I Sear What You Did There

Dear Tofu,

Well you have really done an awesome job with this blog. Hopefully you won't mind me jumping in for a moment to share my dinner with you; I need to take a break from my novel. Which all of your readers should read when it's published, even though there is no good food in it. #shamelessselfpromotion #dealwithit

Even though I am soon to be a fabulously famous novelist, I still like to cook. I like to mise en place (that's French-literate speak for "set shit up") meals when I'm at peak writing frustration (should that be a comma, a semi-colon, a colon, or a period...let me read it for the 127th time AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH). So today that was about the whole afternoon, but luckily I had lots to prepare. Last night I dealt with the frustration of a blackout, so there was no cooking. #yayfordeliciousmexicantakeout

So here was dinner tonight, courtesy of NSTAR power (product placements do not signify approval of blog authors). Since I have done the work ahead of time, let me point out that these things do not go together. They are, however, both delicious, so just make them separately

Pan-Seared Sea Scallops with Soy-Balsamic Reduction

~ 12 sea scallops (or however many you want to pay for and eat, which may not be the same amount)

3 T balsamic vinegar

1 T rice vinegar

1 T soy sauce

1/2 T sesame oil

red pepper flakes

3 cloves garlic

coconut oil

salt

pepper

flour

Dry the sea scallops, season them, then dredge them in flour. Heat coconut oil on medium high and pan sear the scallops for about 2 minutes per side; don't futz with them people. Leave the fond (that's French-literate speak for "burned crap stuck to the pan") and remove the scallops. Then add the sesame oil and, when hot, the garlic and red pepper flakes (as many as you want to feel burning you). When the garlic smells fragrant, add the vinegars and soy sauce and reduce for a few minutes until a little syrupy. Plate the scallops on a simple salad and drizzle with a bit of the reduction.

Garlic-Thyme Sweet Potato Bakeds

~2 sweet potatoes (or however many you want to pay for and eat; lucky these are cheap)

a few sprigs of fresh thyme

~3 cloves garlic

olive oil

salt

pepper

cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 500F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper (just do it; you'll thank me). Cut the sweep potatoes into wedges and season them with the salt, pepper, and cayenne. Crush and chop the garlic and sprinkle it over the potatoes. Coat the potatoes in oil and mix all that stuff up. Then stand them on baking sheet as best you can and put the sprigs of thyme on them. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, depending on how dark you like your bakeds.

Alright. Time to go. My characters are about to kill me, and I already killed them!

Love,

Turkey