tuesday taste - music for your mouth

Pair this: The Bitten Word - Scallops with Spice Oil

With this: Food52 - Griddled Polenta Cakes​

So I've been going a little overboard on the domestic front lately. New place, new enagement, and (let's be honest here) a lack of a Chipotle within a 45 mile radius, have all conspired to create a perfect storm of domestic efforts. 

I tend to choose recipes in pairs, which gave me the idea to share my recipe pairings in a weekly post, which I will now call, "tuesday taste." Pretty straightforward concept here. I pair recipes that I think will go well together, and modify as needed, then share.

I've picked Tuesday, because if you are like me, nothing productive ever happens on Mondays.  I find recipes on Tuesdays.  It takes me until Wednesday after work to remember to check the fridge and pantry to see what I've got.  Shop Thursday.  Cook Friday/Saturday/Sunday. Weekends are more elaborate, whereas the balance of the week gets progressively more simple and "survivalist" if you will.  But enough about me! Let's get to the food!

For today's post, I am sharing a recent favorite, picured above. Scallops in Spice Oil as shared by The Bitten Word, and Griddled Polenta Cakes from Food52. The Bitten Word is a favorite blog of mine, Zach and Clay always make me laugh, and as a bonus, they are in my beloved Washington DC! They try recipes out from all the food magazines, and share their favorites. 

Their scallop recipe gets the lead role in today's feature. It was amazing! Seriously, my mouth is watering just writing about it. Trust Zach and Clay, a little bit of the spice oil goes a long way. I doubled the spice oil recipe, took one taste and realized a single portion would have been plenty! The only thing I modified was the bed of greens. (just not the cilantro type over here!) Greens or no greens, the recipe was amazing! Highly recommend!

The role of best supporting actor goes to the Griddled Polenta Cakes. The recipe is actually for Polenta Cakes with Carmelized Onions, Goat Cheese, and Honey (yum!) but I just did the Polenta Cakes, as a Scallop Foundation/Spice Oil Sponge. Lacking a circular cookie cutter, I did heart cakes instead. Delicious and adorable.  

The two paired marvelously. Give them a try!

Today's Song: Fred Astaire - Cheek to Cheek (on Spotify) "Heaven, I'm in Heaven..."