Surf and Turf

The time I look forward to the most during the week is Thursday at 8:01 p.m. That's because at 8:01 p.m. I finish class for the day. I'm at school on Thursday's from 10 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. I may not be in class the whole time, but being in that stuffy awful building all day sure does take its toll on me. Especially when I'm eating turkey wraps in tin foil and scathing over my closing statement for trial class. So I decided tonight I was in dire need of an amazing meal (and my poor blog could use some attention too!) I don't have class on Fridays, so this was the perfect night to unwind with an amazing dinner, have myself a glass or two (or five) of wine, and FINALLY finish watching Season 3 of The Wire (Stringer just got shot!!!!!!!) Whoops spoiler alert.

So if you're going to cook, you might as well go all-out, so I decided a three-course meal was in full swing. I knew I wanted to make a scallop dish so I decided on provençal because I had never made it before and I wanted to try. THEN I saw the price of the scallops...I cannot afford a pound...but half a pound isn't enough. Then a stroke of genius: surf and turf. The top rib-eye was fairly affordable for a thinner cut and that, along with the scallops and the pasta made for a complete dish. Who would thought: a full dinner, home cooked, with scallops, for under $20? Not me that's for sure.

With finals coming up, I probably won't be eating like this. But lately, after watching Top Chef, and Marcel's Quantum Kitchen, and all the other numerous amazing cooking shows, I seem to be really regretting my life choices. I'm not sure if law school is the best choice for me, but I seem to be fairly good at my trial class. But I can't shake the feeling that I might be meant for something else. I guess this is just growing pains, I mean, I'm already through almost 2 years of law school, so I might as well finish right? I think it might also be the legal market right now, things aren't looking up that readily and sometimes it's hard to see the silver lining. But the nevertheless, I will remain law student/home cook/dinner party hoster for as long as I can, until I figure out what's really right for my life. Stay tuned and keep your bellies full!

little crabbies filled with goodness that i found at the grocery store on my way to get the scallops...yum!

Surf and Turf:

now playing: Top Chef All-Stars Season Finale...again...I love Richard Blais

now drinking: 2009 Oregon Pinot Gris and then 2009 La Patache Medoc

inspired by: Ina Garten and of course Richard Blais

Scallops Provençal

serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 pound 10-20 count fresh sea scallops

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

all-purpose flour a little bit

4 tablespoons or 1/2 stick unsalted butter, divided into 1 and 3 tablespoons

1/2 cup chopped shallots

1 garlic clove minced

1/4 cup fresh parsley minced

1/3 cup dry white wine (i used the Pinot Gris that i was drinking with dinner)

1 lemon (for later)

For the scallops: Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off the excess flour. In a very large saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of butter over high heat until sizzling and add the scallops. Slightly lower the heat to medium and allow the scallops to brown lightly on each side. For the first side, let cook about 2 minutes, then turn and brown lightly on the other side. This should take 3 to 4 minutes total. Melt rest of the butter in the pan with the scallops, then add the shallots, garlic, and parsley and saute for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops. Use a spoon for this process and tilt the pan so that the liquid goes to one side then just spoon it over the scallops. Add the wine and cook for 1 additional minute, and taste for seasoning. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon. 

Rib-Eye (Thin Cut)

Ingredients:

2 6 oz. pieces of boneless rib-eye cut (strip steak or top sirloin would work too)

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

For the steak: Marinate the steaks in the olive oil, salt, and pepper for about 30 minutes. Take them out, score (make little slanted slices) fat (the white marbly part) to held the fat render while it cooks. Heat pan that you cooked scallops in (with caramelized butter already on bottom) and add a little bit of olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Let the butter melt and get hot, then add the steaks and cook on each side for about 3-4 minutes for medium rare. Then let the steaks sit for about 5 minutes so the juices won't run out. 

Whole Grain Spaghetti

Ingredients:

1/3 package whole grain spaghetti...yes...i usually make my own...but this time it was late...please don't judge

1 tablespoon fresh parsley

For the spaghetti: Boil spaghetti according to directions, then strain, and toss with leftover sauce from scallop dish. Add a little bit of freshly grated nutmeg and parmesan cheese. 

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R e v i e w: Farmhaus

In the last five years, St. Louis has experienced a culinary revolution. Why you ask? Because of a few innovative chefs who have put their heart and soul into bringing great and interesting food to the Midwest. Along with Gerard Craft (Niche) and Kevin Nashan (James Beard award semi-finalists!!), Kevin Willmann completes the culinary trifecta with Farmhaus, his fresh and local take on fine dining. Rather than trying to create the newest things in food, the idea of Farmhaus is getting the freshest ingredients possible, from the best providers, and keeping things simple. The community-esque approach makes this seemingly tiny dining room an intimate and open space to break bread and dine with those whose company you truly enjoy. 

While it's no surprise that I'm a fan of more modern cuisine, there's something to be said about doing simple food extremely well. Their idea is essentially small plates that are meant to be shared, so 2-3 per person, the waitress said, should have been ideal for us. We ended up getting 4 dishes, and though sufficient for our empty bellies, had we been any hungrier we would have left with empty wallets. Sadly, there is a price to pay for fresh, local ingredients cooked to perfection.

We started with cocktails [a gummy bear vodka tonic…delic], and before settling on a bottle of wine, used this wonderful thing we like to call democracy, to decide what dishes to order. The three of us each picked three dishes we really wanted, and whichever dish lined up with the others was an automatic in. The rest we tousled over until finally deciding on a wonderful array of goodies: caramelized onion and apple tapenade, “breakfast,” escolar, and the filet. Followed by two amazing desserts: a pecan financier and an apple pie. In the end, it was great food, even though great food always comes at a high price. But since this was a special occasion, it was worth it, especially because the chef gave us a better bottle of wine since the one we chose was sold out, and for the same price!!

Caramelized onion and apple tapenade with house ricotta cheese and crostini: the balsamic on the crostinis was amazing, aged and acidic, the perfect mix for cutting against the sweetest of the onions and the creaminess of the ricotta; however, there were too many caramelized onions in relation to apple and ricotta, so it became difficult to eat at time, but the prosciutto added a nice smokiness to an otherwise sweet-ish dish. 

 “Breakfast”:  rendered and roasted Berkshire pork belly, house maple link sausage, corn flour blinis, maple butter, Rutherford Farms egg: OMG SO GOOD -- this was my favorite dish. I usually don't like runny egg yolk but the way this was cooked was divine, the egg yolk was creamy and not as runny but not solid. The corn blinis were also so delicious and had this amazing maple butter, it was like eating a little slice of heaven. 

Escolar with prawns and broccoli rabe: the prawns were perfectly cooked - butter poached to perfection, and of course, if you're a prawn head type of person, that part was good, too. The escolar was delicate and fairly good, but it was a little underseasoned, in some bites it seemed like it didn't have any real flavor, maybe it could have used a sauce? The broccoli rabe was crispy and I usually don't like it, but Dave and Alex did, so there's that. 

8 oz. Filet with smashed sweet and Yukon Gold potatoes, Augusta port gastrique, glazed baby carrots: OMG so good. This was cooked medium rare, although I am convinced that my portion was cooked on the line teetering rare...the jury's still out as to the done-ness, but it was juicy and delicious and the port wine sauce that came with it really made the dish. At the end, Alex and I took turns eating the rest of the potatoes with the leftover sauce...and yes to answer your question, I would have licked the plate clean, but alas, I was in public. 

Pecan Financier with coffee ice cream and candied pecans: the cake was a pretty dense cake but we didn't mind this as it was insanely delicious, and definitely the better choice of the 5 desserts. the coffee ice cream was superb, you could really taste the coffee but at the same time it went so well with the pecans and caramel, there was nothing left when we finished!

Apple pie with caramel ice cream: this was almost like an empanada, fried, and filled with delicious and perfectly cooked granny smith apples...not much to say about this, because again, this was simple food done right: a traditional apple pie in a crunchy gooey form!

So the following is an extremely crude, yet sophisticated (?), review system, complete with designations, 1 § being the worst, and 5 § being the best! I know…it’s so legalese. Anyways, Farmhaus in a nutshell:

Service: §§§§

Ambiance: §§§

Wine: §§§ 1/2

Taste: §§§ 1/2

Overall: §§§ 1/2

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