Tuesday, March 23, 2010

A recipe!

Today, my faithful readers, a recipe!

A friend came to visit today and Ron made us lunch - we both remarked on how we like to cook by seeing what there is in the larder and creating something where the fellas like to find a recipe and then create something after buying the ingredients not at hand. Later this afternoon, I came back from being with the delishes dishes - my three grandkids - and thought about a nice quick dinner for Ron and I. We had a half bag of those lovely little bay scallops (thanks Jesse!) and yukon gold potatoes and bits of this and that. I went on to Smitten Kitchen (check link to right) and she had this lovely potatoey - garlicky - hot peppery - almondy thingy. There were many ingredients I didn't have BUT in the manner of the recipe I created the following:

Gypsy Potatoes

Wash and peel a bunch of potatoes. Put them in a bowl with a cover and micro-wave for 4 minutes. Take them out and dry them. Put them in a nice big iron frying pan with olive oil (I was out but that is what I would use), some pepper and rosemary sprigs. Cover with tinfoil and put in 400 degree oven for about twenty minutes - give them a poke now and then to see how they're doing.

Meanwhile - soak a handful of dried tomatoes in hot water in a bowl. Dice up two or three big of the poblamo chiles that come in a jar (quite smokey so beware if you don't like that flavour). Chop two onions and a lot of garlic - saute til soft and almost brown in another frying pan. Chop up a green pepper too and some fresh tomatoes (two maybe) - saute the lot and when you're happy with it bang the works in the food processor and give them a whirl. You don't want a smooth puree but a rough choppy look. Throw the works back into the frying pan and cook it down while your potatoes roast. Add some capers (maybe six), a dash or two of balsamic vinegar and at the end - a handful of chopped cilantro.

While I made this stuff - I had thawed the scallops. I cooked them in a third cast iron frying pan (we have six) quite dry. As soon as I saw they weren't going to go all watery on me - I added a bit of butter and got the pan good and hot and threw in some white wine. Voila. Never cook scallops for very long. Raw would be good but I like that burnt butter taste myself.The scallops I put in a bowl - the other two dishes I brought to the table in the frying pan. The only other thing we had was homemade mayonaise I had made a few days ago. Everything went with everything and we were happy eaters!
Alas, no pictures. Really folks - I had my hands full.

7 comments:

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Leave out the scallops and that sounds tasty!
(I'm vegan.)

Mason Canyon said...

Sounds yummy. Always glad to get a new recipe to try.

Jan Morrison said...

Diane - yep - perfectly vegan I think! Spicy too.

Mason - me too and I love inventing based on the cupboard.

Ann said...

Sounds wonderful. My mouth is watering. I love scallops too. Thanks for sharing.

Helen Ginger said...

Not only did you come up with what sounds like a great recipe, you remembered what you did. When I do that, I finish up and wonder what exactly I put in and how much.

Helen
Straight From Hel

Faith Pray said...

Oh my goodness, it is completely the wrong time of day to go scrounge the cupboards for food, but your recipe sounds so darn delicious I am sorely tempted!

Jan Morrison said...

Ann - we live in a heavenly place to get scallops!
Helen - I remembered because we ate and I came in here and wrote it up!
Faith - it was darn delicious - and I want to make it again. It'd be good on noodles too. Spicy!