Always Something By Penny: 2008-07-13

Friday, July 18, 2008

Seafood Friday!

Seafood Scallops with Pancetta over Avocado and Wasabi

This recipe packs in great flavor with very few ingredients. I love to cook, but I have a real affection for simple recipes. It only takes about 15 minutes to make and is pretty impressive. Courtesy of Danny Boome (can you say HOT!), host and chef for the show Rescue Me.

3 avocados
3 teaspoons wasabi powder
1/2 lemon, juiced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 slices pancetta
1 tablespoon butter
1 garlic clove, smashed
6 large sea scallops
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced for garnish

Halve the 3 avocados and remove the pits. Spoon out flesh into a food processor and add wasabi, lemon juice, salt and pepper, to taste. Process until it's a smooth consistency. Cover and place in refrigerator until ready to serve. (I leave the pit in the mix until I'm ready to use so the avocado doesn't brown.)

Heat a frying pan on medium heat. Cook pancetta until crispy and fat has rendered. Remove pancetta from pan reserving the fat and add butter and garlic. Once the butter has melted add the scallops to the pan and gently sear until lightly browned. About 1 minute per side. Spoon some avocado puree on each plate, arrange pancetta on top followed by the seared scallops. Dice your red pepper finely and garnish.

Off to Costco for scallops I go! Have a great weekend and take lots of pictures!

XOXO,
Penny

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Let's go antiquing!

We're starting at the teeniest little antique store I've ever seen. There sure are some sweet things in here, but OH so expensive. With these prices we must be in Palm Beach, FL.

Oooh, lots of treasures out here. I think Kathy in CA may go for the cafe tables and chairs. But she does need a bigger table, so maybe she can get just the chairs. Lots of treasures in here for Tootsie, our Kathy's, Buffie, Bridget, Raquel, and all us garden people!

Oh let's see, I think Justine might like this frog. I'm sure she'll give him lots of love and put him in a story somewhere. He sure is handsome!

Wait! Here are some really cute froggy glasses. Justine is REALLY gonna love these!

And looky, looky at da' poodle! I don't want my poodle girls to get jealous so I best say no. Boy is he huge. Becky's never had a dog so maybe she can get used to looking at one first. Hmmmm Becky? :-)

Must be pet day on antique row! Here are some adorable spaghetti cats for Gollum, Buffie and all the cat lovers. Me loves them too. Purrrr!

Whew, it's getting to be lunch time and my stomach says eat. This place looks cute, what do you think? We just have to squeeze through these two buildings!

Wow, we made it. What a little tea house find! It sure is cute back here, but it's just too hot to eat outside. The sweat is literally running down our chests!

Thank goodness. They have air conditioning inside! Let's check it out. This room is cute and I love the lace tablecloth even if it is covered in plastic.

This room is best because we can all fit in here. Let's turn the AC in the window on high. Curried chicken for all! Bridget and Kathy remind us that wine is made from grapes, and grapes go so well with chicken salad. We must have our daily fruit so we order wine!

I go to the powder room to freshen up and look at what I find! Murals! It's whimsical with the jewels and all, but not as nice as what Kathy would have done.

More shopping to do. Hey, this is a nice shop. Lots of ornate furniture. I'm feeling a little dizzy from the wine so I decide to take a little break on this chair that looks like it's made for a princess. Hey, if it fits, right? Why am I looking up and why am I smiling so big? Something on the ceiling must be funny. hahaha

Get out! Tucked away in a little shop is an original oil by Purvis Young! If I had an extra $1150. I'd take it. My girlfiend Judy in Ft. Lauderdale has a whole storage room filled with his art. She says it's a way better investment than stocks. She should know because her husband Patrick has been a financial advisor his whole career. She is going to scold me good for not buying this.

Here's Judy and Patrick earlier this year when they visited us in Atlanta. Patrick and Clay went to High School together. I met Judy in 1980 when we met up with them in Cozumel, Mexico. Cozumel was just a little sleepy village town back then. We rode around on scooters drinking shots of tequilla howling at the moon and stars. I knew we would all be close friends.

Buffie can paint this beautiful garden dragonfly red and hang from a tree in her backyard. It will turn into an angel!

Ta dah, inspiration for the day! I love the big pillow on this couch. I think I might have to make this for the duncan phyfe sofa in our card room. cool!

Gee whiz, nothing french country today. Maybe Bridget will like this vintage California tablecloth. Sure wish that there was something better for Bridget.

How could you see these and NOT think of him. ROFL!

I think French will like these antique glass birds. They came over on a British boat many years ago. I can hear them chirping about their journey now.

WOW WOW WOW! These are going to look great in or outside the scubashack! What a treasure! Time to load them up and go home! But first, let's get those price tags off in case Clay's back from his day of diving.