I had the pleasure of cooking for a live audience this last Saturday. I had a lot of fun and we had some guests who were watching the web-cast come and join us in the end. Three items were prepared so I will try and keep the commentary short and let the rest speak for itself.

1. Cucumbers with Cream and Mint
2. Vermouth Seared Scallops topped with Salsa Verde
3. Squid and Leeks in Red Wine

The first item, Cucumbers with Cream and Mint I copied out of The Art of Simple Food. This was actually the last item I chose for dinner. Sometimes I work my menu backwards, choosing the main course first.

Cucumbers w/ Cream & Mint

• 2 cucumbers
• 3 or 4 sprigs of mint
• 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 juiced lemon
• splash or two of olive oil
• sprinkling of sea salt
• dash of cumin

I am just estimating the ingredients I used for the Cucumbers with Cream and Mint. Slice the cucumbers into 1/8″ slices and sprinkle with sea salt. In a separate container mix the cream, olive oil, mint, lemon juice (this reacts with the milk and gives it some body after stirring vigorously), and cumin. All that needs to be done once the sauce is ready is toss in a bowl. I can tell you that the cumin added quite an interesting and delicious dimension to this dish.

• 2 lbs squid
• 2 lbs leeks
• 2 or 3 sprigs of dried thyme
• 3 or 4 pinches of dried oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 cloves of garlic (I was lazy and used minced garlic)
• 2 healthy pours of red wine
• several small pulls of water
• healthy dash of cayenne
• splash of lemon juice
• parsley for garnishment

Five pounds of food

I cribbed this recipe from the Amateur Gourmet’s Squid & Leeks in Red Wine who in turn cribbed it from Richard Olney’s Simple French Food. I had been wanting to try squid for a while and I was impressed. If you know how to clean your own squid, you can pick it up for ninety-nine cents per pound.

Clean your leeks, there will be dirt in them. I like to cut them in half to separate the green and the white then I cut each of those halves in half lengthwise and then in half crosswise once more. I clean them after cutting lengthwise to allow the water better access to rinsing the insides. While you are playing with the leeks you will want to warm the oil. All of it. After the leeks are rinsed and ready, give them a good turn in the oil and some salt for a few minutes, five or so will do.

While the leeks are softening we want to slice the squid into 1/4″ slices. I kept the little squiggly parts, I wasn’t afraid to eat them. The next step is somewhat of a juggling act but juggling in the kitchen is one of my favorite passtimes. Place the leeks somewhere safe and start cooking the squid. This may take a while because we are going to cook them until all the water has evaporated. This is where I diverged from the previous two incarnations of this recipe. I didn’t have any flour and I did not salt the squid while cooking.

At this point I added the oregano and thyme. After a couple quick stirs I added the garlic and let things sit just long enough for the garlic to start sweating. Here I started pouring in the wine, just a little bit at a time allowing the liquid to come to a simmer before adding more. In between pours of wine I splashed some water in with the ingredients and dropped a couple of bay leaves into the mixture. I was feeling adventurous this night and I felt that a lot of cayenne was in order. I am so glad that I used a generous amount of cayenne here. During the meal it didn’t quite overpower the other flavors and left quite a warm after taste that was somehow pleasantly mellow.

Wait until the liquid is simmering, I took heed from the Amateur Gourmet and used a very low heat, then add the leeks back into the pot. Adam cooked his for an hour and a half longer, my cook time after this point was probably just shy of an hour. This made over four pounds of food and everyone got seconds. At the very end of the cook time I added a splash of lemon juice. Since I didn’t have any croutons I reduced the rest of the liquid to a yummy syrupy sauce that I drizzled over the squid and leeks, then topped with parsley.

• 1/4 cup vermouth
• 1 lb scallops
• olive oil
• sea salt

The scallops are pretty simple. It’s the Salsa Verde that took more effort but I will have to post that recipe tomorrow.

Heat the oil until you can hold your hand over the pan for no more than a few seconds. You only need enough to just barely cover the bottom of the pan. Salt the scallops lightly just before placing them in the pan. 1 lb of scallops fit into my frying pan just fine. Let them sear on one side for six or seven minutes, this will pretty much cook them all the way through. Flip the scallops over, at this time there should not be any liquid left in the pan. The direct heat will add just a bit of color to the other side so quickly pour the vermouth into the pan. After a few moments  most of the vermouth should be gone and you can pull them off the heat.

Top the scallops with some Salsa Verde and enjoy. I will post the recipe for that soon.