Just a Regular Tuesday Night

Since we’ve returned home from our wedding and honeymoon, we’ve been unpacking, trying to get our apartment into pre-wedding shape, and more than anything I’ve been trying to get back into the kitchen. It feels like in the weeks leading up to the wedding we did more take-out and restaurant meals than we normally do, probably just because there were so many other things that “needed” to get done that took time away from the kitchen. Now that there are no bows to be tied, invitations to go out, favors to assemble, etc., I have no excuse not to spend more time in the kitchen. Since we’ve almost unpacked all of our generous wedding gifts (mostly kitchen-related!), I felt there was no better time than the present to make something tasty—and so I created a meal that took advantage of the leftover stash of wedding champagne!


Menu
Cranberry Vanilla Mimosas
Roasted beet salad with lemon-shallot vinaigrette and goat cheese (inspired by this recipe)
Champagne-sage risotto with pan-seared sea scallops (based off of this recipe)

One of the few things that went “wrong” at our wedding was the fact that the copious amounts of champagne we purchased were only served during the toast! We have several cases left over and I'm looking forward to having a bottle on hand any time there is any little reason to celebrate. Like a Tuesday night. Why not?


See all that leftover champagne in the background?


Since we needed to use champagne in the risotto anyway, I decided to kill two birds with one stone—make a drink with champagne AND vanilla beans (for another post, but our wedding favors were bottles of homemade vanilla extract. We had some beans left over, too!) The cranberry vanilla mimosa were light, refreshing and flavorful. A lovely accompaniment to the rest of the meal.

Cranberry Vanilla Mimosas

Now for the salad. I always hated beets growing up…even though I had never had one. It was just something I knew I would not like. I finally had one for the first time, perfectly roasted and accompanied by goat cheese. I fell in love. This beet and goat cheese salad is healthy, delicious, and beautiful to present!
 

Beet and Goat Cheese Salad

The risotto recipe I found on Epicurious using champagne instead of wine interested me, but having made many risottos in the past, the ingredient list and methods looked a little bland to me. I punched up the recipe with some sage, shallots, garlic and bacon. The resulting risotto was rich and creamy—the perfect bed for succulent, pan-seared sea scallops.  

Champagne Risotto with Scallops

 And now for the recipes. Enjoy!

Cranberry Vanilla Mimosas (From Epicurious)

• Cranberry juice, chilled
• Ice cubes
• 1 vanilla bean
• Sparkling wine or champagne
• Garnish (optional): sugar and halved vanilla beans

Combine a cup of chilled cranberry juice and several ice cubes in a cocktail shaker. Scrape in the seeds from vanilla bean. Shake well. Strain into Champagne glasses, filling only halfway. Top off the drinks with sparkling wine. Garnish with split vanilla bean.

Beet and Goat Cheese Salad (Adapted from Epicurious) (serves 2-3)

• 3 large red beets
• 1/4 cup minced shallot
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Soft mild goat cheese
• 3 tablespoons toasted walnuts coarsely chopped
• Clover sprouts to garnish

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Wrap beets tightly in double layers of foil and roast in middle of oven until tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Unwrap beets. While beets are cooling, whisk together shallot, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, then add oil in a stream, whisking. I did this all in the food processor for a smoother dressing.

When beets are cool enough to handle, slip off and discard skins. Cut beets into 1/4-inch dice and add dressing enough to lightly coat beets.

In a small ramekin or soufflé dish, layer beets and goat cheese, in five layers, beginning and ending with beets. When ready to serve, place salad place on top of soufflé dish or ramekin, and gently turn over and tap to get salad onto place. Drizzle each plate with leftover dressing and scatter with some walnuts. Top the salad with clover sprouts and serve.

Champagne Risotto with Pan-Seared Sea Scallops (Adapted from Epicurious) (serves 2)

• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, divided
• 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 2 slices bacon or pancetta, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped shallots
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 4 large leaves of sage, chopped
• 2/3 cup arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
• 1 cup dry Champagne
• 1 14 1/2-ounce can (or more chicken broth
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 pound bay scallops, patted dry and seasoned with salt and pepper
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Clover sprouts to garnish


Ingredients

 Melt 1 tbsp butter and 1 tsp oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped bacon and sauté until crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve for later. Add shallots; sauté 1 minute. Add garlic and sage and sauté for another minute. Add rice; sauté 2 minutes. Add Champagne; simmer until almost all liquid evaporates, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add brother slowly, letting the rice absorb each ladleful before adding the next.; simmer until rice is almost tender, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Continue to cook until the rice is tender but still firm to bite and mixture is creamy, adding more broth if too thick and stirring often.



Arborio rice covered in deliciousness.



Meanwhile, heat remaining butter and oil in a skillet on medium high heat and pan-sear scallops. Cook scallops until lightly browned and crisp on each side, approximately 7-10 minutes per side.

 Stir in parmesan into risotto and season with salt and pepper. Serve scallops over risotto and garnish with clover sprouts.

Dinner!

Decadence, Paris Style

Sometimes the most enjoyable meals are the least preparation heavy.

In the spring of 2006 I studied abroad in Paris with two of my best friends in the world, Niki and Katie. We lived in a lovely (ha) little apartment for several months, during which we enjoyed countless types of cheese and many a bottle of champagne. Our time in Paris was incredibly enriching in many ways, and food always seemed to be a focal point. It was a pretty decadent semester.

Recently Katie and Niki came over to enjoy a girls’ night. To relive old times, I whipped up a favorite drink of ours from Paris, Kir Royales. The kir royale is an adaptation of the traditional kir (white wine with crème de cassis), a common aperitif. It is pink and bubbly and delicious. Along with some tasty local cheeses from the Kick*ss Dairy Bar, I made some yummy dipping oil for our bread. Enjoy!

Kir royales
Ingredients
Champagne
Crème de cassis

Directions
Fill a champagne flute or goblet with champagne. Add about 2 tsp of crème the cassis, or enough to turn champagne pale pink.

Parmesan-garlic oil
Ingredients
1 c. good olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 c. grated parmesan (or other hard cheese—asiago would work well too!)
1 tbsp fresh, chopped herbs (whatever you have on hand)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Mix together in a small bowl. Serve with sliced French bread and a array of cheeses. Enjoy the decadence.

The lovely ladies, Katie and Niki (Nous devons retourner!)

Blast from the past! Moving in together.

Because I am a nerd, I have always been fond of photographing meals. I guess I like the colors and textures in food, and it is fun to look back on meals we've made. I found some old food photographs on Facebook. Every now and then I will post a food "blast from the past." Let's start with a lovely summer meal out on the porch!

Summer, 2009, Mansfield, MA

This is pretty poor quality photograph, but the lackadaisical nature of the meal is conveyed. I believe this was a meal celebrating moving in together. Last summer before moving into our place in Somerville, Devin and I lived in his old apartment in Mansfield for one month. The suburbs provided a HUGE deck and yard, something we enjoyed immensely during those 30 days at the "Men's Warehouse." (Don't ask). There is nothing quite like dining al fresco with a crisp glass of champagne and good company. It is fun to think back on all the meals we have made together or for one another in this past year of living together. I look forward to many more :)

Menu

• Herbed goat cheese baked over toasted baguette slices drizzled with rosemary honey
• Pan-seared sea scallops with a lemon-wine reduction
• Simple lemon vinaigrette dressing over baby greens
• Veuve Clicquot to celebrate!