Seared Scallops with Asparagus & Linguine

Ben and I had a small celebratory dinner last night, just a little nod to the fact that we have now been together for 2 and a 1/2 years. We don't really celebrate anniversaries, why if we love each other why do we have to congratulate ourselves for sticking in the relationship? We are together and it's great, there is no reason to count or list the days, hours, minutes that we've lasted.

But nice dinners together are something that I think we both cherish, so there is no reason that we can't do that on a weekly basis, and just enjoy each other.


I sent Ben a few different options for dinner. We decided on a pasta dish because neither of us could remember the last time we had pasta (which is almost a crime.) We also like trying new things and neither of us had ever made scallops before, and they are a food that we both like. So we experimented, guided by a cooking light recipe.

Seared Scallops with Asparagus & Linguine

1 (9-ounce) package refrigerated linguine
1 bunch asparagus
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp Romano cheese, divided
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
Handful of chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 lbs sea scallops
1 lemon

In a medium size pot bring the water to a boil to cook the pasta. While waiting for the water to come up, rinse and cut the asparagus into bite size pieces. Once boiling place the asparagus in the water, let come up to a boil again and then add the pasta in. Cook according to the package (2-3 minutes) then drain pasta and asparagus in a colander over a bowl. Combine pasta, 1/4 cup cheese, 1 tablespoon oil, chopped basil, the juice of 1/2 a lemon and pepper in a large bowl; toss well.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Sprinkle salt evenly over scallops; add scallops to pan. Cook 1 minute on each side or until golden.


Serve pasta with scallops on top and extra lemon wedges on the side. Sprinkle with cheese to finish the dish.


So the pasta was good, not great, the flavors were there that Ben and I love but we had a few issues with the dish. First, apparently I don't like fresh pasta, for some reason the texture was too chewy, it stuck together and I just didn't enjoy it. So if we make this again the first thing we would do differently is use dried pasta.


The second thing we would do is not over cook the scallops. I said "Ben it says scallops one minute on each side, that's it, don't over cook the scallops" about 7 or 8 times before we started to cook them. (Ben was in charge of the scallops while I did the pasta.) It got to the point where I knew I was annoying him, but I had this feeling that he would cook and cook and cook the scallops and they would be like rubber. Well...that's exactly what happened. We sat down to eat and Ben popped a scallop in his mouth, looked at me and smiled..."I over cooked the scallops," he said. Oh well...at least we'll know for next time. I'm sure that we will make scallops again, I can't wait to perfect it.

One last thing that we would change, adding the cheese to the pasta while it was hot made one big clump of cheese in the middle of a bunch of pasta, because the temperatures of the cheese and the pasta were too cold to have the cheese mix in well, so I would just take that whole part out and add the cheese on the top over everything at the end. I would also next time use Parmesan cheese not Romano.

But all that said, the flavors were there, the lemon, asparagus, seared scallops, it was yummy and I can't wait to redo it and make the dish really a winner. Ben took the leftovers to work today for lunch so...it was good enough to keep and eat again, just not as fabulous as we thought.


The night was not ruined because this is what we love, to cook, eat and be together, it's fun to be in the kitchen, mixing, stirring and pouring. I boss Ben around, his dinner gets cold while I try and take a million pictures and for us, this works.

Super Fudgy Brownies

This may or may not be the last thing that I make for my local sorority girls, but we're getting close to the end of the cookie and bar donations.


There are people, strange people that like cakey brownies, my family was not part of that group. I remember these brownies that my mother always made, none of us liked them. You needed a glass of milk during the eating process because they were so dry you could hardly swallow, not a glass of milk to cut the richness of the chewy, fudgy goodness. Needless to say I will probably not ever make a cakey brownie unless asked to by someone else. I just don't prefer them, and why give other people something that you don't believe in? That just seems silly.


I found this fudgy brownie recipe from Cookie Madness and then accessed the original recipe from recipezaar. I decided to make these because Anna from Cookie Madness said that these were maybe the best brownies that she ever made. I have to say they were really easy and really good. A fabulous recipe all around.

Super Fudgy Brownies

5 oz bittersweet chocolate
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
8 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
Walnuts for top (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Line an 8 inch metal pan foil and spray foil with cooking spray.

Melt both chocolate and butter together in a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring often. Or you can use my method of popping the chocolate and the butter in the microwave and melt it that way. You do have to check it every 20 seconds to start and then more often as it melts, you want to make sure you do not burn the chocolate (it is a lot easier in a double boiler because there is no chance of burning the chocolate. It a slower method but and it is more gentle for the chocolate.) Stir in cocoa powder. Remove from heat to cool slightly.


Whisk in to the chocolate mixture the sugar and then the eggs one at a time, vanilla and salt. Make sure that the chocolate mixture is not too hot when you start adding the eggs in, you do not want to have scrambled eggs in your chocolate. Fold in the flour and stir until blended. Pour into pan. (if using nuts you can line them on top of the mixture.)


Place into the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. A cake tester or tooth pick should come out clean or with small crumbs when these brownies are done. Let sit on the counter to cool 1 to 2 hours, or you can put these in the refrigerator to cool (they will cut easier if they are cold.)


These came out very fudgy and yummy. You definitely need to have them with a large glass of milk or a big bowl of ice cream as my roommate did. Great brownies!

Oatmeal Raisin Craisin Bars

So I made up a recipe. Based off of another recipe of course, but it's all mine. It probably needs some tweaking but YAY, my first and hopefully not my last experiment into creating my own lovely baked goods. And...they were good!


These will also be heading off to the Boston University chapter of Alpha Delta Pi for all of the amazing girls to consume.

Oatmeal Raisin Craisin Bars

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup flour
1 1/4 cut quick cooking oats
1 cup raisins
1 cup craisins
(walnuts optional 1/2 cup)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch pan. In a mixing bowl melt the butter and then whisk in the sugars. Add in the eggs one at a time and stir to combine. Add the vanilla, and stir. Add in all of the dry ingredients and max sure it is all well mixed. Fold in the raisins and the craisins (if you are using nuts add them here too.) Pour into your prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes. Let cool and then cut when the bars are at room temperature.


They are a really good and easy alternative to making brownies or other bars, or if you are craving oatmeal raisin cookies these give you that flavor without all the scooping and drop work of cookies. Pour, bake and cut. Easy.


I really hope you enjoy these new bars. I did and I know Alpha Delta Pi girls will as well!

Triple Chip Cookies

This is the second year that I will be donating cookies to the Boston University chapter of my sorority, Alpha Delta Pi. Last year in a news letter I saw that this chapter needed some help during their recruitment. I was willing an eager to help. I volunteered to make them a lot of chocolate chip cookies, I think last year it totaled about 100 cookies. This year I wanted to try out a new chocolate chop cookie recipe and also make them a few other things (you'll see those in some future posts.)


Triple Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar*
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 12 oz bag semisweet choclate chips
6 oz dark chocolate chips
6 oz milk chocolate chips

*If you do not have both kinds of brown sugar you can just use a total 1 1/4 cup of whatever brown sugar is in your cabinet.


Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Stir flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and then add it into the butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.

Scoop on to an ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by tablespoonfuls or ice cream scoop leave about 2 inches apart for spreading.


Bake around 13 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). Cool 1 to 2 minutes on the sheet and then remove to a cooling rack. I made 38 larger cookies.


The original recipe for these cookies can be found here. I was a little unhappy with the final look of these cookies I thought they didn't rise enough in the oven and were a little bit too greasy out of the oven. Overall the taste was great and enjoyed. I can't wait to give these to my local sorority sisters hopefully the cookies will give them the energy to smile and talk to hundreds of college freshmen and sophomores who may want to join Alpha Delta Pi.

Shrimp, Chicken and Tofu Stir Fry

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all are enjoying the new year so far. I know that many people have made New Years Resolutions that include getting healthier, working out more and being overall happier with yourself. Ben and I are part of this group that made these resolutions and we've both stuck to it for the past 6 days. :)

The past few nights for dinner I've been experimenting with an Asian vegetable mix, and tonight Ben and I added Shrimp, Chicken and Tofu to the mix. It turned out really good. I accomplished making two new things (Shrimp and Tofu) and succeed in part of my resolution to try and eat more balanced, healthy meals. On my own I tend to not eat enough protein so experimenting with Tofu and Shrimp tonight was very exciting. I did try the shrimp, however I have to say it is not on my list of seafood that I like. Ben ended up eating 5 and 3/4 of the 6 shrimp we cooked.


Ben and I agreed that it was a great meal, easy, super fast and great for you. I'm not sure anyone would be looking for anything different in the New Year.


Shrimp, Chicken and Tofu Stir Fry

1 boneless skinless chicken breast
6 large shrimp, peeled and devained
1/4 block extra firm tofu
1/2 tsp chopped fresh ginger
6 Tbsp low sodium Soy sauce
1 tsp hot sesame oil
3 cups Oriental Style frozen vegetables*
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt
pepper
rice noodles (we followed the packaging and made about 2.5 servings at 150 calories per serving)

*French green beans, onions, broccoli, and mushroom mix.

Slice the raw chicken breast into bite size pieces. I cut the chicken on an angle so that the slices were thin and would cook as fast as the shrimp. Add the chicken and shrimp to a bowl with 3 Tbsp Soy sauce, 1/2 tsp hot sesame oil and the ginger. Let marinate for anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour (or more if you have the time.) Slice the tofu into whatever size pieces you want to use and set aside.


Cook the rice noodles according to the package. While the noodles are cooking place the vegetables in a sautee pan, and let cook until warmed through (about 5 minutes) add the shrimp, chicken, tofu and marinate mixture to the pan. This will all cook very quickly, you will only need to make sure that the chicken is no longer pink and the shrimp is just turning white and pink. Add the rest of the soy, oil and the spices. Stir to combine.


Drain the rice noodles and spoon the vegetables mixture on top and pour any extra liquid over everything. This made two servings perfectly. Eat and enjoy, we did!