Honey Broiled Scallop Salad

What a lovely way to enjoy scallops.

 

  • 1/4 cup honey, divided
  • 1 tbsp. canola oil
  • 2 large limes, both zest and juice
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 12 large scallops, cleaned and muscle removed
  • 1 1/2 oranges, divided
  • 1 tbsp. fresh tarragon
  • 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 pink grapefruit
  • 1 blood orange
  • 1 fennel bulb, trimmed, fronds removed for garnish
  • 2 radishes, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp. chopped pistachios

In a large bowl, whisk together 3 tbsp. honey, oil, lime zest and juice along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add scallops to marinade and stir to coat well. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally for about 1 hour.

Cut away the peel and pith from half  the orange and cut onto chunks. Place in a blender. Add the remaining honey, tarragon, vinegar, mustard and olive oil before blending smooth. Season to taste and set aside.

Preheat broiler. Cut away the rind and white pith from the grapefruit and remaining orange. Cut into thin rounds. With a sharp knife or mandolin, cut the fennel and radishes into paper thin slices. Arrange the fruit, fennel and radish slices onto 4 serving plates.

In a broiler proof dish, arrange the scallops along with the marinade in a single layer. Broil 4-6 inches away from the heat until opaque throughout and lightly browned (4-6 minutes).

Arrange 3 scallops on each salad. Drizzle with the reserved dressing and garnish with the chopped pistachios.

To finish this off, serve with a nice Pinot Grigio or Riesling, chilled of course.

 

A New Upside Cake – Citrus Fruits

It doesn ‘t have to always be pineapple upside down cake. This one is made with lime, oranges and even grapefruit (pink).  Try it…Mikey likes it.

 

  • 1 1/3 cups packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 5 to 6  limes, grapefuit and oranges. Mix it up, slice thin
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp.baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. cardamon
  • 4 eggs, room temperature (they have more volume)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup butter, cold – cut  up

In a bowl, stir together the brown sugar, melted butter and water. Combine well. Spread evenly over a 13 x 9 inch baking dish.  Spray pan with Pam first, so the cake will release easily.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl stir together the flour, cardamon and baking powder. Set aside. In a large electric mixer, beat the eggs on high speed (4 – 5 minutes) to thick.

Reduce speed to medium and slowly add the sugar. Beat this for 5 minutes. Add the flour (low speed) until combined. This will be very thick.

In a saucepan, heat together the milk and butter until the buttter has completely melted. Pour into flour mixture. Mix up the sizes of the fruit and cover the bottom of the brown sugar mixture in pan.
They will be colourful and, when baked, lacy looking. No other decoration will be needed.

Carefully add the flour mixture to the pan, covering all the fruit. Bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick, when inserted in the cake centre, comes out clean.  Let cool on a rack for 20 minutes.

Run a sharp knife around the edges of the cake, invert on a platter and Drizzle any remaining sauce in baking pan over the cake top.

Whip some cream and serve to all those hungary people at your table. A cup of freshly brewed coffee and all is well with the world. Enjoy!