Food: A Valentine’s Dinner In

A Valentine’s Dinner In

Serves 2.

Recipe by Chef Chris Reynoso of ol’ Buckaroo, Three Rivers, CA | Photos by Dakota Jacobi

Nectarine Simple Syrup

Ingredients

3 large nectarines, pitted and diced

½ cup granulated sugar

A few thyme sprigs

Directions

1. Combine ingredients in saucepan.

2. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, and cook for 30 minutes.

3. Stir with a wooden spoon every few minutes while smashing the nectarines.

4. Strain syrup into a bowl using a fine mesh sieve. Discard the solids.

5. Transfer syrup to a bottle or jar (keeps in fridge up to 1 week).

Nectarine-Thyme Champagne Cocktail

Serves 2.

Ingredients

Champagne or any dry sparkling wine

2 tablespoons nectarine simple syrup

Thyme sprigs

Ice cubes

Directions

1. Fill each glass with ice cubes.

2. Add 1-2 tablespoons of simple syrup per glass.

3. Fill each glass with champagne.

4. Garnish with thyme sprigs.

Helpful Hint

Freeze ice cubes with thyme sprigs in lieu of the garnish.

Caramel Chocolate Brownie Trifle

Caramel Chocolate Brownie Trifle

Serves 2.

Caramel

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar

¼ cup cold water

½ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

¾ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan on medium-high heat, stir to combine sugar with cold water.

2. Let it continue to cook, without stirring, until sugar is a deep amber hue (approx. 10-12 minutes).

3. Meanwhile, warm the cream in a small saucepan.

4. Slowly whisk the warm cream into the sugar-water mixture. Simmer until smooth (approx. 2-3 minutes).

5. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter, and whisk in salt to taste.

Firm Whipped Cream

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Directions

1. Beat heavy whipping cream on high. Add powdered sugar. Whip until firm.

Brownies

Ingredients

1 box brownie mix

Any required ingredients (oil or eggs)

Directions

1. Bake per package directions.

2. Cool and chop up, or break into bite-size pieces. Set aside.

Assemble the Trifle

1. Add one layer of brownie pieces to the bottom of a small glass cup.

2. Drizzle some warm caramel.

3. Add some whipped cream.

4. Repeat layers, finishing with cream and caramel on top.

5. Garnish with a heart-shaped strawberry slice.

Seared Scallops with Fennel Puree

Serves 2.

Ingredients

10 large diver scallops

1 Cara Cara orange (or your favorite citrus)

½ cup pistachios

1 garlic clove, unpeeled and smashed

1 bay leaf

fresh thyme

kosher salt, to taste

neutral-flavored cooking oil (preferably grapeseed)

extra virgin olive oil, for finishing

Puree

Ingredients

2 large bulbs fennel (fist-sized) with stalks and fronds

1 large yellow onion

1 russet potato approximately 9 oz. (about the size of 1 fennel bulb)

2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Trim stalks from the fennel bulb. Reserve stalks and 1/4 of one bulb for garnish salad.

2. Dice fennel bulb and onion.

3. Add olive oil to a pot and heat on high until barely smoking.

4. Add diced onions, fennel, and a large pinch of kosher salt. Stir with rubber spatula, cooking fennel and onions until soft and translucent.

5. Add cream and bring to boil, then reduce to simmer. Simmer until fennel can be easily pierced with a knife (cream will boil over if heat is too high). Take off heat and set aside.

6. While cream, fennel, and onions are simmering, peel and cut your russet potato into 2-in. chunks. Place in pot with water to cover (add a large pinch of salt to the water), turn on high heat, bring water to boil, then reduce to simmer. Simmer potatoes until they can be easily pierced. 7. While potatoes are cooking, place cooked cream, fennel, and onions in a blender and blend until smooth.

8. Strain potatoes and place through a ricer, or use a mesh strainer to push your potatoes through to “mash” them without lumps in your final puree.

9. Mix in about 3/4 of the fennel-onion cream, to create a puree that holds together. Add more or less of the cream to achieve the right consistency. (Any extra cream can be stored in the fridge for 5 days or the freezer for 6 months.)

10. Once the right consistency is achieved, store puree in a pot on the stove until ready to plate.

Scallops

Directions

1. Remove scallops from fridge about 15 minutes before cooking.

2. Season liberally with kosher salt on each side.

3. Place a flat-bottomed sauté pan on high heat. Drizzle just enough cooking oil on the bottom to coat. (Choose a high burn point- and neutral flavor oil: grapeseed or vegetable oil.)

4. Once the pan just begins to smoke, place each scallop, flattest (“presentation”) side down, in the pan, evenly spaced to achieve a golden-brown crust. A large (2-in.) scallop will take about 3 minutes to sear; a smaller scallop takes less time.

5. Once the outer portion of the scallop is a nice golden brown, gently lift each one to see if the scallop has an even crust. Cook the scallop about 80% of the way on the presentation side.

6. Once scallops lift freely off pan, flip and add a large lump of butter to the pan with some fresh thyme, a smashed clove of garlic, and a bay leaf.

7. Lift the pan handle at an angle, so the pan bottom is still over the heat but the butter collects at the tilted bottom of the pan. Gently spoon the hot butter over the presentation side of the scallops for about 1 minute. Remove scallops from pan when they are about 90% cooked.

8. Keep warm until ready to plate with puree and fennel-citrus salad. Enjoy!