I love my mom. She gave birth to me. More to the point, I love her more tonight because she made some scallops (her scallops) - completely from scratch. I'm proud of her. These were some of the best darn scallops I've ever had. As she pointed out, they are very simple to make - but oh sooo good. These things melted in your mouth. So without adu, I proudly present my Mother's:

Pettini semplici in salsa del vino bianco e del burro ala Bonnie (Simple scallops in butter and white wine sauce by Bonnie)

1lb fresh sea scallops
1 scallion thinly sliced
2 medium garlic cloves, chopped fine
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
1/2 cup white flour (for dredging scallops)
1/4 cup dry white wine
cracked black pepper to taste.

Rinse off the scallops and pat dry with paper towels. In a medium plastic bag, add a 1/2 cup white flour and black pepper, then put the scallops in. Shake the bag containing the scallops so that the scallops are evenly covered with flour and set aside. In a medium skillet on medium heat, put butter (or margarine) and allow to melt down until bubbling, add chopped garlic and scallions and sauté until translucent (one-two minutes).

Add scallops with tongs and push around pan to absorb the butter garlic mix without sticking to pan. If sticking happens, add a little butter. Flip after a 2 minutes, same process. After another 2 minutes, pour in wine and swish around scallops as not to stick and pull in pan flavor.

Continue to flip scallops every one minute to absorb sauce for 4 minutes then cover pan for 2 minutes. Scallops are done when they are opaque.

To plate, serve on simple dish with a sprig of scallion followed by a lemon slice with an ample drizzle of the butter wine sauce and cracked pepper. My mom says Enjoy!

I love Shitake Mushrooms. Well...I love all mushrooms. But the shitake mushroom is one of the most versatile mushrooms of the fungi consanguinity. Good in sauces, good on salads, good in marinades, good in tapenades, great cooked in a special sauce and poured over a grilled steak, chop or breast of chicken. So without ado, I present:

Poulet grillé de champignon de Gingembre-Shitake en sauce à Ail-Chardonnay
(Grilled Ginger-Shitake Mushroom Chicken in Garlic-Chardonnay Sauce)

4 medium boneless chicken breasts
12 medium dried shitake mushrooms (rehydrated - see below)
1/2 cup Chardonnay
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 scallions thinly sliced
6 medium roasted garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup ginger, chopped finely
1 medium serrano pepper, roasted, finely chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. lime juice
1tsp sesame oil
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup Soy or Tamari sauce
large tbsp. of clover honey
1tbsp butter
fresh cracked pepper to taste
coarse/kosher salt to taste

Before you begin, you must first marinate the chicken breasts, and rehydrate the shitake mushrooms:

Marinade for chicken: In a large mixing bowl, combine soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic, ginger, scallions, lime juice, cracked pepper and sesame oil. Whisk so that honey is well mixed in. Clean chicken, pat dry and put in marinade for 20 minutes to an hour.

To rehydrate shitake mushrooms, combine 1/2 cup of warm chicken broth , and 1/2 cup of Chardonnay and all 12 shitake mushrooms in a small saucepan to soak for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, slice up shitake mushrooms and put in left over Chardonnay-broth mixture for later.

Once chicken breasts have marinated, remove 1/2 marinade from bowl and combine with the shitake mushrooms in sauce pan and bring to a low boil then turn down to low, add butter, salt and cover. Grill chicken over medium to high flame, occasionally removing chicken from flame to slather in marinade mix, 2-3 minutes per side - flipped about 4 times. Put last of marinade from grill in saucepan, bring to a low boil.
Plate chicken and liberally cover chicken with shitake mushroom sauce. Goes well with fresh corn or asparagus.

I need to polish up on my Catalonian, it's the language of Barcelona. It's a liberated language after Franco left Barcelona. It's a mix of French and Spanish - sorta like hearing a European Spaniard speak Spanish with a French lisp. Anyhoo. My favorite European city is Barcelona. Great architecture, great historically known Bohemian culture, fine culture and amazing Mediterranean cuisine. Tapas is the standard snack item, a very loungy as a food as the way you take it in - over a glass of Cava or a cold beer mixed with lemonade. Like an all night dinner of appetizers. In the spirit of Barcelona, I felt inspired to cook something from that region, so without adu, I present:

Salchicha y Shitake Calamari relleno seta (Sausage and Shitake Mushroom Stuffed Calamari)

2 1/2 pounds fresh squid (6 tubes), cleaned, tentacles removed, clear spine wick removed, fins removed
1 medium sized spicy Chorizo sausage link, cooked/cured & finely diced
1/4 cup Pecorino cheese (or parmesan as substitute)
6 shitake mushrooms (re-hydrated in 1/2 cup Chardonnay and 1/2 cup warm chicken broth mixture)
1 lemon, zested and juiced, plus 1 lemon, quartered
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
1/8 cup finely chopped sun dried tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 egg
Course/Kosher salt and fresh ground cracked pepper to taste
Extra-virgin olive oil, for grilling, broiling, searing.

Drizzle the squid bodies with the lemon juice and set aside.

Preheat the grill or broiler.

In a large mixing bowl, add sausage, pecorino, shitake mushrooms, lemon zest, herbs, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, bread crumbs, egg, a judicious amount of salt and black pepper to taste and mix well to combine thoroughly. Using a small spoon, stuff the reserved squid bodies with the filling. Using a toothpick, fasten the bodies closed.

Brush the squid with plenty of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill or broil 20 minutes, turning at least once. You can also sear/brown in saucepan, turn down heat, add rest of Chardonnay and broth mixture in bottom of pan, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with lemon wedges and rosemary leaves.

We are not Canabalistic nor Vain, We'd like to eat ourselves. A romper room of dumbass foodies, challenged by bitchslapping Walmart with a Williams-Sonoma Catalogue...

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