The weather has been really beautiful, sunny and warm in the Bay Area the past couple of days and so I wanted to make a dish that was light, but full of robust flavors. So I decided to make Pan-Seared Sea Scallops, served on a bed of Blue Lake and Yellow Wax Beans, Herb-Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Toy-Box Tomatoes, dressed in a Charred-Tomato, Basil and Applewood Smoked Bacon Vinaigrette. Potatoes, Tomatoes and Bacon are a perfect match for the sweet scallops and the beans provide great color and a nice crisp texture.

To make the vinaigrette, small dice applewood smoked bacon and cook slowly rendering fat until bacon is crispy. Pour off some of the fat and reserve for later use. Then deglaze the pan with Pale Dry Sherry and a good quality Aged Sherry Vinegar. Reduce almost to a syrup and pour bacon and syrup into a bowl. Add salt, pepper, a small amount of sugar, and minced basil, stir and set aside. Meanwhile, take the same pan that you cooked the bacon in and add the reserved bacon fat. Heat the pan until it’s hot and then add sliced cherry tomatoes and cook for about two minutes until tomatoes are charred but still hold their shape. Add tomatoes to the bacon mixture, along with additional Sherry Vinegar. Stir in canola oil (don’t whisk—you don’t want to break up the tomatoes) into the mixture until you have a nice consistency. Taste and add additional salt, vinegar or oil, if necessary. Serve vinaigrette at room temperature.

Enjoy!

We were really busy at the restaurant today and so I didn’t have time to create a new special so I used the Lemon Grass-Coconut Risotto Cakes and Curry Sauce that I made for yesterday’s special. I made a couple of changes to the dish and it came out really flavorful and beautiful.

Instead of using Sea Bass, I used Sea Scallops, and for the green leafy component, I substituted sauteed Tatsoi, which is a small dark-green spoon-shaped leaf that has a mild mustard flavor. In addition, I added Kumquat Preserves, which are Kumquats that have been seeded and diced and cooked with white wine, orange juice, honey, and salt and pepper, until they are caramelized, sweet and have a thick syrup consistency. They add a nice balance to the spicy curry sauce and they are so good that you can eat them like candy!

Here’s an easy and delicious entree—Sauteed Shrimp with Mediterranean Orzo Pasta with Citrus Cream Sauce. The shrimp can either be sauteed or grilled and the orzo pasta provides a creamy bed with robust Mediterranean flavors.

To start, pre-heat oven to 450 degrees to roast the vegetables. On a sheet pan, slice roma tomatoes in half and toss in olive oil, salt and pepper. On another sheet pan rub red peppers with olive oil salt and pepper. Place both in the oven and roast until slightly charred. When you remove the peppers, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for about 15 minutes so that the skins will peel off easily. Remove stems, seeds and julienne and dice peppers. Cool tomatoes, remove skins and rough chop. Next core and finely slice a fennel bulb and saute in a pan over medium heat until caramelized. To finish orzo, add diced peppers, chopped tomatoes, caramelized fennel, nicoise olives, capers, minced tarragon, basil and toss together with olive oil salt and pepper and set aside.

Peel, de-vein and butterfly shrimp but leave the tails on for presentation. Keep shrimp chilled until ready to use. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt liberally. Add orzo pasta and and cook until al dente, stirring frequently to keep the pasta from clumping. Strain pasta and immerse in an ice bath, strain again really well and place in a large bowl and toss lightly with olive oil.

For the citrus cream sauce, saute an onion in canola oil, add chopped garlic and roasted garlic and saute on low until onions are soft. Add heavy cream, and cook until cream has reduced and thickened slightly. Remove from heat, and blend until smooth. Finish with lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

To plate, saute shrimp in olive oil on medium heat, with minced garlic, white wine and parsley for a few minutes—be careful not to over cook. In another saute pan, re-heat orzo pasta in a small amount of olive oil and toss in arugula to wilt at the last minute. Arrange shrimp on top of the orzo and drizzle with citrus cream sauce, fresh parsley and a squeeze of fresh lemon.Enjoy!