Food is the center of nights when family and friends gather to commune over white tablecloths with flickering candles to share stories, eat and sip good wine, or feast on small plates and drink good beer. The construction of flavors in each course can instigate total silence where the only sound is a fork on the plate, or it can spawn deep conversation about world travel, music, art, but ultimately, I want the meals I create to become a good memory.
My experience locating decent scallops in North Carolina proved difficult in the past. Recently, I was filling a request to make a celebratory meal in my home kitchen. It’s not that I’m a scallop snob, but just having had access to coastal markets in the past where fresh over frozen is readily available gave me an understanding of what good scallops should be. I didn’t want to use frozen, I prefer fresh. Luckily, the one whom the meal was for, was determined and able to locate some of the best scallops in these parts that I have seen, touched, and smelled while still in their raw state. These perfectly bright, firm medallions were not soaking in a petri dish of white cloudy liquid, instead, they were dried and ready for the perfect sear. With that part figured out, it was time to get started on a meal to send her on a long-awaited journey to roam around Italy for a few weeks and see the sites.
To emphasize the natural flavor these scallops held, I used only sea salt, paprika, and no pepper. Once seared, the scallops rested upon a bed of braised Forbidden Cabbage. IMG_1605
For the Forbidden Cabbage, I started with the rendered bacon, sautéed with red bell pepper, onion, and cabbage for 2-3 minutes. I deglazed the pan with sake and a touch or mirin and added the finishing touch, a combination of chicken stock, salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of Togarashi, then let the cabbage simmer until it was tender.
The zucchini strings were sautéed as well but with a drop of sesame oil and finished with a splash of coconut milk and Vadouvan curry. On the side was a pull of chipotle crème accented with strawberry gel which made a really nice the presentation against the white plates.
We sat around the table savoring the flavors and talking about the upcoming trip, drinking wine and playing guitars until just the empty plates and burned out wicks were left at the table. Another night, another meal, another perfect memory cataloged in the recipe book.