I’m a Jinius

My mother worked 6 days a week, nine to five, drove me and my brothers to and from school, transported us to piano lessons and baseball practice and even Korean language school on Saturdays. She always managed to have dinner on the table. A Korean dinner no less. And for those of you who have had Korean food know that it consists of about 10 different dishes, including one protein and one stew.

Nevertheless, I didn’t inherit any of her cooking skills. My mother insisted that I study or practice some instrument I had no intention of ever playing professionally instead of learning how to cook. So now I can play chopsticks on the piano but I have no idea how to make bul go gi.

Anyway, with my 28th birthday just looming in the background, I’ve decided that I should probably add some more dishes to my repertoire besides baked ziti and challah back french toast.

So over the weekend I attempted to recreate this lemon risotto and scallops dish that I found via Smitten Kitchen.

Let me tell you, I have never sweated so much in my life. I was like Howie from Top Chef. But it was SO worth it. The risotto was creamy but still tart and fresh thanks to the lemon. And perfectly complemented the scallops. Also, I like any dish that is prepared with wine because then you can drink the rest of the wine for dinner. I love killing two birds with one stone!

Smitten was kind enough to email her scallops recipe. Enjoy!

My scallop recipe is really, really unscripted. I chop a shallot, then heat a little bit of butter and olive oil in a pan on medium, add the shallot, move it around a little until it is soft but not browned at all, add scallops which I have patted dry and then (this is the trick) — don’t move them, because you want them to sear. Once they’ve seared on one side, I repeat this on the other, season them and add a squeeze of lemon juice.

That’s it. It’s pretty simple but you can add any other seasoning of flavorings you like to the pan. (By the way, the time I made the lemon risotto the scallops totally got stuck to the pan and ick because I had not patted them dry, had not put enough oil in and had moved them too soon. If you move them too soon, they’ll really stick and tear. I’m sure yours will look better!

Of course mine didn’t look better but they still tasted fantastic. Next, I learn how to knit. (Yeah, right. My domesticity ends in the kitchen.)