Dinner Holidays

Pan-Seared Scallops with Lemon Caper Beurre Blanc Sauce, paired with Roasted Cauliflower Puree & Lemony Green Beans Almondine

Scallops

16 scallops

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp butter

Beurre Blanc Sauce

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 tsp garlic salt

2 sticks unsalted butter cut into small pieces and chilled

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp of capers

Scallops

  1. Pat scallops dry with a paper towel…important step don’t skip it 😉
  2. Heat 1 olive oil on medium high heat in a sauce pan.  
  3. Wait until oil faintly smokes and add scallops for a nice sear 2-3 minutes and flip.
  4. Cook another 2 minutes.
  5. Add butter and tilt pan towards you spooning butter over scallops.  

Lemon Caper Beurre Blanc Sauce

  1. Saute capers in a dry sauce pan for 2-3 minutes-another important step 😉 
  2. Add wine to saucepan over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes until it reduces a little.
  3. Add cream, garlic salt and boil 1 minute (keep an eye on this, quickly remove from heat and whisk if it starts to look like it might boil over).
  4. Reduce heat to medium low and add a few pieces of butter at a time, whisking.
  5. Add remaining butter just a few pieces at a time as you continue to whisk.

Tips;  

-Cooking the capers releases so much flavor, remember they are salty so be careful adding anything additional salty.

-A microplane works great for getting zest off a lemon.

-Pulling off scallops and beurre blanc can be a little tricky.  The key is mise en place – everything in it’s place, have everything ready including your cooking equipment before you start cooking 🙂

Roasted Cauliflower Puree

1 head cauliflower, leaves and core removed and cut in large pieces

4 Tbsp butter

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

  1. Add an inch or so of water to a stock pot, add cauliflower and cover.  Simmer for 20 minutes or until fork tender.  Drain off water.
  2. Add butter, onion powder and garlic powder and puree.  
  3. Add to a casserole dish and bake uncovered for 15 minutes on 400 degrees.

Lemony Green Beans Almondine

1 lb green beans

2 Tbsp of almonds, chopped (I used whole/slivered works nicely as well)

1 tsp garlic salt

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Zest of 1 lemon

  1. Add everything but the almonds to the pan and sauté for 10 minutes.  Mix in the almonds and cook another 5.

Tip:  Note, I love lemon so this has a great lemon flavor, if you don’t just cut back on the lemon a bit.

This meal came together amazing with a special story behind it 🙂 My friends Audrey and Wyatt were engaged and I was so excited to cook for them!  So I asked them for what they would like for their engagement dinner.  He had just finished watching some crazy cooking show and sent me a text with something like this meal.  He was joking.  I was not, I wanted to celebrate them and couldn’t wait to see how this would come together.  It turned out delicious!  The photos turned out great as well, thank you Audrey! We laughed a lot, had a yummy meal, with great drinks made by my husband and toasted to the engaged couple, so happy for them!  

Happy Cooking!

-Angie