Birthday dinner!

We didn't quite get around to celebrating my birthday on my birthday, since, well, schedules and stuff. But the day after was good enough for me, and I got home from coaching to some pretty delicious smells. Ed had made me a three course meal, complete with a different type of beer for each course!

The appetizer was from the ocean - seared scallops, and broiled oysters. The scallops were perfect, and I had never known that I liked oysters until I tried these ones. They were cooked, and were quite delicious.

Ed gave me "recipes" for both. I'd recommend a slightly hotter pan for the scallops, but our stove can only put out so many watts. It's on its last legs.

Seared scallops:

Dry large sea scallops, 1-3/4 x 1-3/4" tall

Butter

Chopped green onions for garnish

Large-grain salt

Cut in half lengthwise, just to make them thinner, and leave out to dry out some more (they had been in a bag with liquid, and wet things don't sear well). Heat a pan with some butter, and put in the scallops. Don't crowd them. Leave them on one side until brown and seared, then flip. It's important to flip them and take them out before they have cooked to a hard texture rather than to wait for them to brown, hence the need for high heat. You don't want overcooked scallops. No siree.

Serve with pan juiced, sliced scallion, and sea salt

Oysters:

Ed shucked them well in advance, and cleaned well

Remove them from both sides of the shells and replace in shell, leave in fridge to produce enough liquid in shell

oven 400F

switch to broil, use tinfoil to keep them upright on baking sheet

broil 3min just to convert texture

back onto bed of ice to serve

lemon squeeze, scallion, salt (wellfleet oysters)

The next course was steak, Andrea Ogden's grass-fed steak, no less, with a sage butter. And champagne-braised carrots and onions and a purple cauliflower, probably because Ed knew I'd flip out if we didn't have some vegetables with the meal. Although on all days to only eat meat and chocolate, I feel like my birthday is a fine day to do just that.

Sage butter:

1/2 stick butter (already soft)

1/2 bunch of fresh sage

Put half the butter into pan with diced sage, and cook sage until slightly browned and crispy. Stir with softened other half, and then put in a bowl in freezer until solidified enough to work with it, but not hard (2 minutes, more or less). Then form a log on wax paper, and leave in freezer to make solid. When the steak is done, slice off a round, and let it melt onto the meat. Actually, you could do this while it's cooking, too.

I think the chocolate soufflé deserves its own post... keep your eyes peeled for that one!