Scallop Lettuce Wraps, Truffle Sauce

Scallop Lettuce Wraps, Truffle Sauce

🥬 Scallop Lettuce Wraps 🥬
🌿 Truffle Sauce with Chervil 🌿
🌼 Radish, Edible Flowers 🌸

Raw, buttery day-boat Sea Scallops, renowned for their subtle sweetness and delicate velvety texture, are paired with crisp, peppery radish slices and a heavenly truffle sauce infused with chervil. These delightful scallop clusters are then wrapped in tender little gem lettuce leaves, creating an exquisite culinary experience.

Scallop Lettuce Wraps, Truffle Sauce

Mizuna Blossoms and Stock Flower Petals

Mizuna blossoms share a similar flavor profile with the leaves of the mizuna plant, offering a mild yet peppery taste with hints of Chinese mustard.

Stock flowers are known for their dense clusters of fragrant blooms that come in a variety of colors, including white, pink, purple, and shades of red and yellow. They have a snappy radish-like flavor with floral undertones. The taste can vary depending on the variety and growing conditions.

While their beauty is undeniable, the garnishes serve a purpose beyond aesthetics. They play a crucial role in enhancing the dish, contributing elements of both mustard and radish to the final flavor profile.

Scallop Lettuce Wraps, Truffle Sauce

About Maine Day-Boat Scallops

They are harvested by fishermen that go to work in the icy waters then return to port that same day.

Since the fishing trip is short, day-boat scallops do not need to sit on melting ice like longer expeditions, and therefore do not absorb water over the course of the trip.

The taste is pure and natural, as the scallops are not bloated with water after harvest. These scallops are treated with the utmost care, and never soaked in a solution of sodium tripolyphosphate which is commercially used as a preservative but unfortunately degrades the quality of the scallop. Day-boat scallops are always more expensive but worth every penny in taste and texture.

Note: Our fishermen tell us to NEVER let scallops touch fresh water as they soak it up like sponges!

Scallop Lettuce Wraps, Truffle Sauce Recipe

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black COD black TRUFFLE in crispy rice paper

Wild-Caught Fresh Black Cod
Stuffed with Fresh Black Winter Truffle
Crispy Rice Paper Wrapper
Truffle Oil/Truffle Flecks

This is special. An elegantly dressed all-green salad and a big, yeasty Champagne were its only accompaniments. The heady truffle with its unforgettable aromas, greatly affecting the mind and the senses, is purported to have aphrodisiac qualities. Would you consider serving fish sticks on Valentine’s Day?

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“Truffle Heaven” Crostini

“Truffle Heaven” Crostini
Fresh French Black Winter Truffle, Italian Truffle Cheese, Truffle Oil
with Shiitake and Frisée

A framed description of our “black diamond” is placed on the buffet.

This one ounce beauty is from Gourmet Attitude, importer of fresh truffles and fine truffle products in New York City. It is a good year for truffles, ours hails from the Village of Grignan in the South of France. The subterranean treasure was located by three female yellow Labrador retrievers with a family in its fourth generation of truffle hunting. I was told that dogs are preferred over pigs to hunt  truffles nowadays, for one reason, it’s difficult to get a pig in and out of the car! Also, apparently the pig’s love for truffles is as ardent as ours, so she simply cannot stop herself from eating the $85/oz. delicacy. Dogs are much more obedient!

The black winter truffle is available December through March. This Fresh Black Winter Truffle (Tuber Melanosporum Vittadini) has in intense perfume with a bouquet of wet forest, humus, chocolate, and a hint of hazelnut. Our guests are surely in for a treat!

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The Chanterelles

Heart Healthy Chanterelle Scramble with White Truffle Oil

Cantharellus formosus, the Pacific golden chanterelle, from Oregon
gorgeous golden-orange color
a distinctly fruity aroma
a mild peppery flavor
funnel shaped with ridges instead of gills

  • Sauté finely chopped onion in olive oil.
  • Add cleaned sliced chanterelles, sea salt & fresh ground pepper, and sauté until lightly cooked all the way through.
  • Add minced garlic, cook for about a minute more.
  • Add a splash of dry white wine.
  • After the wine has completely evaporated, add egg beaters or beaten fresh egg whites.
  • When the eggs are barely cooked through, transfer scramble to a plate.
  • Lightly drizzle with White Truffle Oil and a bit more sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

The Chanterelles

When we were fourteen years old, my girlfriends and I formed a little song & dance group. We called ourselves The Chanterelles. After school and all summer long we would just practice in Wendy’s basement, for no particular performance.

We were so into Motown.

Knew every word to every Supremes song, my baby love! Went crazy seeing The Temptations in concert at the (long gone) Mill Run Theater-in-the-Round in Niles, Illinois. I was in love with Melvin Franklin, the bass singer with the Temptations. His signature line “and the band played on…” delivered in his deep deep sexy voice sent my fourteen-year-old self into fits.

(that’s Melvin on the far left)

Our Favorite Double Album:  Diana Ross & The Supremes Greatest Hits

Our Favorite Song to Sing Along:  Ball of Confusion by The Temptations

Our Favorite Dance Routine to:  I Want You Back by The Jackson 5

(artist shots borrowed from wikipedia here and here)

It wasn’t until almost a decade later that I found out that we had named our group after a fungus.

Project Food Blog
Voting for the current challenge ends at 6 PM Pacific Time, Thursday October 21st.
If you are a fan of my latest entryAsian Pizzette, it’s not too late to vote here!

Pom Prosecco & Popcorn

Pom Prosecco
Popcorn with Truffle Oil

Pop regular popcorn in canola or peanut oil in a heavy, covered pot. Ratio: 3 T. oil to 1/2 c. popcorn kernels. Add fine sea salt then drizzle the warm popcorn with truffle oil. Extraordinary!
I don’t make popcorn very often, and in recent years, when I did, it was in the microwave. I am so glad to have rediscovered the old-fashioned way to make popcorn. I want to thank my blogger friend Thatgirl for the suggestion. Simple and really really good.

Great start to a cocktail party!
A Pom Prosecco was a great complement to our Miso Glazed Swordfish luncheon too. This is a mighty tasty cocktail, and food-friendly. Simply pour a few ounces cold pomegranate juice into a flute and add cold Prosecco, a dry Italian sparkling wine. Personally, I am not a huge fan of adding juice to Champagne, but Prosecco is different. The method used to produce Prosecco is much less costly than Champagne, yet still produces a high quality dry sparkling wine, which is meant to be consumed young.
And POM Wonderful is a perfect addition because it is not too sweet, gives the Prosecco that awesome pink color and depth of flavor, and you can take an inexpensive bottle of this bubbly and have a really nice fresh, crisp, refreshing drink. I purchased this bottle of Prosecco at Trader Joe’s for $5.99 US.
Thanks to the folks at POM Wonderful for the gift of the delicious anti-oxidant juice! I highly recommend a visit to the POM website to check out the pomegranate recipes and beautiful food photos too. I definitely look forward to using this juice in future recipes.
Browsing through my photo library recently and noticed a recurring theme, Glassware. Thought it might be fun to compile some of the photos here:
Glassware

  1. Alex, Las Vegas
  2. La Mar, San Francisco
  3. Cline Cellars, Sonoma, California
  4. Guy Savoy, Las Vegas
  5. Per Se, New York City
  6. Gramercy Tavern, New York City
  7. Cline Cellars, Sonoma, California
  8. La Mar, San Francisco
  9. Per Se, New York City

Cheers!