Pan-Seared Scallops with Cauliflower “Mash”
Do you like home renovation projects?
Patrick and I are constantly working on our house.
There is a sense of satisfaction when you finish and it is something you have worked on and it actually looks nice!
Granted my parents have been nice enough to show us the ropes on many, many, MANY home improvement tricks.
I have watched my parents flip houses for years and have been a part of many of them.
So I suppose it is only natural that I am wanting to do the same thing with my own.
I am pretty sure Patrick thinks I am nuts, but he seems to be enjoying the process as well.
This weekend was full of re-purposing furniture.
I have a habit of picking up thing so the side of the road that are free and then painting them or refinishing them.
Hey one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.
Or something…like that.
Like this little table for example:
I picked this maple coffee table up at an estate sale down the street from our house. It is solid maple it is sturdy and I really like the design. When you pull out the leaves on the side it looks like a flower on top.
Anyways, the estate sale people wanted $95 dollars for it and I ended up coming on the last day of the estate sale when they were trying to clear things out and got it for $10! Now I am painting it to go into my office 🙂
Or like these little beauties:
These were a side of the road, free, find. If someone else doesn’t want them I can make them into something special that no one else has!
Or like this:
This cabinet has quite the story. It used to be in my parents pool house and they had a fire last year in that building and the majority of their items in it were ruined.
This cabinet survived with some bumps, bruises and some stink. BUT, I washed it, sanded it, washed it again, primed it with superman primer (Bullseye 1•2•3) and now am painting it black and white to go into my dinning room.
#repurposed
I love doing that with furniture. They need homes too.
Yes, I definitely just told you that furniture needs a home. Ever since I was little I have thought that things that are inanimate have feelings.
I know it’s not true! kinda
I just want things to have a good home and I think that Patrick and I are doing a good job of that for some of the furniture you see above.
Keep a look out on my Instagram feed, I am always posting new things we have done, gotten or are doing to the house.
Today I am sharing with you a delicious recipe for scallops and cauliflower mash.
Before you get all freaked out, cauliflower mash is delicious. I was skeptical, but the taste and texture was fantastic and I will definitely be making it again. For sure!
Have you ever had cauliflower mash before?
My mom was telling me about how my Mimi (her mom) used to mix potatoes and cauliflower together often because cauliflower was cheaper than potatoes when she was young.
Definitely not like that anymore.
Veggies and fruits are getting quite outrageous.
Anyways, grab a glass of chardonnay, pull up a chair and enjoy this dish!
- [u]For Scallops:[/u]
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1-1/2 pound scallops
- Salt
- Pepper
- [br]
- [u]For Cauliflower Mash:[/u]
- 2 cups cauliflower
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup low sodium vegetable stock
- 1/4 cup fat-free greek yogurt
- 2 cloves roasted garlic
- 1/2 roasted yellow onion
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- Sprinkle of dried parsley
- Place scallops onto a plate with a paper towel. Try and get excess liquid removed from them as you do not want this during cooking. Sprinkle the scallops with salt and pepper.
- Place water and vegetable stock into pot with cauliflower and bring to a boil. Cook until the cauliflower is completely tender. Remove from heat and let stand uncovered for about 5-10 minutes. Strain, but keep liquid.
- Pour strained cauliflower into a food processor. Add in yogurt, roasted garlic and onion, salt and pepper. Process this until smooth. If it is dry, add some of the liquid from the pot.
- Keep in food processor until ready to serve.
- Heat large skillet with olive oil over high heat. Swirl to coat. The skillet needs to be [i]screaming[/i] hot. I used a cast iron skillet. Seems to work best. To check your skillet toss a tiny bit of water into the pan and if it sizzles and make a lot of noise you are ready!
- Add scallops to the pan and cook for 3 minutes on one side and DO NOT MOVE THEM. Flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes depending on how you like your scallops done (I like them translucent in the middle).
- Serve with roasted vegetables. I served with roasted broccoli, Brussels and onions (this is how I got my roasted garlic and onion – I placed the vegetables in the oven prior to starting anything and by the time I was ready to process the cauliflower mash the garlic and onions were ready).
12 Comments
kita
you should totally have a DIY blog! I need some ‘new’ pieces for my office. I am going to start checking the route home ;D
These scallops sound AMAZING!
RavieNomNoms
Oh man! That would be fun wouldn’t it?! I am just trying to keep sane during my wedding planning and that is what happens! haha 😉
Dionne Baldwin
I love shopping at thrift stores (I call them furniture adoption centers) and looking at the treasures. I love the big huge tvs that used to sit on the floor. They’re around $20.00 and there’s always a lot of them! We are looking for something to put in our dining room. A sort of a hutch to put all of our coffee related gadgets on display.
I cannot even fathom cauliflower being less expensive than potatoes, but I love combining them in a mash! And scallops…I have been craving those. Thank you for sharing this!
RavieNomNoms
ooooo Another thrift store goer eh?! Those are dangerous places 😉
Thanks for stopping by Dionne! So nice to see you here
Liz
LOVE your painted furniture! What a transformation! And your scallops look incredible, too!
RavieNomNoms
Thank you and thank you! 🙂
Patrick
Whoa those scallops were yummie! And that cauliflower “mash” was pretty darn good too 🙂 Great job on the restoration of the furniture sweetie!
RavieNomNoms
Haha thanks! It is in your home so hopefully you are OK with it!
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table
Can you come to my house? Both to decorate and make dinner. And dessert while you’re at it. 😉
RavieNomNoms
Absolutely!! 🙂
magdykaram
This recipe looks delicious, will try and bring home decor inspire hope
RavieNomNoms
🙂