Kellan's Kitchen: Scallops, Steak, Scotch and a 30th Birthday.

It's pretty flattering when your friend decides he'd rather eat at your house than go out to a nice dinner in SF. So, for my friend Chris' birthday, we put together a feast of great ingredients, a comprehensive menu, and lots and lots of wine.

The request was surf & turf. Scallops mainly, and then whatever to follow. So, I decided to try something new, something old, and create a well balanced meal. A small lightening bolt struck when discussing the scallops; lentils. I have had a protein served on top of lentils before and absolutely loved it. I thought, why not seafood? The idea was a riff on bacon & scallops. Using plenty of bacon in the lentil cooking process, as well as finishing it with some crispy bacon bits. The scallops were lightly pan seared in some coconut oil, along with some beautiful U-15 white shrimp. The dish turned out great. A lot of cleaned plates, and a few "are there more scallops?"

The second dish was some beautiful bone-in NY steaks I did florentine style, accompanied by my 'Itallian Chimichurri.' The steaks required very little seasoning since they were of such high quality. Salt, pepper, olive oil, and a bit of the chimichurri sauce, they were grilled to medium rare. The chimichurri uses white balsamic, instead of red wine vinegar, and basil instead of mint. I also added a squeeze of fresh lemon to keep it very acidic. The steaks were served on top of watercress and topped with some crispy shallots. A fabulous compliment to the scallops, and great with all the amazing red wine at the table.

And finally, a shout out to the guests. It's not often that people are featured on the blog, but I'm taking this moment to thank the frequent test eaters & guests of Kellan's Kitchen. We may have had a few too many glasses of scotch in addition to the wine, so let this be a disclaimer for the blurry photos. Big thanks to Chris, Cara, Keith, April, Matt, Anna, Darcy, Kristy, and Christina!!