Wednesday 15 February 2012

Cribs and Crab legs

So a few good things happened this week!
First, we decided on some of our nursery furniture!  I don't know why, but this caused a certain amount of stress for me for awhile. A few friends will know what I mean. I felt a bit like a crazy person.  I think it is all just very overwhelming. Every time I thought I had made up my mind on something, there was something in the way, such as our favorite set being a little out of price range. I also knew i wanted a natural wood finish for most of the furniture (as there will already be a fair amount of white present in things such a doors, curtains, a built in shelving unit. I actually didn't realize the amount of white already there until i started to really take notice of the room.)  Well, It finally happened, the coveted set went on sale!  Thank you Babies R Us for decreasing my stress load.  Here is a picture of the set, although we only purchased the crib and 6 drawer dresser, that will double as a changing table. I really like the color of the walls in this picture, we're thinking of going with a similar color.


Second good thing, It was Valentines day! and I finally made Crab legs with butter, and also some delicious Scallops with leeks, cream and fried capers. So yummy!  I was in pregnant lady heaven.

Here's how i made them (measurements are not exact!)  First I made sure the scallops were patted quite dry. Then I pre seared them in a cast iron skillet with a good amount of oil. Skillet has to be hot, as the scallops give out alot of liquid, and I did them in a few batches.  If your pan isn't hot enough, they wont sear properly and will just kind of boil in their own liquid, and overcook.  I seared them approximately 30-45 seconds each side (depends on the size of your scallops)  They were still a little under done, and I set them aside. Heat up a small pan with enough oil to coat bottom of pan, on medium high heat, and fry the capers in small batches. Make sure they are patted dry as they will splatter if too wet. Fry for about 30 seconds and drain on paper towel.  If they are not slightly crispy, you can put then back in the oil for 15 more seconds or so. Set aside. For the sauce, I used a little less than one leek, cut in half and cleaned. There is a lot of mud that gets into leeks so make sure you cut the stalk in half and run under water to clean well. Use only the intact stalk and throw away the part where it starts to separate and is darker green. I cut the pieces in small half moon slices.  Heat up a pan on medium heat, add a bit of olive oil, about a tablespoon of butter, the leeks, a clove of garlic chopped. Sautee until the leeks soften, then add about 4 tablespoons (or more!) of white wine. reduce slightly. Add Juice of a quarter lemon.  Then stir in about a quarter cup heavy cream.  Season with salt and pepper. Once the cream is in, reduce temperature. You can adjust the seasonings here, or add more cream if its too thick. Add the scallops and toss to coat and to bring back up to temperature. This is where they finish cooking. Turn off heat and serve immediately,  as scallops do tend to get overcooked easily. Sprinkle with capers to garnish. Enjoy!








For the King crab legs, (they were frozen, sadly the best I could get at the store that day, but they were still delicious and satisfied my craving.... For now..... )  I steamed them for about 8 mins.







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