Stuffed Breast of Veal

I found this small breast of veal in the freezer at Schnuck's last week. It was an unusual cut to find without special ordering it. Veal breast can be tough and fatty, but after a long braise they can also turn into a luscious and tender vittle. I stuffed it with traditional Thanksgiving style bread stuffing and braised it with some stock and wine. Along side I put in some turnips and carrots. I flavored it with some rosemary and popped it into a 300 degree oven for about 2 1/2 hours. It was very tasty and welcome with the change in temperature and weather this week.

Sea Scallops with Succotash

Corn and shellfish have this ability to amplify one another's charms. This time of year the corn hereabouts is so plentiful good that it's hard to eat anything else-either simply boiled or grilled-but eventually corn ennui sets in and I must begin tweaking it. Adding shellfish is an easy trick-shrimp. crab, lobster, and here scallops. Succotash is one of those dishes I gew up with, my mom made it often with corn and lima beans, I love it to this day! Here I scraped the corn from 3 ears and combined it with fresh fava beans, sauteed it with some garlic, onion, and peppers, and used it as a base for huge plump sea scallops which had been briefly grilled and spritzed with some fresh lime juice.

Fresh corn-scraped from 3 large ears of fresh corn

2 cups of fresh shelled, and blanched fava beans

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 cup diced red pepper

1/4 cup diced sweet onion

salt and pepper to your liking

sliced scallions for garnish

2 tablespoon of butter

Melt the butter in a saute pan and saute the peppers, onion, and garlic for one minute, add the corn and fava beans and continue to saute

Add 1/2 cup water, and continue to cook until the water is evaporated and the beans are soft

Season with the salt and pepper

Top with the scallions and grilled scallops

For the scallops:

Allow 2 U10 scallops per person (U10 refers to the size and indicates that there are under 10 scallops of this size in one pound)

Brush the scallops on each side with a olive oil, and grill briefly on each side. Sprinkle with salt as they grill, and squeeze fresh lime juice on them once they are removed from the grill

Serve on the succotash

Sweet Corn Grits with Shrimp

I spend most of my Sunday mornings watching the political shows on tv and making breakfast. Grits are often on the menu, and these grits with a spicy shrimp gravy are delicious. It has a Spanish influence, with the sherry, smoked paprika, and chorizo. Spanish Chorizo is different from the Mexican Chorizo. It is a cured smoked hard sausage. It adds a smoldering depth of flavor.

For the grits:

Corn scraped from the cob of one large ear of sweet corn

2 cups milk

6 tablespoons of grits

pinch of slat

1/4 cup shredded cheese (whatever you like, Jack, parmesan, cheddar, etc)

Bring the milk, corn, and salt to the boiling point

Whisk in the grits, and continue to cook and whisk until the grits are tender, smooth, and creamy-4 to 5 minutes

Keep the grits warm until the shrimp are ready

For the shrimp:

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon of Spanish smoked paprika

1/4 cup julienned peppers (red, green)

4 ounces of Spanish Chorizo, Julienned (Spanish Chorizo is not the same as Mexican Chorizo)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 pound of shrimp, peeled, deveined, and rough chopped

1/4 cup dry sherry

Briefly saute the paprika in the butter

Add the vegetables and the chorizo and continue to saute until the vegetables are softened, but with a little bite left in them

Add the shrimp and sherry and cook just until the sherry bubbles and the shrimp are cooked through

Serve over the grits