pan seared diver scallops with a corn succotash

Scallops are tasty all year around. Now that spring is approaching these veggies are perfect for a great bunch or sunday dinner with your family. 

Recipe:

• 1 cup fresh corn kernels
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onions
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup small diced zucchini
• 1/4 cup small diced yellow squash
• 1/4 cup small diced roma tomato
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1/4 white wine
• 12 large diver scallops, removed from the shell - use large scallops if diver is not available
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Directions

Remove the small side muscle from the scallops, rinse with cold water and thoroughly pat dry.

Add the half the butter and half the oil to a 12 to 14-inch sauté pan (preferably nonstick) on high heat. Salt and pepper the scallops. Once the fat begins to smoke, gently add the scallops, making sure they are not touching each other. Sear the scallops for 1 1/2 minutes on each side. The scallops should have a 1/4-inch golden crust on each side while still being translucent in the center. 

In a saute pan, heat the olive oil. When the oil is hot, saute the corn, onions, garlic, zucchini, and yellow squash for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the tomato and deglaze with wine. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add the remaining butter to the succotash. Remove from the heat. Spoon the veggies on the bottom of the plate. Arrange the scallops around the salad. Garnish with more chopped parsley, cracked black pepper and lightly drizzle some more olive oil to give it shine.

classic asparagus wrapped in prosciutto

Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto is a simple, quick, and delicious side dish. Bulk it up to substitute any main course or great for passing as hor dourves . Use the pencil (skinny) asparagus because it's quicker to cook without over drying the proscuitto. 

 Recipe:
(yield 6 side dishes)

1 stalk of pencil sized asparaguses
1 package (8oz) of sliced prosciutto
shaved parmesan cheeses
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil (great quality)

Directions:
Take a large stock pot, filled up with water, and add a few pinches of salt. Put it over a high flame and bring to a boil. Remove the rubberband from the asparaguses and line them up together. Using a sharp knife, cut the asparaguses on the end so that all fibrous ends are removed and that the asparaguses are all the same size. Discard the ends. Drop the asparagus into the boiling water and cooking until "al dente" (roughly five minutes). Make sure you have a large bowl filled with ice cold water to shock the asparaguses. Once "al dente" drain the water and chilled the asparaguses in the bowl of cold iced water. Remove once they are completely cool and lay them over paper towels to dry. DO NOT let the asparaguses sit for a long time in the iced water.
Divide the asparaguses evenly into 6 portions. Remove the packaging from the prosciutto and carefully roll each of the portions onto each of the sliced prosciutto. Lay them on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Season with fresh cracked black pepper and salt. (Go easy on the salt because the prosciutto is VERY salty. Baked these in the oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until the bundles are completely warmed through. Being careful not to over cook the prosciutto, this causes the prosciutto to become dry and leather like.
Serve on a decorative plate, shave parmesan cheese, drizzled EVOO and more cracked black pepper. Enjoy!