Surf & Turf Anniversary-Style

Well, it's been three years since Jacob asked me to dinner for the first time. I remember I was very sick with the usual hacking cough and I think even a fever! But I had been admiring that cute tuba player from a distance for so long that I knew I had to go. Good thing I did!

Jacob came to Cleveland on Thursday night and I had an exciting weekend planned for us. I had braised pork belly ready for dinner on Thursday and tickets to the Cleveland Orchestra on Friday night. I made fresh pasta and the homemade meatballs I had frozen for dinner on Friday.

Jacob got me a cast-iron skillet for an anniversary present, which is awesome because previously, the only pan I had that could go from stove to oven was my Dutch oven. He also brought me a bottle of Allagash Curieux and a bottle of Black Currant Ephemere, which I thought was only available in Canada! The black currant colored the beer pink and made me think of sparkling grapefruit juice. It was super fruity, but with a "beer-y" finish, unlike its apple counterpart which is more floral.

On Saturday morning, we went to Cleveland's West Side Market, to look for dinner ideas. We bought some asparagus, scallops, and a steak and proceeded to surf and turf it up! Jacob had been wanting scallops ever since I showed him a recipe for seared scallops with goat cheese-yukon puree from Girl in the Kitchen. He's been lusting after goat cheese purees after having his favorite steak at Carnivale in Chicago which comes with malanga root-goat cheese puree. I've never seen a malanga root in its original form, but the puree was heavenly.

We spent Saturday afternoon in the kitchen, drinking our Ephemere, watching TV, and making dinner. The scallop technique was lifted from Girl in the Kitchen, but everything got a little tweak.

IZARD-INSPIRED GOAT CHEESE-YUKON PUREE
Ingredients:
1 lb. yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup half & half
3 oz. soft goat cheese
salt and pepper

Directions:
Bring the chicken stock, potatoes, and 1 tsp salt to a boil and simmer, covered for 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, combine goat cheese and half & half, stirring occasionally until goat cheese has melted into the cream.

Drain potatoes and return to pan. Mash immediately, adding the goat cheese mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.

THE TURF

I'm kind of a meat n00b when it comes to cooking. I'm hoping that this new cast-iron skillet will allow me to practice my meat cooking skills so I can hypothetically audition for Masterchef some time and not make a fool out of myself!

Ingredients:
1 Delmonico steak, about 1-1 1/2 in. thick
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:
Season steak with salt and pepper. Marinate steak in soy sauce and garlic, covered in the fridge for about 2 hours. Let steak come to room temperature before cooking.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In oven-safe skillet, heat the olive oil on high heat. Dry the steak with a paper towel (re-season if necessary), and sear in the skillet for 2-3 minutes. Flip and immediately transfer to the oven. Let cook for 6-7 minutes and remove. Let meat sit (it will continue cooking in the pan, so remove it or leave it as you see fit based on its doneness).

ASPARAGUS IN AJI AMARILLO VINAIGRETTE
Ingredients:
1 dried aji amarillo chile
1 Tbsp champagne vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb. asparagus trimmed and sliced diagonally into 1 inch pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Remove stem and seeds from chile and reconstitute in a bowl of very hot water for 5 minutes. In a food processor combine chile, vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use (this can be done well in advance)

Heat olive oil in a saute pan and saute asparagus for 5-7 minutes, until just tender. Season with salt and pepper. Toss in a bowl with enough vinaigrette to coat and set aside, reseason if necessary.

THE SURF
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
6 sea scallops
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp butter

Directions:
I'll quote Stephanie on how to best sear a scallop, since her directions were very clear and fool-proof! I was very proud of what I accomplished because of her.

"Pat the scallops dry and season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Add the scallops to the hot pan. (Avoid overcrowding the scallops in the pan. If they are too close together, they will steam instead of sear. Sear them in batches if the pan is not big enough to hold them all at once.) Let the scallops brown for 1 minute, then reduce the heat to medium. Continue to cook until a brown crust forms. Add the butter to the pan. Turn the scallops over to brown the other sides. While browning, spoon the melted butter over the tops of the scallops to baste them. Remove them from the pan once you've basted them well and all edges are nice and browned."

Since I had my hands busy, Jacob was my food photographer throughout the process and took all these awesome pictures. He likes to make fun of me for the way I say scallop, with an "a" as in "hall," instead of scallop with an "A" as in "hat." I think it's just one of those words like "Halloween" that some people just say differently. Either way we get to make fun of each other whenever the word comes up, and marvel at the many inconsistencies in the English language.