Pardon the lousy photos – my photography skills are something I’m going to be working on in the new year, in large part due to the generosity of my family, which has given me a sundry assortment of photography equipment that I will have to learn how to use.

At any rate, I recently whipped up a adaptation of Ina Garten’s Baked Shrimp Scampi, from her new book, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients.  Instead of shrimp (farm raised in Asia), I opted to use scallops (wild from the USA).  I followed Ina’s recipe in other respects but for her use of extraordinary amounts of butter – I cut that from 12 Tbsp. down to 7.  And you know what?  You wouldn’t even miss it!  Believe me, almost a full stick of butter is plenty.

I served the scallops and their buttery, lemony sauce atop a pasta called rombi.  Master Chow and I polished this off over the course of a couple of days, and the pups enjoyed licking the bowl clean.  Recipe after the jump . . . .
continue reading "Baked Scallops Scampi, a la Ina Garten"

This is a dish my mother used to make when mussels were in season. Very simple, but very tasty.

Amounts are approximate. Change quanitities to suit your tastes! I would recommned mincing the parsley and garlic by hand, and not using a food processor. For some reason, processing those two ingredients really changes the flavor of this dish, and not for the better.

• 4-5 pounds of fresh mussels
• 5-7 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1-2 cups loosely packed parsley, minced
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• pinch of kosher salt
• splash of white wine

Clean and de-beard the mussels just before preparing. Heat olive oil in pot over medium heat, until the oil starts to shimmer slightly. Add the parsley and then the garlic to the pot, along with the butter, salt, and wine. Immediately add the mussels and put the lid on the pot. Cooking time will vary according to how deeply the mussels are stacked, and the quantity of mussels, about 8 to 15 minutes.

When all the mussels have opened, empty them into a serving bowl along with all the juices. Serve with a crusty bread and a green salad.