What's for Dinner?

[Burgundy Burner]

Pimento cheese and bacon crosini sandwiches on whole wheat bread - got a couple of them from the cafeteria along with some ritz crackers.

 

[Boone]

Pimento cheese and bacon crosini sandwiches on whole wheat bread - got a couple of them from the cafeteria along with some ritz crackers.

Sounds good - pimento cheese is a southern staple My mushrooms and salmon were damn good too

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Awesome. I picked up some salmon at Food Lion earlier that I couldn't resist. It was wild caught Alaskan salmon, one of the long filets, and it was on sale for $6.99. I've never seen them under $15 before, so I happily grabbed one.

Sounds like Coleson's Catch Salmon - it is wild caught and I prefer them. Got five packages in the freezer now and may get a package out to grill this coming week.

 

[Goaldeje]

Sounds good - pimento cheese is a southern staple My mushrooms and salmon were damn good too

I love pimento cheese. LOVE it. Add in jalapenos and bacon and I could eat for every meal. I make a great pimento cheese with white cheddar and Jack. Good stuff!

 

[tshile]

Are there any scallop experts here? I suck at cooking them and need some tips.

 

[Boone]

I always over cook them myself. My brother and I did do a recipe a couple of years ago at the beach where we marinated the scallops in lime juice, garlic, and sesame oil, then wrapped them with strips of grilled Pasilla pepper and raw bacon, and grilled them.

Scallops are just damn good - just don't overcook them

 

[tshile]

Yeah once they're overcooked, or god forbid slightly burned, they're ruined. I've completely given up on pan searing them. I now broil them but I'm still falling short of a quality dish

 

[Snydershrugged]

Bitter sweet: Meatballs and Sauce were a huge hit. No more meatballs so I dont get them in my lunch.

On a side note, holy crap you guys make some incredible sounding dishes!

 

[Boone]

Yeah once they're overcooked, or god forbid slightly burned, they're ruined. I've completely given up on pan searing them. I now broil them but I'm still falling short of a quality dish

I am a hell of a good cook. And I think scallops are just plain challenging. If you solve the mystery, please share

 

[Elephant]

I am a hell of a good cook. And I think scallops are just plain challenging. If you solve the mystery, please share

I am allergic, so I cannot tell you...but when I was working at one of my favorite restaurants in South Florida, they sauteed their scallop dish with truffle oil, chopped tomatoes and scallions. While it wasn't the best selling dish, everyone who ate it absolutely loved it.

 

[Nobody]

Are there any scallop experts here? I suck at cooking them and need some tips.

Tips will do no good with scallops unfortunately. It's just one of those things that's so hard to get right. I've cooked them so many times I can't count, and to this day about every third time I cook them, they get ruined. The best advice is get either a copper bottom pan or a really good non stick pan, cooking on gas works better than electric, and the only real trick is just keeping the temperature in that perfect zone, which is so hard to do. The best way to have a good shot at it is to get a restaurant style ketchup bottle and put in a liquid mixture of whatever you wanna cook it in into the bottle. I usually use a sugar water/oil/lime mixture, and just keep them in the pan searing and squirt just the right amount in every 45 seconds or so. Another difficulty with them is that every time you lift them up to check them, it's like hitting a reset button. Kinda like opening the oven to check on what you're cooking. When you do this too many times, you end up with burned edges and a gooey cold middle. Even professional chefs have more problems with scallops than any other dish, they're very fickle.

I am allergic, so I cannot tell you...but when I was working at one of my favorite restaurants in South Florida, they sauteed their scallop dish with truffle oil, chopped tomatoes and scallions. While it wasn't the best selling dish, everyone who ate it absolutely loved it.

I never developed a taste for any truffle related dishes. I've often wondered if it's just one of those things like caviar and liver pate that people with money eat because they're expected to. It could just be my tastebuds though, but to me truffles and truffle oil taste the way melting plastic smells. But my relatives with money eat the **** like it puts money in their bank account

 

[tshile]

Thanks Ex and Boone.

I feel reassured now that I realize I'm not just a dumbass and people that take pride in their cooking skills have trouble with scallops too.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

Really? I've cooked scallops three times, followed the directions on the recipe each time, and they came out perfectly. No harder to cook than a ribeye or pork tenderloin! Or more applicable, no harder to cook than a tuna steak.
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[Nobody]

Really? I've cooked scallops three times, followed the directions on the recipe each time, and they came out perfectly. No harder to cook than a ribeye or pork tenderloin! Or more applicable, no harder to cook than a tuna steak.
Posted via BGO Mobile Device

Sure you did buddy, sure you did. Are you sure it was scallops? I think you may have the wrong species my friend

The cooking method you used matters. If it was fried, there's no way to mess up fried scallops.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying you're full of ****, just that it's rated as one of the most difficult dishes dishes to cook, even for chefs. Watch an episode of Hell's Kitchen if you wanna see something hilarious with scallops, and they're all pro chefs. The odds that you made it only 3 times and nailed it every time is nearly an impossible feat to accomplish. Then again most people rank beef wellington as a nearly impossible dish and I cook it perfect every time. Maybe you just have the touch. Or maybe you just fried them

 

[Boone]

The tuna steak comment is dead-on. I'm not saying it's impossible to do them well, just that 30-60 seconds over or undercooked and they go from amazing to meh. Same holds true for tuna. Cooked perfectly, tuna is amazing. Keep them on a grill or in the oven just a minute too long and they are barely edible. I find the same to be true with scallops. One tip I will give is that wrapping them in something (bacon, strips of smoked pepper, etc..) seems to help. I've done them as appetizers on the grill this way and it's hard to screw them up, probably because wrapping them keeps them moist and it's harder to overcook them using that method.

Btw, let's not start arguing about scallops for God's sake. It would be like arguing over fishing

 

[Nobody]

You're right about tuna, but I have met freaks that like it well done. I don't see how either. When it has a pink center it's so perfect. 45 seconds later it can be dry and brown, and tough as rubber. I've luckily never had to throw out a tuna steak though, because I like them slightly underdone, and I've conditioned my family to realize that it's better that way too

 

[HOF44]

Sure you did buddy, sure you did. Are you sure it was scallops? I think you may have the wrong species my friend

)

Just think of it like Rainman, maybe he's a scallop savant, it happens!!!

 

[Lanky Livingston]

Maybe my palette isn't as refined? Its quite possible I've been cooking them "meh" and don't know the difference.

And yes, I always saute them.
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[Nobody]

Maybe my palette isn't as refined? Its quite possible I've been cooking them "meh" and don't know the difference.

And yes, I always saute them.
Posted via BGO Mobile Device

Sauteeing is definitely the best way to go if you do scallops. Although they taste delicious regardless of how they're cooked when they're done right. And you very well could have the magic touch, it happens. My brother burns mac and cheese, but taught me how to cook a perfect wellington, and that dude can't cook ****

What do you season it with? The best I've ever had were made by a friend of my dad's, but he isn't coming off the real recipe. He tells everyone he uses Mrs. Dash, but there's no way. These things are epic, and taste nothing like Mrs. Dash. My dad was over there when he made them one time and casually scoped out the situation when he was making them, and he said it looked like he dusted them in a combination of Mrs. Dash, cracker meal and powdered sugar, then pan seared them in Crisco. As to whether there are more ingredients, he has no idea. But I've never tried them that way to confirm.

 

[DiamondSkin]

If you wouldn't mind sharing the wellington recipe, it would be greatly appreciated, Ex. The only one I've got is from the Better Homes & Gardens cb, and those recipes usually suck unless you're doing something ridiculously easy.
And wellington ain't usually easy, unless your brother who "can't cook ****" knows a secret.
Which I want.