Healthy and Fresh

I finally got my act together and planned a menu for the upcoming week. It was a necessary evil, as I just found out we'll be having my in-laws in house for Christmas Eve, as well as Christmas Day, so I had to have a plan! While I was at it, I planned out the rest of the week as well. Be sure to click over to the Current Menu tab to check it out. With all the holiday plans and get-togethers, it's been hard to find time to eat a meal at home. I'm looking forward to a whole week's worth of them!

I really wanted something healthy, and full of fresh ingredients for tonight's dinner, but I had some chicken breasts in the fridge that I needed to use, so I built my meal around that. I opened Tender by Nigel Slater, knowing I'd find exactly what I was looking for, and in fact, I did.

This simple recipe of warm chicken, served over a bed of swiss chard, green beans and tomatoes is as fresh as fresh can be! I didn't open a single jar, or bottle, aside from the olive oil...everything came from the produce department! My first order of business was to get a few pots of water boiling on the stove, and then I set to prepping my ingredients. I purchased rainbow chard, because it's just so pretty, and I separated the leaves from the stems, chopping both in anticipation of cooking. I also trimmed the green beans while the water was beginning to boil.

I finely minced a small shallot, and mixed that with some lemon juice, chopped mint, a pinch of salt and olive oil in a container with a top. I shook it all together until it was emulsified, and set it aside to dress the salad.

As the water in my two pots began to boil, I heated my grill pan and seasoned my chicken breasts. A little salt, a little pepper, and a little chopped rosemary goes a long way! I cooked the chicken quickly, until both sides were golden with wonderful-looking grill marks, but I left it a bit undercooked. Instead, I placed the meat on a plate, and covered it with a bowl to keep the heat in, allowing it to continue cooking as it rested. 

While the chicken rested, I cooked the green beans in one pot, and the chard stems in the other, for about 3 minutes. With 30 seconds left, I added the chard leaves to the pot while I drained the green beans. The beans and the chard (stems and leaves) got tossed in a bowl with the tomatoes, and the dressing I made earlier. At this point, I sliced the chicken breasts into about 4 slices each, and placed them atop the salads, with a bit more dressing. It made for a beautiful plate of healthy, fresh food. Sometimes, it's wonderful to sit down to a summery meal on a cold winter's day, and while I used more wintery vegetables, the resulting dish was bright, light and made me wish for spring!

Now that dinner is done, I can tuck into Chapter 3 of The Professional Chef, and write about that a bit later tonight. 

I also want to remind everyone that there's still time to win a case of Popchips! I've only got one entry so far, and you can't win if you don't enter! Be sure to scroll down to the prior post, entitled Share the Health! and comment in order have a chance at winning! The contest ends on Wednesday night, so be sure to comment ASAP!!

Joey's Scallops with Jasmine Rice Risotto

So, I've started cooking from my new menu, and the first meal I chose to make is Joey's Scallops with Jasmine Rice Risotto, from Top Chef: The Quickfire Cookbook. Joey was part of Season 3, and during Episode 4, he participated in a Quickfire Challenge that asked him to create an appetizer to pair with a Bombay Sapphire cocktail for Bombay Mixologist, Jamie Walker. The recipe included in the cookbook has been adapted for main course servings, and was reproduced here, as well.

Now this recipe doesn't call for that many ingredients, and while they are a bit more exotic than you may be used to, this dish is SUPER-easy, so don't get overwhelmed.

What you'll need:

1 cup jasmine rice

2 cups coconut milk

8 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

1 mango, peeled, pitted, and diced

1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh mint, plus more for garnishing

1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil, plus more for garnishing

8 sea scallops

salt

cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon peanut oil, for frying

And of course, here's a look at my mise en place:

Did you take a look at those GORGEOUS scallops? So let's get going with the first step, shall we? In a medium dry saucepan over medium heat, lightly toast the rice. Add the coconut milk, stir, and cover. Bring to a slow boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook the rice until creamy, about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat, then stir in the mushrooms, mango, the 1 tablespoon of mint, and the 1 tablespoon of basil.

I recommend waiting until the risotto is complete, before starting the scallops. They only take 2 minutes per side, and I will warn you, overcooked scallops are TERRIBLE, and you shouldn't eat them. You want to JUST cook them through, no more than that (and I will admit now that I threw away a LOT of scallops before perfecting it, but if you follow the times on the recipe, you should make out okay!)

Season the scallops with salt and cayenne pepper. In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, heat the peanut oil. Add the scallops and sear for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side.

To serve, place several spoonfuls of rice on each plate and top with scallops. Garnish with mint and basil.

Mmmm, this sure was delicious! And I know you guys can do it too! So, give it a try, and let me know how it goes...and if it doesn't go so great the first time, try again. Perfecting a cooked scallop takes some practice, but oh, it's SO worth it!