Scallops with Saffron Sauce

Seared Scallops with Saffron Sauce

This Seasoned and Seared Sea Scallops with Saffron Sauce has got to be one of the best recipes I have posted in a while. Not to diminish the other recipe posts, which are great by the way, this is just one of my absolute favorites. Sea Scallops, seasoned and seared to perfection, and this liquid gold Saffron sauce made from the fond puts this dish over the top.

Perfectly seasoned and seared Sea Scallops in Bacon Grease.

Searing Scallops with Saffron Sauce

The secret to searing and cooking perfect Scallops is a few very simple steps that can’t be skipped or ignored. You need, patted dry, room temperature scallops that are seasoned before you place them in a preheated pan. I cook my scallops in bacon grease, not just for the extra flavor but for the added crisp sear the scallop achieves from only two minutes of cooking over medium heat. Then I flip and cook for an addition 1 to 2 minutes and remove from the pan.

Saffron Sauce made from the juice and fond of Seared Sea Scallops.

The Secret to Scallops with Saffron Sauce

A real good Saffron Sauce is going to made from the leftovers of what ever meat you’re pairing it with. If you’re cooking chicken you deglaze your pan with wine and chicken broth. We’re cooking Sea Scallops so we’ll use Scallop or Clam juice as the broth and a sweet Vermouth instead. The scallops I purchased were frozen. Unfortunately, it’s one of the only way’s I can get them here in the mid-west. The juice in the bag is what I use but if you’re purchase fresh Scallops that don’t have the juice, you can purchase Clam juice in practically any grocery store, sold near the canned Tuna. These two things are what’s missing from most online Saffron Sauce recipes and it makes all of the difference in the world. Plus I add butter and cheese.

Be sure to check out my Sea Scallops with Secret Asian Sauce.

Scallops with Saffron Sauce video Tutorial from poormansgourmet.

Scallops with Saffron Sauce Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Bacon Grease
1 lbs Sea Scallops
1 Green onion, chopped for garnish

Small pinch of Kosher Salt & Pepper for each one, both sides
Small pinch of Adobo Goya All Purpose Seasoning, both sides

1 Garlic Cloves, chopped
4 tbsp Butter
1/4 cup Sweet Vermouth
1/4 cup Scallop juice or Clam juice
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 cup Parmesan
1 tsp Chives, dried
1 pinch Saffron
Salt & Pepper to taste

You might consider adding fresh Lemon to your Scallops and Saffron Sauce as well.

Crab Dip

The Best Crab Dip

This Crab Dip is great to serve at home, parties or barbecues and it can easily be made, in advance, and kept refrigerated until needed. One of the best things about this dip is that it can be served hot or cold and either way is absolutely delicious. I show you how to prepare both and there’s only a few ingredients so, don’t worry about breaking the bank with grocery shopping.

Crab Meat for Crab Dip

For this Crab Dip recipe, I’m using real crab meat and I get it from a refrigerated can. If you want to save money, this is one way to do it. I bought this 16 oz. can for $13 bucks, which may sound expensive but consider the alternative. A pound of Crab legs is going to cost more for practically half the meat weight because of the shells. This can is solid meat. Savings can be taken a step further, however, if you’re willing to use imitation crab but, in all honesty, it won’t even be close to the same recipe and it absolutely won’t taste the same. If that’s all you have available, though, just make my Seafood and Crab recipe, instead. It’s really good and it’s great served as a dip with crackers.

Hot Baked Crab Dip with Parmesan and a sliced toasted French Baguette.

Cold or Hot Baked Crab Dip

To serve this Crab Dip cold, all you half to do is mix the ingredients and serve. Marinating the ingredients in your refrigerator for a half an hour or over night will improve the flavor but it isn’t necessary. Plus the ingredients are already cold so, it’s really something you can just play by ear.

For a hot baked dip, I just top it off, in an oven safe baking dish, with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and bake in the oven until it’s warm. If I’m serving the dip with a sliced baguette, I usually just toasted the pieces along with the baking of the dip.

If you you’re looking for other dip recipes, check out my Clam Dip, Broccoli and Cheese Dip, Spinach and Artichoke Dip and my Jalapeno Popper Dip recipes. FYI, if you drop the sour cream out of this Crab Dip recipe and add a package of wonton wrappers, it makes an excellent filling for fried Crab Rangoon’s.

Crab Dip video tutorial by poormansgourmet.

Crab Dip Ingredients:

1 8oz pkg Cream Cheese
1/4 cup Sour Cream
8 oz Crab Meat, canned claw
1 Jalapeno, diced
1 Green Onion, diced
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1 tsp Sugar
1 pinch of Salt
1 pinch Blackened Seasoning
1/4 cup Parmesan, grated

Be sure to follow the instructions in the Crab Dip video tutorial and I’ll show exactly how to make it. This dish can be served cold immediately or marinated in the refrigerator for more flavor. If you’d like to serve this recipe warm, bake it in the oven at 350° Fahrenheit for 8 minutes, then serve.

Oysters Rockefeller – Cleaning, Shucking and the Recipe

The Best Oysters are Rockefeller

Oysters Rockefeller are a great way to kick off any celebration. New Orleans Mardi Gras is certainly no exception. And as you may or may not know, the original recipe was developed in the French Quarter at local restaurant called Antoine’s back in the 1800’s. This recipe has since gone platinum. And you as you can see in the picture below, they are fairly inexpensive to buy and with this recipe, they certainly live up to their name, “Rockefeller”. I think I paid about 58 cents a piece is all and the results were spectacularly “Rich”.

What kind of Oysters do you have?

These are West Coast Oysters. You can tell they aren’t from the East Coast because of the Greenish color, instead of brown, and they’re a bit more long gated as well. They should always be scrubbed and rinsed before shucking. This will help eliminate any grime getting into the shell. Personally, I like to rinse them out after anyway. But some folks will freak out if you drain the “liquor” from the oyster before serving because there’s so much flavor there. But for Oysters Rockefeller, there is so much flavor added to it through out the recipe, in my opinion, it really doesn’t matter. The important thing is that no one breaks a tooth trying to eat them.

Shucking Oysters

I’ll show you, in the video below, how to properly shuck these things and lay them out on the half shell. There’s really nothing to it once you learn the tricks. But it’s important to lay them down on something that will keep them stable so they don’t teeter back and forth. Some people, restaurants included, press the round shell backs down into Rock salt, and that’s great for serving but I just use cup cake pans to keep them from moving and it works great for broiling.

Oysters Rockefeller

To make this recipe, you need a few key ingredients but the main thing is to make it green like money. As the story goes, when this recipe was created, someone in the restaurant exclaimed that these Oysters were as rich as Rockefeller. Others think it has to do with the color of money itself. Either way, the name stuck and now the world can enjoy them for any occasion.

If you’re interested in other Cajun recipes and food celebrated in New Orleans and at Mardi Gras, check out my Boudin, Crawfish Etouffee and my Jambalaya!

Oysters Rockefeller Ingredients:

1 doz Med/Lrg Oysters
2 cloves Garlic, ground
1 Green Onion, ground
1 sprig of Fresh Parsly
4 oz Baby Green Spinach
2 tbsp White wine, can sub ice water or white grape juice
1 stick of melted butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp Crab Boil or Crawfish Seasoning (Old Bay is fine)
1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Worcestershire
1 tsp Basalmic Vinager
1/3 cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/4 cup Bread Crumbs, optional

Be sure to watch the full Oysters Rockefeller Video Tutorial so you can see, step by step, exactly how to make them from scratch.