer before main course. Also can make it in a big hotpot family style!!

Butter Scotch Fondue

OMG! This is super super easy but soooo yummy. I'm gonna make this again soon. I made this because this week's theme for iheartcookingclubs is A little Romance. Fondue is romantic ...I think it is. My family loved it. If you ever wanna try making this, the recipe is here. It's kind of like caramel but just taste better and smell yummier to me. There aren't very many deserts that are this good and this quick to prepare!

Chocolate Croissants

I joined the wonderful iheartcookingclubs. It is so much fun and they are friendly. They have a theme each week and they pick one chef and cook his/her recipes for 6 months. Members are free to pick the featured chefs recipes according to the theme. This weeks theme is Budgets and bargains and we are cooking with Niegella Lawson. So, I made something under $5.00 for breakfast. I got the recipe from here.
It was easy and good.