Let’s talk fancy. I think that many times people want to make a fancy meal to impress dinner guests but they don’t know a) what elegant dish to make and b) how to make it without freaking out. Enter: the sea scallop. Since it’s a special occasion, splurging on these large sea scallops is allowed in my book. They’re fresh, light, and don’t have too “fishy” of a taste.

Serving these scallops atop a flavorful purée will make your food look appealing and add flavor to your whole dish. This is restaurant quality, folks. Bon appétit!

Celery root is such a funky looking root vegetable. Some of you might have nightmares after seeing the next picture. You’ve been warned. Celery stalks grow out of it, but the root itself has a distinct celery taste with the consistency of a potato.

Told you it’s funky! To make the purée, peel and chop the celery root and boil it with the garlic for 20 minutes until fork tender.

Chop the sun dried tomatoes, and purée in a food processor with the celery root and garlic until smooth.

Sear the scallops for two minutes on each side. Don’t overcook! They will become rubbery if cooked too long, and you’ll lose the luxurious buttery texture.

Serve atop some of the purée. Top the whole dish with chopped parsley and enjoy the praises of your masterpiece!

Seared Sea Scallops with Celery Root and Sun-Dried Tomato Purée

Prep. Time: 10 min. Cook Time: 30 min.

Ingredients:

For the Purée

1 celery root, peeled and cubed

1 tablespoon celery stalk leaves (which come attached to the root), chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, minced

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoon milk

3 tablespoons veggie stock

2 three-finger pinches salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For the Scallops

1 lb. (9 or 10) large sea scallops

2 pinches kosher salt

2 pinches black pepper

Preparation:

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add celery root, garlic, and salt to the water. Boil for 20 minutes or until fork tender. Drain and transfer to a food processor.

Add all remaining ingredients (except scallops) to the food processor and blend until smooth.

Place about 1/2 cup of the puree on each plate.

Make sure your scallops are DRY before cooking. Pat them with a paper towel if they are not. Heat a skillet over medium high heat until almost smoking. Salt and pepper each side of the scallops. Place scallops on the pan and cook for 2 minutes- don’t touch them while they cook! Flip and sear the other side for 2 more minutes. Scallops are done when juices run clear. Transfer cooked scallops atop the purée and serve hot.

Makes 2 plates.

I love Sunday afternoons. The hustle and bustle of the work week is just a memory, the weekend errands have been run, and in the quiet of a Sunday afternoon, I find peace. There is just something about the comfort of resting on the couch half paying attention to football while browsing food blogs on the iPad, listening to Neil practice, while the wafting aromas of a big Sunday meal fills our home. Sundays are excellent. I think many families cook large meals on Sundays because there is more time to enjoy the cooking process, and it’s almost guaranteed everyone will be home as opposed to busy weeknights when the family is shuffling back and forth between extracurricular events. Today is Super Bowl Sunday. Although we are not attending a large football party, you can bet we’ll be making a meal that we couldn’t pull off during the week.

This lasagna is the perfect healthy dish to make on a Sunday afternoon. It brings a warmth of flavor and heartiness of a big meal without all the extra carbs or calories. Thin layers of eggplant sub for the pasta in this dish, and a variety of colorful vegetables paired with the creamy ricotta make this dish a comforting one that will readily gather your family around the table. This lasagna, like most, makes great leftovers that are quick to dish up during the week!

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant, sliced thinly lengthwise

1/2 fennel bulb, medium chop

1 orange bell pepper, medium chop

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 small yellow squash, cut into half moons

1 pound frozen chopped spinach, cooked and well drained

8 oz. button mushrooms, quartered

1/2 cup roasted pine nuts

15 oz. part-skim ricotta

1 teaspoon Kosher salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (add more if you would like more heat)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 jar tomato sauce, homemade preferred

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°. First, create the “pasta.” Slice eggplant thinly using a mandolin or very sharp knife. Lay flat on kitchen towels and sprinkle with salt to extract any bitterness. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes in a bowl and set aside.

Bring a sauté pan to medium heat. Add the olive oil to the pan and sauté the fennel, bell pepper, garlic, squash, and mushrooms together with another 1/2 teaspoon salt for about 15 minutes.

Build the lasagna by first coating the bottom of a 9x13x2″ glass baking dish with a thin layer of sauce. Lay eggplant slices side by side to crate an even layer.

Then add a fourth of the ricotta mixture and a fourth of the vegetable mixture.

Continue this process until all ingredients are layered. Top lasagna with the Monterey Jack cheese and cover with foil.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and broil for 5 minutes or until cheese on the top browns. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Cut into large squares and serve.

Serves 6-8

Let’s get real, people! Remember back when we completed the 10-day pledge from 100 days of real food? Well, we’re back at it again! We’ve cut out white flour, white sugar, and are sticking to good-for-you-oils and low processed food. At first it might seem like we’ll have nothing delicious to eat, but we just make the regular food we crave with a few simple substitutes.

These carnitas soft tacos are so good. Braising the pork is not as hard as you think- just add a little dry rub and a little liquid and pop it in the oven. A few hours later it will come out savory and succulent. Your family will have fun building these tacos and individualizing their meal.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. bone-in pork shoulder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 red onion, rough chop
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 poblano peppers, seeds removed and thinly sliced

Optional taco bar toppings:

Cilantro
Monterey Jack cheese
Lime
Guacamole
Sour cream
Tomatoes

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325°. Combine chili powder, turmeric, celery salt, cumin seed, and cayenne pepper in a bowl and mix. Using your hands, work the dry rub over the entire pork shoulder. Reserve any leftover dry rub.

Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat and when hot, add olive oil to coat. Place pork in the dutch oven. Brown the meat 4 minute on each side and 1 minute on the edges. Transfer browned pork to mixing bowl with left over rub to rest.

Add onion to the dutch oven and sauté for 2 minutes. Then, add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Add 1 cup of water and scrape up the bits from the bottom and sides of dutch oven.

Return the pork and remaining dry rub to the dutch oven. Add enough water so that the liquid comes 3/4 up the sides of the pork. Cover and place in oven for 2.5 to 3 hours until pork easily falls apart when pulled with a fork. Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Pull all the pork (now carnitas!) apart with two forks.

In a medium sized skillet, add thinly sliced red onion and poblano peppers and cook until tender and slightly browned.

Set up your taco bar with whole wheat tortilla shells, carnitas, onion/poblano mixture, cilantro, guacamole, cheese, lime, and more.