A dinner menu fit for Valentines

Over the past couple of years it has become our tradition to celebrate Valentine's Day by making dinner together.  Something we haven't made before, a little out of the ordinary weekly dinner menu and of course it has to be delicious.  We started this tradition during our first year as a married couple, so this was our third  valentine's menu.

This year valentines fell on a Monday which meant that we would start making our dinner around 7ish.  So not only did it need to be something a little bit special, it needed to be fast. After a bit of thinking scallops came up... seafood is loved by all in our house, is not something we make frequently, and cook quite quickly - perfect!  From there everything fell into place for the menu. 

Since we wanted to make sure it wasn't terribly late by the time we were eating, I prepped the blood orange sauce the night before and we coordinated our game plan for cooking.  Dan prepped the parsnips, I prepared the salad, Dan cooked the scallops, I mashed the parsnips...  And it turned out sooooo delicious.  Seriously yummy.

A few things we learned... mashed parsnips are not as good once cold, don't crowd your pan for searing the scallops, the gastrique goes from reduced perfectly to burnt in a moment so don't get distracted by your laptop during that part, and the blood orange fennel salad is better with a bit of spring greens added to the mix.

This is a lovely menu for a date night in (valentines day or not).

Seared Scallops with Blood Orange Gastrique, Parsnip Mash and Blood Orange Fennel Salad

Adapted from recipes on Epicurious
Serves 2

Blood Orange Gastrique
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon Sherry wine vinegar
1/2 cup fresh blood orange juice (from about 3 oranges)
¾ cups low-salt chicken broth

Scallops
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Coarse kosher salt
8 large sea scallops, side muscles removed

Blood Orange Fennel Salad
1 blood oranges, peeled, separated into segments
chopped fresh parsley leaves, fresh mint leaves
1/2 of a fennel cut into matchsticks

For blood orange gastrique:
Place sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until sugar begins to melt. Stir until sugar dissolves, then cook without stirring until deep golden, about 5 minutes. Gradually add vinegar (mixture will harden). Stir until caramel melts, about 1 minute. Add orange juice; boil until mixture begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Add broth; boil until gastrique coats spoon and is reduced to generous 1/2 cup, about 15 minutes. Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover; chill. Rewarm over medium heat.

For salad:
Mix orange segments, parsley, mint, and fennel in medium bowl. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil mixed with 1 tbsp sherry vinegar; toss to coat. Season salad with coarse salt and pepper.

Scallops:
For a crust- rinse scallops, pat dry and start with a very hot pan.  Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to skillet. Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper. Add scallops to skillet and cook until browned and just opaque in center, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Arrange scallops on plates. Drizzle gastrique over scallops. Garnish with salad.

For parsnip mash:
Place peeled parsnips in a saucepan with water to cover. Add chicken bouillon and lemon juice. Simmer until very tender; drain. Mash, adding butter and cream to taste. Season with salt, pepper and fresh herbs (flat leaf parsley goes nicely). Serve immediately.

Enjoy!