Father's Day 2007

Parents came over for father's day and I made a nice light summer dinner. They're into the seafood and salads, so the menu below kinda made sense to me.

Menu
1) Scallop Ceviche with Guacamole
2) Summer Salad with Balsamic and Anchovy Vinaigrette
3) Red Snapper, Asparagus, and Corn Puree


Scallop Ceviche with Guacamole
This came from my one of favorite books - Fast Food My Way by Jacques Pepin. I made a slight tweak with my own guacamole recipe. My favorite thing about guacamole is the smoothness of the dip and the flavor of the avocado. Some recipes include cilantro and tomatoes among other things, but I think that drowns the flavor of the avocado out. I feel this recipe enhances the flavor and texture of the avocado. Scallops are sweet and creamy, which match perfectly with the guacamole. Què aproveche!

Scallop Ceviche Ingredients
8 sea scallops sliced into thirds
Sea Salt
Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 Lemon

Guacamole Ingredients
2 Ripe Avocados
1 small cloves garlic minced
1 tsp yellow hot pepper sauce (scotch bonnet, or habanero) - my favorite is Baron West Indian Hot sauce
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and pepper
1 lime
1/2 white onion minced and rinsed under water
5 tortilla chips

1) Lay scallops on a plate, sprinkle sea salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. Put scallops in the refrigerator and let marinate for 1 hour.
2) Remove avocado flesh and place in bowl.
3) Add minced garlic, juice of 1/2 a lime, 1/2 the amount of the olive oil, 1/2 the amount of the pepper sauce, pinch salt and pinch pepper and stir around - texture should be 3/4 smooth and 1/4 chunky.
4) Taste - this is the most important part. If you want it creamier, add more olive oil. Spicier add more pepper sauce. More flavor another 1/2 pinch salt and pepper. Re-taste.
5) When the flavor is to your liking add the white onion, and stir around. Rinsing the onion removes the bite and adds light crispness to the guacamole.
6) Remove scallops from the refrigerator 10 minutes before serving. Place scallops slices around the plate. Add guacamole in the center and crush the tortilla chips on top of the guacamole for texture. You can add more hot sauce to the scallops if you want to wake the flavor up.


Summer Salad with Balsamic and Anchovy Vinaigrette
Usually I like making more unique salads, but sometimes a nice basic salad is great. These flavors definitely reminds me of summer - tomato, basil, crunchy cucumber and red onion. The key to the salad is a nice crunchy texture and fresh flavors. Anchovy adds a nice meaty taste to the dressing.

Ingredients
1 package of rinsed romaine lettuce
3 ripe tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
2 ears of sweet corn, kernels removed
3 cucumbers (same type as the ones for pickles) sliced
10 basil leaves hand torn
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
Kosher Salt
Pepper

Dressing Ingredients
1/4 tablespoon anchovy paste
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup mustard
2 teaspoon honey
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

1) Combine ingredients and lightly toss to make sure all ingredients are incorporated well. Again, I never measure, so all the ingredients are about equal in proportion - except for the red onion, which is much less. Add salt and pepper to the salad.
2) Whisk together dressing ingredients in a separate bowl. Taste and adjust to your liking.
3) Add the dressing to the salad and lightly toss. Make sure the dressing lightly coats the salad.



Red Snapper, Asparagus and Corn Puree
Never tried poaching red snapper in white wine, but I gave it a try. The fish was a little overcooked - fish was raw at first when I first checked. 2 minutes later the fish was overcooked. I think next time I need to cut the fillets into smaller pieces and check more frequently. Flavors were still great and the dish came out pretty good. Corn puree has really intense, rich flavors and would work perfectly with chicken.

Ingredients
2 fillets red snapper cut into 1/2
4 ears of sweet corn, kernels removed
1/2 cup of parmiggiano-reggiano
16 stalks of asparagus cut in half, tough ends removed
Sea Salt
Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Lemon
2 cups white wine
3 tomatoes, seed and juice only (same tomatoes from summer salad)

1) Put corn kernels, parmiggiano, and 1/4 cup olive oil in a blender. Taste. Add salt and pepper. If needed add more parmiggiano and/or olive oil.
2) Preheat oven to 400F. When the oven temperature is ready, add asparagus, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Cook for 8 minutes or until just tender. Asparagus flavor will really intensify by roasting it.
3) Add fillets to a cold pan with the white wine. Add salt, pepper, and olive oil to the fish. Bring the wine to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Check after 3 minutes of simmering - you can check by sticking a knife in the fish. Remove from the heat when the fish is tender. Make sure not to overcook the fish.
4) Pour out all but 1/4 cup of the white wine. Add corn puree to the remaining white wine and cook over medium high heat for 2 minutes - it should thicken up quickly. Make sure not to burn the corn puree.
5) Place corn puree on the bottom of the plate. Add 4 pieces of asparagus to the plate. Add fish on top of the asparagus. Add lemon juice to the top of the fish.
6) Combine tomato seeds and juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour tomato mixture on top of the fish.