No. 238: Bay Scallops & Crispy Smashed Potatoes for the Win; Pizza for the Bowl

Plus: Veg Gratins, Curry Mussels, Lo Mein

Jan 31, 2024

Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Bay Scallops, Cook the Vineyard — Killer combo: Crispy Smashed Potatoes topped with Limey Sauce and Simple Sautéed Bay Scallops

🌟 Bay Scallops + Crispy Smashed Potatoes for the Win

A friend dropped by last week with a pound of very fresh bay scallops – about the best thing a Vineyard neighbor can bring you in January! The bay scallop season only runs through March, so now’s the time to enjoy them. I did freeze some of mine to use in a few weeks, but I had a crazy idea I wanted to try out with the rest of them.

Usually I sauté them quickly, make a simple pan sauce, and serve them over mashed potatoes, polenta, or pasta. I don’t like to bake them or use any other method that might risk overcooking these delicate, sweet morsels. What else could I serve the seared bay scallops over? Why not Crispy Smashed Potatoes, I thought. We could even take it a step further and turn these into fancy hors d’oeuvres. Not so much fancy as fabulous. You could have the best Superbowl snacks ever with these things.

Bay Scallops, Crispy Potatoes, Cook the Vineyard — Pan searing is the best way to cook fresh bay or sea scallops, no matter what you do with them next.

So I did a run through. I made a batch of Crispy Smashed Potatoes and a batch of Limey Drizzling Sauce. (I upped the lime zest and went a little heavier on the sour cream and a little lower on the lime juice to make the sauce a little thicker.) Finally, I trimmed and sautéed a handful of bay scallops. I arranged a dollop of sauce and cilantro leaves on the crispy potato, and topped with two or three of the little scallops and a few flakes of sea salt. They were a hit. The first batch disappeared quickly, requiring a second round of “test samples.”

You could certainly riff on this idea however you like. Substitute sea scallops (slice them in half horizontally first for more manageable pieces) or serve the potatoes and scallops as more of a plated first course, perhaps with a little bit of a very thinly sliced slaw. Or you could go bolder and swap out the limey sauce for this Chunky Olive and Sundried Tomato Topping (minus the fresh corn) or this Double Cilantro Gaucamole.

Chunky Olive and Sundried Tomato Topping, Cook the Vineyard — Chunky Olive and Sundried Tomato Topping could be a bold bridge for the potatoes and scallops.

💚 Best Excuse for a Vegetable Gratin

While I was poking around in our scallop archives, I saw this photo and was reminded that I’ve also served seared bay scallops with this yummy Butternut Squash, Kale & Parmigiano Gratin.

Butternut Squash, Kale & Parmigiano Gratin, Cook the Vineyard — Sautéed scallops are delicious with a Butternut Squash, Kale & Parmigiano Gratin.

They’d be equally good with this Creamy Parmesan Greens Gratin if you’ve got greens on hand but no butternut.

Creamy Parmesan Greens Gratin, Cook the Vineyard — Creamy Parmesan Greens Gratins in small baking dishes.

🏈 🍕Countdown to Las Vegas

Speaking of Super Bowl snacks, this Warm Baked Feta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, and Herbs is always a big hit. (Apparently so are these Le Creuset square baking dishes!)

Warmed Baked Feta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Cook the Vineyard — Warm Baked Feta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, and Herbs

And I love to make these Butternut and Black Bean Quesadillas – or some variation of bean quesadillas, cooked to order.

Butternut and Black Bean Quesadillas, Cook the Vineyard — Butternut and Black Bean Quesadillas

I’ll have more snack ideas for you next week, but I’ve got to say that I think this is the year I’m going to make pizza for the Super Bowl. Specifically, Homemade Pizza with Vineyard Toppings and spicy drizzling oil.

Homemade Pizza with Vineyard Toppings, Cook the Vineyard — Homemade Vineyard pizzas feature local cheeses and bacon, roasted garlic, clams, roasted tomatoes, and more.

I’ll make my Simple Food Processor Pizza Dough and if I get ambitious, my Roasted Tomato Sauce.

Roasted Tomatoes and Easy Food Processor Pizza Dough, Cook the Vineyard — Turn roasted tomatoes into an amazing pizza sauce, and use the food processor for the easiest pizza dough.

🥟 Of Fried Rice and Dumplings

I just returned from a culinary jaunt to Portland, Maine. (Our food weekend was so delicious that I’m sending out a bonus post of highlights and recommendations to paid Cook the Vineyard subscribers later this week.) I was particularly sorry to leave all that great Asian food behind, but I realized I can recreate at least some of the flavors at home, starting with this versatile Veggie Fried Rice which has a nifty little soy-oyster-chili-garlic sauce to finish.

Veggie Fried Rice, Cook the Vineyard — Change up Veggie Fried Rice with any veggies you like.

I might make this Beef and Broccoli Lo Mein.

I might also make Cathy Walthers’ Thai Coconut Curry Mussels.

Thai Coconut Curry Mussels, Cook the Vineyard — Thai Coconut-Curry Mussels

And Setzu Zeender’s Siu Mai (Chinese Dumplings) would make great Super Bowl snacks, too.

Siu Mai (Chinese Dumplings), Cook the Vineyard — Siu Mai (Chinese Dumplings)

I hope all that good stuff will help ease the transition to February. Keep an eye out for that bonus post about our Portland food weekend. Until then, I’ll see you on Instagram and here on Substack.

— Susie Middleton

🍽️ What’s Open, What’s Happening on the Vineyard This Week

https://vineyardgazette.com/business-directory

The Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society is hosting the first of three local food potlucks on Thursday, Feb. 1, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Catboat Coffee in Tisbury Marketplace in Vineyard Haven continues their Thursday night special take-out dinner menus. This week, Feb. 1, it’s a Quesadilla theme. Order ahead online.
Sugar and Stone Chocolate is taking pre-orders for Valentine’s Day chocolates; pickup will be at the Mo’s Lunch pop-up on Saturday, Feb. 10.
Chef Ting is cooking an African-inspired Shabbat dinner at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center on Friday, Feb. 2, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.