14 Days Of Valentines revised menu...

I planned and posted the menus and forgot to reserve the right to change my mind. I've been craving food from my favorite restaurant, Market Street Broiler (alas, I do not live in Utah anymore). So I have found similar recipes from my fave place. You can find more on www.gastronomyinc.com . I will cut the recipes down to serve two. I still plan on serving the orzo and Vegetables ala Greque as well as the Rosemary and Olive Oil bread from Costco.

Appetizer:

Hot Artichoke-Crab Dip
(Serves 8 as an appetizer)

Ingredients:
1 pint mayonnaise
1 cup fresh Dungeness crab or snow crab (canned is acceptable, but fresh is best)
1 cup artichoke hearts (if using canned, purchase hearts packed in water, not oil)
½ cup bread crumbs
½ cup + 2 tablespoons fresh Parmesan, shredded(grated commercial Parmesan is also acceptable)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped

Method:
Combine all ingredients, except for the tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, in an ovenproof
baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove, sprinkle with remaining
Parmesan cheese, and return to oven until top is browned.
Serve piping hot with your favorite chip or bread.


Spicy Shrimp and Scallop Skewers

Ingredients per skewer:
6 each raw 16-20 shrimp, peeled & deveined
6 each 20-30 count raw scallops
12 pieces Prosciutto ham, thin sliced to 2 inches by 3 inches
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon chilis, crushed
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon green onions, thin sliced
1 lemon
1/2 gallon water
1 teaspoon salt

Method for Shrimp and Scallops:
Remove zest from lemon and set aside. Cut lemon in half. In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, add water and lemon halves. Add shrimp and scallops and cook for two to three minutes.
Toss in an ice bath to cool.

When cooled, wrap each piece of shrimp and scallops with a piece of the ham and secure
with toothpicks. Bake or barbecue until hot, approximately one to two minutes.

Method for Sauce:
In a small sauce pan, boil the balsamic vinegar until reduced by one half. Add lemon zest and
chilis and drizzle over skewers. Top with green onions and serve.

Dessert:

Creme Brulee
serves 4

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
5 egg yolks
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons white or brown sugar
Berries or fruit of choice
Powdered sugar

Method:
Cook the cream with the vanilla bean in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat until the cream begins to boil. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg yolks with two tablespoons of white sugar until firm. Pour the
egg mixture into the hot cream and return to the heat. Continue cooking, while stirring
continuously with a spatula, until the mixture almost boils again. Remove saucepan from the
heat, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the cream-egg mixture, and then discard
the pod.

Pour the Crème Brulee into serving dishes and refrigerate for 3-4 hours prior to serving.
(Crème Brulee can be stored, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.)
At serving time, spread white sugar evenly on top of each Crème Brulee and then caramelize
the sugar with a blow torch. Or, substitute brown sugar for the white sugar and then place
on the top rack under the broiler, watching closely until the brown sugar melts and caramelizes. Remove immediately.

After caramelizing, top with berries or fruit of your choice, along with a dusting of powdered sugar, and then serve.