Sea Scallops with Pineapple Cucumber Salsa

You know you're getting old when you're Target browsing habits change. It used to be all about cloths, cosmetics and ridiculous women's magazines. Now, you give me 15 minutes to fill a prescription and I'm all over the cooking section.

I picked up these scallops at Target on just such an occasion. They appear to be high quality, though my knowledge of real seafood is surely lacking. At least the freezer pack they came in is releasable.

Ingredients:

7-10 sea scallops, bought frozen but later thawed

Oil for searing

1 medium-sized cucumber, coarsely chopped

1/2 medium-sized red onion, coarsely chopped

1 8oz. can of crushed pineapple

1-3 green chillies, diced

A few dashes of tabasco

1/2 teaspoon vinegar (optional), I used apple cider vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

First, you wanna make that salsa. Assemble your veggies, pineapple and spices. Then mix well. Sear the scallops in a frying pan over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes on each side. Top scallops with salsa an serve.

Fourth of July Foods

In case you haven't guessed, I'm not really much of a grill master. I blame the fact that I don't own a grill (no balcony in my apartment) and my tendency to use more vegetables and less meat. So if you don't think there's enough meat in this post about foods on the 4th, then I'm sorry. Believe me, there was still plenty of grilled chicken to go around...

Besides, those are pineapple chunks wrapped in bacon up there. I got this idea from Mark Bittman, who suggested pineapple wrapped in prosciutto as part of his "101 Fast Grilling Recipes." Nea did all the cooking. Here she is getting excited.
I did make a side dish that was great for garnishing grilled meats. This pickled onions recipe yielded a tasty, vinegary side.
Finally, it's a Fourth of July tradition at my house for my Grandmother to prepare a dessert trifle. She's always kind enough to pretend I helped in some way, though she's the master. Anyway, it's delicious with yogurt, angel food cake, berries and jello.

Pineapple Part 2: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

As soon as I made this caramel mixture and poured it into a cake pan, I thought to myself "there is no way anything is coming out of this pan upside down..."

Lo and behold, I was wrong. It came out perfectly from my lightly greased, disposable 9-inch cake pan. My cake may not be as pretty as hers, but this recipe was sort of proof for me that the smitten kitchen doesn't lie. This is my variation, which went over very well on a recent "ladies night in."

Ingredients:
For the topping:
1/3 small-medium pineapple, peeled, cored and sliced thin
3/4 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
Batter:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour, for health's sake!
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground dry ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon brandy
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons brandy for sprinkling over cake

To make my version of this cake, please just follow the original excellent directions, while adding the ginger to the dry ingredients before mixing. Also, use a cheap disposable cake pan and make your caramel in a old pot while almost ruining your spoon and slightly burning your tongue (seriously, be careful when making the caramel).

Pineapple Part 1: Pineapple Fried Rice

Tonight, I cut open a pineapple. This seemingly simple task resulted in dinner + leftovers, a cake for a party and a kitchen that looked like a war zone. This post will deal with the first dish I made, Pineapple Fried Rice.

I suppose it is "Thai style" pineapple fried rice, but there was no way I was going to be skillful enough with my knife to carve a nice little bowl out of my pineapple. Some restaurants and recipes suggest that...

Ingredients:
1.5 cups dry jasmine rice. Cook the rice and let it sit overnight
1 small onion, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
1 red pepper (like the ones that look like red jalapenos but aren't actually that spicy)
4-6 green chillies, sliced
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon dried red chili flakes
A dash of turmeric
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
2 cups napa cabbage, sliced as thin as you can get it or chopped up
2 chicken thighs (marinated overnight in lemon juice and ginger-garlic paste)
2 eggs, beaten
Ghee or oil for frying
1 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
1/2 a small-medium pineapple, cored and cut into small chunks

OK, cook your marinated chicken. I used a pressure cooker. Let it cool and cut it up into smaller bits. Stir fry all of your spices (onion, garlic and ginger included) in the ghee or oil. Wait until onions are translucent and then add your eggs. Fry at medium heat for about two minutes (without stirring) and add your veggies while stirring a lot. Add your pineapple and rice while continuing to mix. Add the chicken now too. Salt and pepper time. Mix very well and serve it, in a pineapple if you have to.