Monday, March 21, 2011

FFWD: Scallops with Caramel-Orange Sauce, Pancetta Green Beans, and Salted Butter Break-ups

I have fallen WAY behind on FFWD. In my many roles, first and foremost, I'm a mom to a spunky little toddler, other roles include wife, cook and full-time professional. A CPA. A tax accountant. So, you see, early February to mid-April is crazy time for me. Balancing the crazy work hours with showing my little guy lots of love, trying to working out to stay sane, and trying to keep our house in liveable shape for those 2 months is a challenge every year, and, well, FFWD kind of fell off my radar for a bit.

We finally found overselves with a Sunday with no commitments, and the topic of dinner came up. I logged in to see what the monthly recipes were, and which ones I missed... I opted to make a few of the simpler ones, with no fussy ingredients, and minimal prep.

The Scallops with Caramel-Orange Sauce were a favorite. Sweet, tender, melt in your mouth delicious with just a slight tang from the oranges and wine. I was worried my husband wouldn't love this one, since he tends to snub his nose at sweeter entrees, but he loved it. He declared it better than any scallop dish he'd had in a restaurant, and suggested I never order scallops in a restaurant again, which I often do.


The Pancetta Green Beans were cooked to a perfect tender crisp follwing Dorie's instuction and the pancetta gave it a nice salty bite. Pancetta makes everything better.


The Salted Butter Break-ups were also a winner. I looked over some of the blog entries for this one and completely agree that more salt would only enhance the flavor in these. With a name called 'salted' butter breakups, I definitely would have liked a more salty flavor. Although, I did use kosher salt, and I imagine the other salt suggested would have given it a different depth of salty flavor. They were still enjoyed, even without the salty flavor I expected. The crispy edges were my favorite part. And the little guy had fun with these, too!


At the end of the meal my husband said - the French got it right tonight!!!

Can't wait to see what next month has in store for us!

15 comments:

  1. This sounds like a beyond delicious dinner and I agree with your husband haha :) well done!

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  2. Good luck getting through April!

    I see the Cookie Monster found a big cookie to run with!

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  3. Yikes! I can't imagine having to cook with your schedule! So glad you were able to knock out a few recipes...your sweet guy looks happy with his cookie :)

    PS...I thought the scallops were fabulous, too!

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  4. Glad to know we're not alone! My husband and I know and understand the pains of busy season (although I have been out of public accounting for a few years now). Fortunately all these recipes were quick and delicious!

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  5. Glad you found some time to play with FFwD. Hopefully it was relaxing. You picked a winning menu, three elegant and easy recipes! Nice job!

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  6. I feel your pain with the schedules - misery loves company so I was glad to hear that some other Dorista had quite a juggle as well :) Of course I have Nana next door who usually ends up delivering me the ingredients, sometimes cut up and even measured....so I have no excuse not to get through the recipe :) That said, I was SO happy the scallops were truly quick and easy. Any quicker and I would have been in trouble trying to read along. Good luck surviving tax season :)

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  7. It's great that you got a chance to catch up with a few recipes - all of which you loved. The break-ups are so kid-friendly. I used kosher salt for one batch and used a full teaspoon in the batter, adding more sprinkled on top just before baking. It had just the right amount of saltiness.

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  8. Great catch up post. Loved seeing that cookie again! Salty!

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  9. Better late than never! I missed the salted butter breakups and will make it this week. Cute photo of that little hand holding that big piece of cookie :)

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