Our Bella Cucina » Seafood

Bourbon-Bacon Scallops

sarah — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 08:00:48 +0000

These were actually surprisingly tasty. I expected that with the small amount of marinade and short marinating time they wouldn’t have much more than the original scallop taste, but they definitely had more than that. Of course anything is made better by adding bacon, but the bacon really did compliment the flavour combination well and having scallops is a nice depart from the usual dinner fare. Even my 2 year old ate them!

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons finely sliced green onions
2 tablespoons bourbon
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 lbs large sea scallops
1 lb sliced bacon

DIRECTIONS
In a medium size bowl combine the green onions, bourbon, maple syrup, soy sauce, mustard, and pepper.

Add the scallops, toss them to coat thoroughly, then cover the bowl with cling wrap and put them in the refrigerator to marinate for 1 hour.

Wrap each scallop in a slice of bacon and position them on skewers over a baking sheet. I actually got a little lazy and didn’t trim the bacon to the right size and it ended up overlapping around the scallop which caused the bacon to not crisp properly. If I were you I would learn from my laziness and trim your bacon.

Place the baking sheet under your broiler for 8 minutes or until the bacon is crisp and the scallops are done, basting occasionally with the leftover marinade. Your cooking time will vary depending on the size of your scallops.

Serve with the sides of your choice. As you can see from a lot of my photos on various recipes, salad and French bread is common in our house simply because it is quick, easy, and my kids will eat it. We like to jazz up the greens a bit with some thinly sliced red onion, a sprinkling of crumbled feta, and a dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Bon apetit and have a great weekend!

♥

Potato Cod Cakes with Dijon Tartar Sauce

sarah — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 08:00:32 +0000

Of all the “light” recipes I’ve made on Fridays over the past month, this one is probably my favourite. It just seems so summery to me, has a great flavour combination, and let’s face it, I’m a sucker for a good tartar sauce.

Food is just a vehicle for condiments, people. One day I will have you all convinced of that!

INGREDIENTS
Sauce
1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise
3 tablespoons finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Cakes
1 cup potato, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup red pepper, finely chopped (I left this out as I’m a red pepper hater)
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 lb cod filets, cooked
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
Cooking spray

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl put all the sauce ingredients and mix until well combined.

The yellow is the pickles I used. I didn’t have relish so I used a mustard pickle mix.

The recipe said to next put the potatoes in a microwave save dish, cover with cling wrap, microwave for 5 minutes until soft and then mash them. I did do that, but to be honest, it made the potatoes kind of leathery so I would suggest boiling them the traditional way instead.

Add the rest of the cake ingredients (except the oil and cooking spray) then stick your hands in there and mix thoroughly until everything is well combined.

Divide the mixture into equal size portions (number of your choosing – the recipe says 12 but I found 8 worked well) and flatten into a 1/2 inch thick patty.

In a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and add half of the patties. Cook till lightly browned (about 2 minutes per side) then transfer them to a baking tray lightly coated in cooking spray.
Repeat this step with the remaining half.

Bake the patties for 10 minutes.

Serve with the Dijon tartar sauce and sides of your choosing.

These were really tasty and even held up well reheated for lunch the next day. The cod is light on the fish flavour scale, so they provide a good amount of flavour without overpowering the rest of the ingredients. Definitely give them a try!

♥

Garlic Lover’s Shrimp

sarah — Fri, 07 May 2010 08:00:48 +0000

Love garlic? Love shrimp? Boy have I got a recipe for you!

Plus, as if you needed a third reason to make this, it is healthy! I even plugged it into a Weight Watchers calculator and it comes out as 5 points per serving.

I know, you love me. I get that a lot.

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 tablespoon crushed red pepper (optional)
8 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 lbs large shrimp, deveined and peeled
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon dry thyme

I got tiger shrimp from Costco and they came deveined.

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat.

Add the pepper, garlic, and bay leaf, then simmer for 30 seconds.

Add the shrimp and salt, then saute for 3 minutes.

Remove the shrimp from the skillet and set it aside.
Add the wine, parsley, and thyme to the skillet and bring it to a boil. Continue to boil until the alcohol evaporates – about 1 minute.

Return the shrimp to the skillet and toss to coat.

Remove the bay leaf and serve with some crusty french bread.

My whole house smelled like garlic after making this, but boy was it good. I expected it to be overpoweringly garlicky but it really wasn’t. Just keep some breath mints handy!

♥

Not Your Mother’s Tuna Noodle Casserole

sarah — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:00:40 +0000

This recipe was an I-need-to-use-up-old-stuff-in-the-pantry creation that conveniently used up 4 of the 5 cans of tuna I had. I was very pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. Even my husband (who dislikes tuna) and my 4 year old (who dislikes pasta) ate it! Three cheers for me!

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
1/2 cup port
8 oz rotini noodles, cooked
2 10 oz cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
12 oz canned tuna, packed in water,drained
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (if you don’t have fresh, canned is fine)
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella
Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare your noodles according to the direction on the packet.

Over a medium heat, pour the olive oil into a pan and saute the onions until tender.

Add the port and simmer until the alcohol evaporates and the remaining liquid has reduced in volume slightly.

Notice the difference between this and the previous photo – this is how much it needs to reduce.

Set the pan aside until later.

In a large bowl combine the cooked and drained noodles, condensed soup, sour cream, and mayonnaise.

Add the onions and port mixture to the noodles.

Mix in the mushrooms, peas, tuna, garlic salt, paprika, and parmesan cheese.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pour the mixture into a 9×13 baking dish.

In a sealed quart size Ziploc bag, combine the cheddar, mozzarella, and breadcrumbs.

Spread the cheese and breadcrumbs evenly over top of the dish.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until lightly browned and the corners are bubbling.

After removing the dish from the oven, allow it to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

I’m so pleased with how well this turned out for something I just made up off the top of my head. I hadn’t planned on it being good enough to share, so I didn’t even photograph it when I made it last week. I had to cook it again this week so I could get the photos to show you all!

♥

Creamy Crab Soup

sarah — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:21:07 +0000

I love a nice bowl of hot soup on those crisp fall days and I found this recipe on my friend Steph’s cooking site. It is so delicious!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups clam juice
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme.
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
2 cups heavy cream
1 pound lump crabmeat, drained

DIRECTIONS
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Saute onion and garlic until onion is tender.
Whisk in flour, and cook 2 minutes.
Stir in clam juice and chicken broth, and bring to a boil.
Season with salt, white pepper, thyme, and Old Bay.
Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.
Stir in cream and crab meat.
Heat through, but do not boil once the cream has been added.

♥

Cheesy Cod Fillets

sarah — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:37:27 +0000

I don’t entirely remember where I found this recipe, but it was someplace online. It was during one of my phases of trying to get my family to eat fish more often and it’s so delicious in its simplicity! The recipe calls for cod, but I’m sure any other flaky white fish will work just as well.

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice
4 cod fillets

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400°.
Mix together the first four ingredients.
Place the fish in a baking dish and cover each fillet with the cheese mixture.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the fish flakes easily.

♥