Ryan's Birthday Dinner

Scallops

The pea puree in this dish comes straight from Well Done Cooking School from one of their foundational classes: Cooking Techniques - Fish. In class, it's paired with a crispy skin salmon that changed my mind about seafood (I never liked fish - the smell, the texture, yuck - but now I'm realizing that it may have been that my only experience with "fish" was Red Lobster and I needed to try some of the good stuff to find an appreciation for it). In my rendition, I add a heftier amount of mint, pair it with scallops instead of salmon, and add a drizzle of a lime vinaigrette instead of a white wine butter sauce.

My first take with this dish was for my celebratory 9-course tasting menu and then I adjusted it slightly for Ryan's birthday surprise to be a main instead of a tasting. Funny story: Ryan actually hates peas, but is somehow happy with them when pureed into oblivion and served with scallops - go figure!

Method

1. 01Place scallops in a single layer on a paper towel, cover with another paper towel and lightly press; place in fridge as-is to allow outer skin to dry out (this step will help get that beautiful sear later); let rest in fridge for at least 2 hours
2. 02Make citrus vinaigrette with lime and no herb, then store in fridge
3. 03Add peas, parmesan, lemon juice, mint, garlic, and heavy cream to food processor and blend
4. 04As it's blending, add olive oil slowly to help keep the puree moving/blending; once it's all moving nicely, no more olive oil
5. 05Taste, adjust, and re-blend as needed, then store in fridge --- Begin searing*/final plating stage ---
6. 06Remove scallops, pea puree, and vinaigrette from the fridge
7. 07Salt/pepper both sides of each scallop moderately
8. 08Add about a tbsp of neutral, high smoke point oil to a frying pan and turn heat to medium heat
9. 09Once the pan is visibly smoking, add your scallops and cook until there's a nice sear, about 3 mins
10. 10Flip and sear the other side, about 3 mins
11. 11Add butter to pan and use a spoon to baste the scallops
12. 12Remove to a plate lined with paper towel to remove some of the grease
13. 13Add pea puree to base of a small bowl, top with a tbsp of vinaigrette, then add your scallops and serve! *Assuming you'll be pairing this dish with other things, make sure to plan to sear the scallops last; scallops cool off very quickly and are much better straight off the pan (similar to scrambled eggs), so for the best quality, you want to do them last.

Lamb Chops

Lamb is Ryan's favorite protein and lamb chops are definitely his favorite cut. I actually didn't used to like lamb before I met Ryan and before I took classes at Well Done Cooking School, but now that I've figured out how to reduce the game-y notes and work with the protein the right way, I love it, too!

Lamb is a fattier meat generally, so starting it in a cold pan will help to render the fat and make it buttery to bite through instead of gristly; using the Flavor Bible to find the best flavor pairings has been great inspiration for me; and, cooking only to a medium-rare/medium temperature (about 135F) keeps gaminess flavors at bay.

Method

1. 01Place a few layers of paper towel on a plate
2. 02Add lamb chops in a single layer
3. 03Cover lamb chops with additional paper towels and place in fridge
4. 04Allow outside of ribs to dry out for at least 2 hours
5. 05Remove from fridge and season generously with salt and pepper on both sides, then rest at room temperature for 30 mins
6. 06Add ribs to a cold pan, no oil necessary*
7. 07Turn heat to medium high
8. 08Cook on the first side until nicely seared, about 8 mins
9. 09Flip and cook the second side until seared, about 2 mins
10. 10Remove from pan to a plate and rest for 5-10 mins under foil
11. 11Optionally, use the remaining lamb fat and fond to make a sauce (i.e. my blueberry glaze) *By starting in a cold pan, the fat caps on the lamb chops will render out and act as the cooking oil to make sure the chops brown nicely without sticking.

Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

One random April day, I was looking for inspiration on the spring season page in the Flavor Bible and saw lamb is traditionally spring which is the BFs favorite and chops always look fancy on a plate - flipped to lamb and goat cheese pairs nicely, as well as potatoes - grabbed some carrots to do a quick roast - and BAM! full meal crafted, all from the Flavor Bible and my brain - the BF ended up saying it was the best thing I'd ever cooked for him, so I made it for him again with some scallops (his other favorite protein) for his birthday.

Method

1. 01Put goat cheese and butter in a large bowl and set aside to allow to soften at room temperature
2. 02Add heavy cream, shallot, and garlic to a small pot over low heat to infuse the cream with flavor
3. 03Add peeled, diced potatoes to a large pot and cover by an inch or two with cool, salted water*
4. 04Bring potatoes to boil over high heat
5. 05Reduce heat to medium to maintain rolling boil
6. 06Boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes, then remove from heat
7. 07Using a ricer, rice the potatoes into the large bowl on top of the softened goat cheese and butter
8. 08Remove the cream from the heat and strain about half the cream into the same bowl over the potatoes
9. 09Fold the potatoes**, goat cheese, butter, and infused cream together; if there's not enough cream, add a little more cream and fold it in until you achieve the texture you want
10. 10Taste test, adjust, and fold ingredients together as needed *You want the water to taste salty; not burn your mouth like the ocean, but good salty, almost like a soup. I've also used my chicken stock in place of water to infuse even more flavor into the potatoes, but I still add salt to the stock - you want the water/stock to taste relatively "good." **When ricing the potatoes, you shouldn't run into the dreaded "over mashed" potatoes with a gluey/gross texture, but still a good idea to avoid stirring too much - aim for folding the ingredients together and you should be fine!

Toni's Carrots, with whipped cheese & lemon vinaigrette

The BF calls these my "cheesy carrots" and I make them regularly: they always look so pretty and appetizing once plated, plus they're good for the gut biome! I was loosely inspired by some carrots we had with some friends at Squable here in Houston; theirs were smothered in some heavenly, cheesy, herby gravy of sorts - I don't remember them completely, but I do remember it was the favorite dish of the night BY FAR for all four of us (we didn't even get a picture we dug in so fast), so I had to attempt my own version.

Method

1. 01Pre-heat over to 425 F
2. 02Take cheeses out of fridge to allow to warm for easier mixing later
3. 03Place peeled & halved carrots on baking pan
4. 04Drizzle carrots with olive oil and sprinkle salt & pepper; mix together to get carrots covered in seasoning, then evenly spread out on the baking pan
5. 05Bake carrots at 425 F for 25-30 minutes until slightly charred and fork tender
6. 06Add all ingredients for lemon vinaigrette except olive oil to mixing bowl
7. 07While whisking, add olive oil to desired consistency; taste test and whisk again as needed, then set aside
8. 08Add all ingredients for whipped cheese to mixing bowl
9. 09Using hand mixer with beaters, whip together until combined; taste test and beat again as needed, then set aside
10. 10Plating: swoop whipped cheese at bottom of serving plate, spread roasted carrots on top of whipped cheese, drizzle the vinaigrette on top of the carrots allowing some to pool around the whipped cheese, then sprinkle chopped pistachios across the carrots and serve!

Berry Mocktail

I wanted a special drink for the BF's surprise birthday dinner. He loves fruity, minty drinks (his go-to is a Moscow Mule), so I opted for strawberry and blueberry with mint as our beverage for the evening.

Method

1. 01Add strawberries, blueberries, mint, honey, lemon juice, and salt to blender (Ninja smoothie cups are the perfect size)
2. 02Blend until smooth; taste test and adjust as needed
3. 03Strain with fine mesh strainer
4. 04Stir* into mineral water
5. 05Rub juiced lemon half along rim of glass then dip the glass in sugar
6. 06Fill glass with ice to brim
7. 07Pour berry + mineral water mixture into glass
8. 08Add slice of lemon** and a straw - serve! *Stirring works, but I usually grab two big cups and pour back-and-forth to mix **If you want it extra fancy, sprinkle a thin layer of sugar on the lemon slice and caramelize with a kitchen torch; do this to both sides