Tuesday Morning Breakfast
Scallop and Cheese Grits (Serves 4)
3/4 cup Grits
1 1/2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
16 sea scallops, trimmed of tough muscle flap
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 oz Spanish-style chorizo, casing removed, diced
1/2 cup finely chopped scallions (white and green parts)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring 3-1/2 cups water to a boil, and add 1/4 teaspoon salt. Slowly stir the grits into the water. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the cheese.
About ten minutes into the grits cooking start the scallops. Pat the scallops dry, season them with salt on both sides, and heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan, then the chorizo, and cook until the sausage renders some fat, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the scallops, and sear for 2 minutes. Turn them over and continue cooking until browned, 2 minutes. Remove the scallops to a plate lined with a paper towel. Keep the chorizo in the pan.
Reduce the heat under the pan to medium, and add the scallions, garlic, and lemon juice. Cook for 2 minutes, and remove from the heat.
On each of 4 plates, make a bed of grits, then place the scallops on top, and drizzle pan sauce and chorizo on and around the scallops and grits.
Rise and Shine
2 oz Carrot Juice
1 oz agave nectar or simple syrup
1 oz grapefruit juice
1 oz lemon juice
3 oz silver tequila
Combine all the ingredients in a shaker filled with ice and shake well. Strain into a rocks glass with ice.