Category: Tasty Recipes

This is just one of the fabulous dishes we had at our dinner party. Caramelized scallops are served over a heavenly cauliflower puree with cream, finished with a swirl of balsamic reduction.

Pat’s inspiration for this dish came from Chef Reddington of Redd Restaurant, Napa Valley.

The cauliflower florettes are sauteed with capers, slivered almonds, and golden raisins. A delicious combination of flavors and textures.

She chose Treana 2005 Central Coast 50% Marsanne 50% Viognier from the Mer Soleil Vineyard to pair with this dish. Excellent!

Happy Birthday Pat!

This vinaigrette is so fresh, bright and tasty, I’m glad I had some left over. It was perfect with my warm Bahía Magdalena scallops, and equally delicious with shrimp. The conundrum, how to serve it?

Shrimp Cocktail?

Simply tossed with chilled shrimp?

It makes a fabulous vinaigrette for salads:

As salad dressing for a spicy lettuce mix with roasted cashews?

As a light sauce for chopped red and green heirloom tomatoes with shaved Manchego cheese and gray salt?

Wolfgang Puck serves this vinaigrette with Grilled Lamb Chops.
I’ll have to try that, too!

These huge fresh beautiful scallops come from Baja California, Mexico. They are served over mixed lettuces tossed with Olea Farms lemon blush olive oil from Paso Robles, California and toasted pine nuts.

The scallops are dusted in flour, dipped in egg, then rolled in Panko breadcrumbs before frying in hot peanut oil until golden brown. Then seasoned with sea salt.

Ingredient Still Life.
Cilantro Mint Vinaigrette inspired by Wolfgang Puck.
Seasoned Rice Vinegar, Hot Chili Sesame Oil, Hawaiian Honey, fresh ginger, mint, parsley, and cilantro are pureed in a food processor then peanut oil is added slowly to make the vinaigrette.

Bahía Magdalena
A very beautiful coastline offers plenty of beaches, inlets, marshes and mangrove swamps that are the sanctuary of resident and migratory sea birds and its waters are rich in species for commercial and sports fishing. The great Bahía Magdalena is not only the gate entrance to the Pacific, it is a natural reserve of gray whales that arrive to its waters to fulfill their biological cycle during the months of January to March. From bajaquest.com

Buen Apetito!

Steakhouse Style Dinner Very Easy To Prepare: A super tender Filet Mignon with an intensely rich and flavorful Madeira sauce.

To get a nice crust on the outside of the filet: salt and pepper the meat, then dip it in olive oil. Put the filet in a very hot pan and sear each side for three minutes without moving it. Finish cooking by putting the skillet right into a 450 degree oven to reach desired doneness depending on the thickness of the steaks. This steak took 3 minutes in the oven for medium. Let the meat rest before serving.

MADEIRA SAUCE

Cook 1 cup of Madeira wine with 1/4 cup of minced shallots and 1/2 teaspoon of thyme and reduce by about a third.

Then add 1 cup of beef stock and reduce further.

Whisk in 2 T. of butter and add fresh ground pepper and salt to taste.

Great with Hot & Garlicy Spinach and Soybeans.

Spinach, edamame, thinly shaved garlic, red pepper flakes, and toasted sesame oil make this side dish pop!


Garlic is sauteed briefly in toasted sesame oil, then add boiled soybeans and red pepper flakes.

Add baby spinach and a little sea salt and cook just until the spinach is wilted.

Excellent served as an accompaniment to the Filet Mignon with Madeira Sauce.