orange sauce | Bewitching Kitchen

Every once in a while events happen in beautiful harmony. Last week I got notification of a new blog post by Kelly over at Inspired Edibles. She shared a recipe for cauliflower puree, and her post immediately made me crave some. I even exchanged a couple of emails with her comparing notes, as I had a version in my blog, from a couple of years ago. I made the puree on a Sunday to have it ready for our dinner next day. To serve with it, I picked a simple recipe (Mondays are busy days for us): Shrimp in Spicy Orange Sauce… Right as my shrimp defrosted in the fridge next day, Kelly published a new post with a recipe for Spicy Orange Ginger Shrimp! subliminal, virtual inspiration? I like to think so… 😉

SHRIMP WITH SPICY ORANGE SAUCE
(from Cooking Light magazine, August 2007)

1 + 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp chile paste
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp minced, peeled fresh ginger
1/3 cup chopped green onions

Place shrimp in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with cornstarch, toss well to
coat, and set aside. Combine orange juice, soy, honey, vinegar, and chile paste in a small bowl. Reserve.

Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced ginger to the pan. Stir fry for 15 seconds or until fragrant. Add shrimp mixture, stir fry for 3 minutes. Add the juice mixture and onions, cook for a couple of minutes or until the sauce thickens and the shrimp are done, stirring frequently.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

So here is my delicious dinner, served! Shrimp in a tasty and quick to prepare orange sauce, over cauliflower puree with a hint of apple. A match I had never attempted, but is now classified as “made in heaven!” Usually I would serve this type of dish with steamed rice, but I must say the cauli puree worked its magic here. The meal was slightly more substantial, leaning into the comfort food zone, great way to wrap up a Fall weeknight.

And, to go along in the inspired route, Alaina from Flat Leaf Parsley awarded me the “Very Inspiring Blogger Award“. Inspiring! How wonderful is that? The award requires that you say 7 things about yourself. I’ve played this game before, and was tempted to just copy the same 7 facts here, but I thought that would be almost cheating. So here you have seven “new” ones:

1. I’ve worn the same perfume for the past 30 years: a Brazilian cologne called Free. Every year when I go to Brazil I stock up, and usually also get a couple of bottles from friends and family as gifts. They know I would have a hard time without it!

2. I have no sense of orientation whatsoever, and get in frequent trouble because of it. I turn to the wrong side on the street and inside buildings. I get lost going from the bathroom to my table in restaurants. It is pathetic and at times very embarrassing.

3. I am very good both at parallel and back -parking, love the challenge of fitting our pick up truck in the tiniest spots. And, I am obviously very modest! 😉

4. I used to drive a Porsche 944 Turbo. Red. Gorgeous. Not a wise economical decision from a maintenance perspective (it had over 100 thousand miles when I bought it), but I had a blast driving it!

5. I studied Mandarin Chinese for a few years, wish one day I can find the energy and time to go back to it. Writing ideograms is an introspective and rewarding experience.

6. Every day for the past 4 years, I send a picture of something beautiful (landscape, animals, flowers, sunsets) by email to a group of family members and friends. I call it “Beleza do Dia” (Beauty of the Day), and really enjoy doing it.

7. My motto: everything in moderation, except exercise… 😉 I have more than 30 fitness-related DVDs to provide enough “muscle confusion”, although P90X is my favorite.

Thank you so much, Alaina, for passing me this award!

ONE YEAR AGO: A Simple Appetizer (Baked Ricotta)

TWO YEARS AGO: Sour Cream Sandwich Bread

THREE YEARS AGO: Pasta with Zucchini Strands and Shrimp

I’ve made this recipe three times in the past 9 months, with the firm intention of blogging about it. The photos never did it justice, and even though I’m still not satisfied with the way the pictures turned out, I must go ahead with the post: this recipe is too good to keep secret! 😉

Cooking scallops can be intimidating, they are expensive and easy to mess up. A few seconds longer in the pan, and their delicate texture is ruined. Dorie Greenspan, in her book “Around my French Table,” offers a great take on scallops, with a sauce that was born to embrace them.

SCALLOPS IN ORANGE-CARAMEL SAUCE
(from Dorie Greenspan)

2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup orange juice
1 lb sea scallops
2 teaspoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 tablespoon cold butter, cut into 3 pieces

First, make the sauce. Mix the orange juice and white wine in a small bowl and reserve. Sprinkle the sugar into a small saucepan (see my comments on the type of pan I like to use for this). Place the pan over medium-high heat and warm the sugar until it starts to melt and color. As soon as you see the caramel in the pan turning brown, begin to gently swirl the pan. About 3 minutes into the cooking time, when the sugar is deep caramel in color, stand back and add the orange/wine mixture. It will bubble and spatter, just keep stirring with a wooden spoon, and boil until the sauce is reduced by half — you should have about 1/3 cup. Pull the pan from the heat and set it aside. If not using the sauce immediately, you can keep it for a couple of days in the fridge.

Pat the scallops dry between two paper towels. Put the saucepan with the caramel sauce over very low heat so that it can warm while you cook the scallops.

Put a heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. When the pan is hot, pour in 1 tsp olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom. Add the scallops, season them with salt and pepper, add a little more oil if needed, and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, or until the scallops are firm on the outside and just barely opaque in the center. Transfer the scallops to a serving platter.

Check that the caramel sauce is hot, remove the pan from the heat and toss in the butter, bit by bit, swirling the pan until the butter is melted and the sauce is glistening. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, then drizzle some over the scallops, serving additional sauce at the table.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

To make the sauce, my favorite pan is this cute little red skillet from Bialetti. I bought it when we were in Los Angeles because our electric cooking stovetop was so tiny, I had no pan that would fit nicely on it. Since the pan is white, it’s very easy to see the caramel color, no need to guess or transfer a small amount to a white plate.

I strongly advise you to make a double batch of the sauce, I never seem to have enough, it’s so delicious! It would go well on shrimp, and even chicken breasts or pork tenderloin. Slightly sweet, slightly sour, feels complex even though it is made with only a few ingredients.

These scallops are elegant enough to serve for company, although depending on the number of guests I would offer it as a small first course. Everything happens pretty quickly with this recipe, I don’t quite picture myself handling too many for a main dish for more than 2 couples. I know my limitations! 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Fire-Roasted Tomato Risotto

TWO YEARS AGO: A Special Dinner for Two