Sea Scallops Topped with Bacon and a Pear and Bourbon Reduction Chutney

Friendsgiving is a pot-luck, family-style dining event brought to our group of friends by the organizers of our weekly dinner club, Sara and Rachel. The hosts instructed each attendee to bring at least one dish and a bottle of wine for the festivities. I graciously took the assignment of an appetizer because I felt like it gave me the most flexibility to shy away from traditional Thanksgiving fare and think outside the box a little bit.

I made a Pear and Bourbon Reduction Chutney the day before to pair with some sea scallops and bacon.  My idea was to make bacon wrapped scallops, but that didn't work out so well.  Fortunately, as you'll see, I was able to improvise!  The preparation on this day began with a couple pounds worth of fresh, thickly sliced bacon strips from a local butcher shop. 

Mmm... bacon!!

I first boiled the bacon because I wanted it to stay flexible in order for me to wrap it around the scallops.  It turned out that the thick bacon was really too large to properly wrap my smaller-sized scallops, so I abandoned that plan.  I removed the bacon from the water and fried it to a crisp in a cast iron skillet.  Crispy bacon is ways better anyway!
 
The next part of the appetizer involved me searing some sea scallops.  I cooked the scallops in the same skillet that I used for the bacon, leaving a little of the liquified bacon fat to give them a nice golden brown sear on the outside. 

Half of My Scallops Searing in a Cast Iron Skillet

The scallops finished their searing, the bacon remained crispy and warm, and the chutney chilled in the fridge, awaiting the dinner party and Friendsgiving!  Upon arrival at dinner club I set up shop on the table.  The scallops were spread out on a steel chaffing dish.  Each delightful scallop was then topped with the savory, crispy, meaty portion of a thick-cut bacon slice.  Using a spoon, I then placed a portion of pear and bourbon chutney on each strip of bacon to round out the flavors and wrap up the finger food dish. 

Seared Sea Scallops topped with Bacon and a Pear and Bourbon Reduction Chutney

My opinion probably shouldn't count as much because I made the appetizer and in my experience the chef or creator will be the harshest critic of his/her own work. The bacon and chutney stood out to me as being really delicious, but this was the first time I've ever seared scallops and they didn't come out all that great to me. I thought they were okay, but nothing exceptional. I can do better. In all reality, I think if they were a little fresher and would have been eaten when they were hotter off the skillet, everything would have been fine.  Everybody at the party sure seemed to enjoy them though, and that is what really counts!  I got quite a few compliments about the creativity, presentation, and taste of the dish as whole.

If I may take a step back to the drawing board for a second, Chrystal and Amir with The Duo Dishes asked that I incorporate asparagus into the dish when I pitched the idea of scallops and a pear-bourbon sauce.  Thinking that maybe I could spear the scallops with asparagus, I purchased some of the green stalks during my trip to Southside Produce when I bought the pears.  Unfortunately, the scallops were too small and the asparagus was too giant to actually do any spearing, so once again I was forced to improvise. 

Fresh Asparagus Stalks Awaiting an Olive Oil and Slap Ya Mama Bath

I generously coated the asparagus in olive oil and sprinkled in some Slap Ya Mama white pepper blend since it was my popular seasoning choice of the night.  The asparagus was then covered in foil and placed in a 400 degree oven for a while.  I can't actually tell you how long because I never set a timer or watched a clock.  I base my cooking on judgement, texture, and taste rather than measurement and time.  Good thing I don't try to bake too often!  I checked the vegetables a couple times before I decided the texture was right for consumption, then pulled it out of the oven and brought it over to Friendsgiving along with the scallop, bacon, and chutney appetizer.

Italian Olive Oil and Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning used for the Asparagus

My dishes were ready and so was I!  Friendsgiving had finally arrived.  All that was left to do now was eat, drink, and be merry!  I'll make sure to tell you all about the wine, dinner, and homemade ice cream on the next edition of Bite and Booze!

  

Pear and Bourbon Reduction Chutney

This week a group of friends and I celebrated our Third Annual Friendsgiving.  Friendsgiving is a dinner club meeting where we eat a pot-luck, family-style, Thanksgiving-themed feast during the week before Turkey Day.  It is typically our largest dinner club gathering of the year, and it has been extremely memorable on every occasion.  There will be another post about Friendsgiving, but for now I wanted to share the pear and bourbon reduction chutney that I created to top the bacon and scallops that I cooked for a Friendsgiving appetizer!

I began my culinary creativity at Southside Produce where I came across a delicious display of fresh pears.  Not knowing which variety of pear to choose, I went with one of each!  I'm pretty happy with that decision.

Red Pears, Bosc Pears, and D'Anjou Pears at Southside Produce

After doing a little more shopping I returned home to begin the cooking process.  Like a lot of good dishes, I started with a little olive oil in a nice, thick bottomed skillet.  I'm not much of a measurer, so I just eyeballed what I thought would be enough and put it over medium heat.  I know this doesn't help for perfectly recreating the dish, but what's the fun in that anyway!?

My Olive Oil Heating Up

Next, I diced a few shallots to create a base for the sauce.  Shallots are an interesting vegetable and one that I don't use very often.  I typically go with a full white or yellow onion, but this occasion seemed too special for that.  I needed the mild nature of the shallot to give a little flavor to the chutney without being overpowering.

Sliced Shallots Getting Ready to be Diced

Once I had the shallots finely diced I transferred them to the pan with the olive oil and let them sauté for a few minutes until the little pieces of shallot were turning clear. 

Shallots Sautéing in Olive Oil

As soon as the shallots were cooked down enough, it was time to add the fun stuff!  I momentariy removed the pan from the heat while I added a generous portion of Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon.  Knob Creek is one of my favorite mass-produced and widely available bourbons on the market. 

After adding the bourbon to the pan I placed it back on the heat and then added about two-thirds of a can of Swanson chicken broth (that's about how much bourbon I used as well).  I left those ingredients over the medium heat of the burner and allowed a little time for the mixture to heat back up.  I then sprinkled in some of my absolute favorite Cajun seasoning, Slap Ya Mama!  Thanks to the recommendation from Luna to include white pepper in the sauce, I used Slap Ya Mama's white pepper blend, which is fantastic and simple.  For those that can't get it in your local supermarket, you can order it online!  The white pepper blend contains four ingredients with no preservatives or other filler: red pepper, white pepper, salt, and garlic.  The Cajun spices were followed by a fair amount of pear infused vinegar, a sizeable portion of brown sugar, and about a third to half of that small bottle of honey.  All of the ingredients were stirred together and brought to a slight boil before I added the fruit.

Knob Creek Bourbon, Swanson Chicken Broth, Slap Ya Mama White Pepper Blend, Pear Infused Vinegar, Brown Sugar, and Honey

With everything above fusing in the pot, the time had come to turn my attention to the glorius pears that I selected from Southside Produce.  I took my knife to the fantastic fruits, carving out their stems and seeds while leaving the juicy flesh on the cutting board.  The wedges of pear were then diced into small morsels and added to the pot of simmering sauce.  I actually only used about half of each pear in the chutney with the rest going straight to my belly!

Red Pear, D'Anjou Pear, and Bosc Pear

With all of the ingredients now in the pot, all I had to do was wait and stir every once in a while.  I put the burner on low heat and let the flavors combine with each other while the sauce reduced to a chutney consistency.  I let the mixture simmer for what was probably a full hour or more before I removed it from the heat and let it cool.

Pear and Bourbon Reduction Chutney Simmering on the Stove

I created this chutney to go over some bacon wrapped scallops that I cooked the next day for our Friendsgiving feast.  For that recipe and to see the finished product with the chutney on top, you'll have to check back for the next post.  As much as I like to eat, sometime I forget how much I also like to cook every now and then.  If I only I had somebody to do the damn dirty dishes for me!

  

Scotch Tasting at Churchill's

"What is better than a Scotch tasting?", you might ask.  Well the answer is pretty simple: a FREE Scotch tasting!  Yes folks, free.  Churchill's in Baton Rouge recently hosted a tasting of 12 unique Scotches from two different distributors.  I invited Eusebio and Eric to join me for the tasting because I knew they would appreciate the good time.  Among the crowd were a 10-year-old and a Distiller's Edition from Talisker, a Balvenie 17-year-old, a 16-year-old by The Glenlivet, a 15-year-old from The Macallen, and my personal favorite, a 12-year-old from Highland Park.

Talisker's Distiller's Edition from the Isle of Skye

I'm really glad that I tried the Distiller's Edition from Talisker.  As it turns out, I'm actually preferential to their 10-year version that we deemed "The Marksalot".  You can look here for a few more details about it from an earlier post of mine at The Chimes.

Highland Park 12 Year

This Highland Park Scotch was full-flavored and smoky at the start and the finish.  It was dry, succulent, and delicious and left me wanting more after each swallow even though it left a tingle in the back of my throat. The peat flavor was strong from Highland Park, which happens to be the northernmost distillery in Scotland and it dates back to 1798.  For a more in-depth look at all the Scotch we sampled, check out Eric's post from his Beer, Boo!ze, Baseball, and Other B.S. blog.

After the Scotch tasting we were a little tipsy and a lot hungry, so we crossed the street from Churchill's over to Bonefish Grill for a bite to eat at the bar.  I've already submitted a post about Bonefish Grill, so I'll just highlight this visit's food.

Fried Calamari and Crab Cakes... both very tasty, but Calamari was the winner.

Bacon Wrapped Scallops and Seared Tuna, Tuna won by a landslide.

The Main Course: Shrimp Scampi Topped Filet Mignon, Cooked Medium Rare, with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Asparagus

I'm not usually one to order a filet.  I typically leave that to the lady folks.  However, this particular steak, topped with shrimp scampi, was absolutely magical.  The meat was tender and flavorful throughout the entire filet while the scampi sauce with shrimp added a little something extra that paired very well with the beef.  I'm certain that I will order this again during a future visit to Bonefish because it was just that good!

All in all it was a great night of hanging out, trying some new Scotch whisky, and filling my belly with fantastic food.  My life is so difficult, I know!

Vegas Baby, Vegas: Hubert Keller's Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay

There are two ways to travel.  The first option is to plan everything out, be sure of all the details, buy all your tickets and passes ahead of time, and stress out when anything veers off course.  The second kind of traveler does not make plans that are set in stone, chooses not to worry about minor details, does not purchase anything ahead of time, and enjoys going wherever the wind blows, even if it might be unexpected and off the beaten path.  I, obviously, am the second kind.  I hadn't planned on a night in Las Vegas after my trip to San Francisco but, that being said, I certainly did not complain about it!

After leaving San Francisco, Eusebio and I flew out of Oakland to Las Vegas where we were supposed to catch a flight an hour later to New Orleans.  The problem occured because we were flying stand-by and the flight was already overbooked.  We basically didn't have a chance to catch that flight to New Orleans, which happened to be the final flight of the day, so we were stuck in Vegas for the night.  Oops!

I pulled out the laptop and used Kayak.com to find a cheap hotel room in Las Vegas.  If you are a fan of Priceline, Hotels.com, Expedia, Travelocity, or Orbitz, you need to try Kayak.  It searches all of them for you at once and compares the prices!  Apparently it isn't very hard to find a cheap room in Vegas on a random Sunday night in November!  We booked a room at the Excalibur hotel and casino for a whopping $31 and carried on with our business.  Our checked bags were already on their way to New Orleans so we took our carry ons, got in a shuttle to The Strip, and started reciting quotes from Swingers such as "Vegas Baby, Vegas!" and "You're so money".  What a great film.

We checked into Excalibur and found ourselves with a renewed energy and substantial hunger.  After doing a quick internet and Urbanspoon search, there was one obvious choice for us within walking distance and affordable price range: Hubert Keller's Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay!

Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino

Everything in Vegas is built on such a grand scale that it is really hard to describe what it is like to walk around all the glorious hotels and casinos on The Strip.  Mandalay Bay stands tall among the casinos with its iconic building inviting patrons into its massive wings.  Each individual casino exists as a city in itself with more to do than one could find in most entire American towns.  Nestled inside the walls of Mandalay Bay sits the Burger Bar, where Eusebio and I stopped in for a bite and booze.

Hubert Keller's Burger Bar in Mandalay Bay

My Beer Selection at the Burger Bar

We took a seat at the bar and ordered samplers of splendid suds.  From left to right, my beer choices included: Bitch Creek ESB, Dogfish Head 90 Min IPA, Primo Premium Hawaiian Lager, Pyramid Snow Cap, Sin City Amber Lager, Monsoon Double IPA, and New Belgium 2 Below.  Every single brew tasted terrific on my lips and quenched my thirst with great glee.  The Dogfish Head 90 Min IPA and the Monsoon Double IPA stood out from the rest with their tremendous hops and fantastic flavor.  They were true IPA lover's beers, and I enjoyed every drop!

The Hubert Keller Burger with Zucchini Fries

I went ahead and ordered the chef's namesake burger.  This feast on a bun came with a generous chunk of ground buffalo, caramelized onions, baby spinach, and blue cheese on a ciabatta bun.  Every bite that entered my mouth contained the juicy and savory buffalo meat with an incredible accompaniment of fixings.  Hubert Keller did well!  I got my burger served with some zucchini fries that needed no condiment to dress them up as they were crispy and delicious all by their lonesome.

Creamy Cheesecake Burger

Eusebio splurged on the signature burger with 100% Kobe beef, truffles, and foie gras which also came with a free dessert.  I'm sure he'll post about his burger and dessert on Chef Thinks, so I'll just explain the dessert burger and move on.  The creamy cheesecake burger consisted of a warm donut sliced in half and filled with cheesecake, caramelized pineapple, and strawberries.  It wasn't good at all.  That was sarcasm.  That wasn't sarcasm.

Custom Made Milk Shake at the Burger Bar

Knowing that the Burger Bar's milk shakes are nearly as famous as their burgers themselves, I ordered one for my dessert.  My custom milk shake included vanilla ice cream with peanut butter, hot fudge, and, of course, Maker's Mark bourbon!  If you've ever seen Pulp Fiction, then you know about a $5 dollar milk shake that doesn't have any bourbon in it or anything.  In front of me stood a real milkshake, made with bourbon, that was worth every penny... though it certainly cost me more than the $5 that Travolta complained about!

After the Burger Bar, Eusebio and I made one more stop in Mandalay Bay before retreating back to Excalibur for the night.  We stopped by the Minus 5 Ice Lounge for some cocktails in a bar made completely out of ice.  Even our glasses were made out of ice, so the drinks were sure to stay cold!  The Minus 5 experience made it worth going once, but the entire thing was certainly there for the tourists.  But Hell, it is Vegas, and I was, in fact, a tourist.  So I enjoyed my cocktails, got some pictures with a chick in a penguin suit, and had a good time with it all.  The place really did create an interesting environment and a unique setting, which I'm all about.

Eusebio and Jay in the Minus 5 Ice Lounge, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas

Jay, a penguin, and Eusebio in the Minus 5 Ice Lounge

The next morning we had a little more drama with catching a flight back to New Orleans with a freak November hurricane bearing down on the Gulf Coast and flights still full from the day before.  However, this time were able to snag two of the last available seats on a plane so we made our way back to Cajun country a day late, a few dollars short, and with a weekend full of delicious food, plentiful drinks, and fond memories that wont soon be forgotten!

Things To Do
Las Vegas

Congrats to Katie Plauche-Morris and Brent Broussard

Congrats to Katie Plauche-Morris and Brent Broussard for being my 2000th guests!  Due to some sort of internet conspiracy (or mix up), both of them were able to document that they were guest number 2000.  Technically, according to sitemeter, Katie is the rightful winner.  But who am I to dispute Brent's picture proof and ninja sneakiness?  Thanks to everyone for reading Bite and Booze!  I can't believe how successful it has become in such a short amount of time.  Please help spread the word, and most importantly, keep reading!

Jay D.