Dinner with Dad: Scallops and Risotto

Last night I had the distinct pleasure of dining with one of my favorite people, my dad. I offered to cook dinner if he would swing by and stay for a little visit. When it came time to settle on a meal, however, I drew a blank. My appetite hasn't been as voracious these days - I waiver between yogurt in the thick heat of midday and a light bowl of soup during the recurring thunderstorms and the cooling breezes that follow. But I couldn't bring myself to serve my dad chicken (it's a family thing), so I drew some inspiration from a meal at Max's last weekend. It was simple and well-done, summery yet filling: seared scallops over summer-vegetable risotto.

The great thing about risotto is that it really can be a meal by itself, and it requires so few ingredients. As long as you have rice (arborio), some kind of stock, and cheese in the house, you're pretty much set. Anything above and beyond that is gravy in risotto-land. Of course people like to dress it up in the manner that seems to be all the rage these days - with the fanciest, most arcane ingredients they can find. I'll leave that showy extravagance to them - I like uncomplicated food (at least, when I'm cooking it).

Risotto and I are really just getting to know each other, and as it turned out, the whole dinner was a kind of friendly, getting-to-know-you kind of meal, as I had never worked with scallops before either (unless you count cutting them and raising the fork to my mouth). This was my third time making risotto, and it strikes me as something that is foreboding at first, then reasonably intimidating once you convince yourself to try it, and then after you've done it a couple times, it's nothing. That's how this was. I made arugula risotto just a few days earlier, and it was delicious, so I was confident and optimistic. The scallops I learned you need to buy "dry" or else they are worthess (well, maybe that's exaggerating). Apparently most grocery store scallops are soaked in a brine that's used to preserve them and plump them up. However, when you get them home and try to sear them, they release a ton of salty liquid and just generally act maddeningly frustrating. But if you get dry (also known as "diver") scallops, you can avoid all this and simply pat them dry, get the pan nice and hot with a fat (I used olive oil) and sear them until the cows come home. Which is, for the record, what we did.

They were delicious. I was marvelling at the sweet seared scallops smell rising from the pan, and they took under 10 minutes. The risotto, meanwhile, was done and off the heat by then, simply waiting. We ate some bread, some cheese, some olives, and opened a bottle of Ommegang Rare Vos, which was spicy and mellow at the same time, and produced that lovely little warmth in your chest. It was a delightful evening, and the company... well, the company was the best part! I was glad I could feed the Big Guy a decent meal (and, who are we kidding, a beer) after a long day of work.

Dad, you always have a home and a hot meal in H-town!