Another scallop recipe by ulterior epicure via FlickrFrom Denny: President Obama is a huge fan of scallops, often ordering them when he dines out. Yeah, me too, as long as they are those huge honking ocean scallops! The beauty of scallops is they cook up quickly and are a light food for the summer heat.
This is one of the winning recipes from last week's New Orleans Wine and Food Experience (NOWFE), one of the top food and wine shows in America. The five-day event entertained a hungry and discriminating crowd in the Crescent City.
Baton Rouge Ruffino's Italian Restaurant's new chef and co-owner, Peter Sclafani from New Orleans, won two Fleur de lis Culinary Awards Medals at the prestigious event: one gold and one silver for his tasty creations. He competed against dozens of great New Orleans chefs. He won the gold medal for his recipe of "48 Hour Pork Belly with Candied Bacon Jam and Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding."
While there still exists the friendly rivalry between New Orleans and Baton Rouge chefs, the two cities are beginning to blend more into one mega-city mindset. New Orleans has discovered there is cooking talent in Baton Rouge since so many moved here after Hurricane Katrina five years ago.
A lot of New Orleans established restaurants that moved to Baton Rouge to reestablish themselves found out the average Baton Rouge diner is more discriminating than the New Orleans tourist. Many small New Orleans restaurants failed to capture the imagination of Baton Rouge and went out of business. What they delivered to tourists, both in dated heavy not spicy enough food - and bad attitude - did not play well in polite soft-spoken Baton Rouge.
Since that experience chefs from both cities are pulling together to promote each other and celebrate each other's food. Slowly, the feudal attitude and regional food bigotry is fading, replaced by increased creativity and responsiveness to the diner's interests.
OK, now back to the fierce competition on "Iron Chef" on my local cable channel... :)
This is the silver medal winning recipe from Chef Sclafani - (no photo provided):
Seared Diver Scallops With Truffled Corn Pudding, Shiitakes and Roasted Chicken Jus
From: Peter Sclafani of Ruffino’s Italian Restaurant
18811 Highland Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70809-6114
(225) 753-3458
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
8 ears corn, shucked, kernels removed
1 tsp. white truffle salt
6 tbls. butter, divided
1 qt. roasted chicken stock
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
16 ears of baby corn, shucked, sliced
8 diver scallops
Micro cilantro
Directions:
1. Place the corn kernels in a juicer and pulse until blended into juice. Put the corn juice in a small stock pot and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook until just thickened. Remove from heat and season with truffle salt and white pepper. Mix in 1 tablespoon of butter to emulsify. Set aside.
2. Reduce the roasted chicken stock to 1 cup. Stir in 1 tablespoon of butter to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shiitakes and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms are soft. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the baby corn slices and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the baby corn are soft. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Dry the scallops with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Sear the scallops until they form a nice brown crust, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook for 2 minutes on the other side.
6. To plate, spread some of the corn pudding on the bottom of each of four plates. Set an equal amount of shiitakes next to the pudding. On the pudding, divide the baby corn slices and top with two scallops each. Drizzle the plate with roasted chicken jus and garnish with micro cilantro.
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| Added recipe: Red Bell Pepper Scallops from Chef Paula Deen |
Ruffino's Italian Restaurant Menu
A few samplings:
APPETIZERS
CRABMEAT CHEESECAKE
Jumbo lump crabmeat baked with a medley of Italian cheeses set in a Creole Meuniere sauce with Hollandaise.
ANTIPASTO PIETRO
Slices of Prosciutto, Salami, Mortadella, Sopresatta, Fontina, Provolone, marinated Mozzarella, marinated mushrooms, grilled eggplant and Prosciutto wrapped asparagus.
SEAFOOD ARANCINE
Jumbo lump crab, shrimp, Fontina and Risotto rolled in Italian bread crumbs and served with Alfredo and Vodka tomato cream.
EGGPLANT MARY
Pan fried eggplant medallion topped with lump crabmeat and mushrooms in a Creole Meuniere sauce garnished with Hollandaise sauce.
FRIED CALAMARI
Family-style portion fried lightly and served with Marinara sauce.
NEW ORLEANS STYLE BARBECUE SHRIMP
Large gulf shrimp sautéed in garlic, black pepper and rosemary in a creamy butter sauce.
SOUPS
EGGPLANT BISQUE
Roasted eggplant, shrimp, andouille sausage and cream.
CORN & CRABMEAT BISQUE
Jumbo lump crabmeat, sweet corn and cream.
SEAFOOD
CEDAR PLANK BAKED REDFISH
Fresh Redfish baked on a cedar plank in our wood burning oven. Topped with fresh pesto, sliced tomatoes, and drizzled with balsamic syrup. Served with garlic and rosemary roasted potatoes. Add Jumbo Lump Crabmeat or Sautéed Shrimp.
FISH KATIE
Pan Sautéed fresh gulf fillets topped with lump crabmeat in a Creole Meuniere sauce garnished with hollandaise. Served with Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes.
SHRIMP SORRENTO
Angel hair pasta, shrimp, vodka and fresh tomato cream.
BARBEQUE SHRIMP FETTUCINE
Jumbo Gulf Shrimp (tails on) sautéed in a New Orleans BBQ Sauce.
DESSERTS
HOMEMADE SORBET
TIRAMISU
WHITE CHOCOLATE BROWNIE & KLEINPETER VANILLA ICE CREAM
WHITE CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING
CRÉME BRULEE
CHOCOLATE CRÉME BRULEE
RICOTTA CHEESE CAKE
KLEINPETER VANILLA ICE CREAM
ANGELO BROCATO NEW ORLEANS SPUMONI ICE CREAM
SUNDAY BRUNCH
FEATURED COCKTAILS
Mimosa, Bellini, Rossini, and Ruffino Bloody Mary
EGGS BENEDICT
Poached eggs atop English Muffins with apple smoked Canadian Bacon, drizzled with Hollandaise.
SLIDERS
Niman Ranch sliders, handmade and flame broiled. Served with cheddar cheese, sliced tomato, lettuce, mayonnaise, onion and French fries.
CRABMEAT OMELET
Three Egg omelet with jumbo lump crabmeat, Fontina, green onions, and hollandaise. Served with Niman Ranch apple smoked Canadian Bacon
SUNDAY GRAVY
A Sclafani Family Recipe! Rich San Marzano tomatoes with Sicilian meatballs, Italian sausage, braised pork shoulder and braised beef with penne pasta and Provolone cheese.
SHRIMP AND GRITS
Fresh jumbo shrimp in a spicy tasso cream atop creamy Mascarpone polenta.
LIVE MAINE LOBSTER
Now 1.5 pounds! Live Maine Lobster steamed, served with drawn butter and a side of broccolini drizzled with hollandaise.
BLACKENED PRIME RIB
12oz. Sterling Silver Premium Beef Ribeye cooked low and slow in our custom oven, seasoned and seared, served with Creole Potato hash.
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