Southern Protocol

After over four hours of driving and a few panic attacks in what Charleston meteorologists playfully dubbed “Snow-mageddon 2010″ on Friday, I was treated to a fabulously rich and delicious orzo dish by a very thoughtful boyfriend. The recipe is actually based on a dish at wildly successful Augusta restaurant Sheehan’s, and is perfect for a cold night in.

Sidenote: seeing as how this was an attempt at recreating an actual dish, a lot of the portions of ingredients were guesstimated. Cooking is about experimentation and tailoring to what you like – so use recipe below as a guideline!

Scallop and Mussel Orzo (serves two-three, depending on hunger!)
1 cup whole wheat orzo
2 tablespoons fresh chopped rosemary
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 shallot, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup light cream
1/2 pound scallops
1/2 pound mussels
1 cup Champagne
Sliced baby bella mushrooms
Butter
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cook the orzo according to package directions.

In a large saucepan, saute mushrooms until soft and fragrant; remove and set aside. Add pad of butter, shallots and garlic to same saucepan and let heat. Add rosemary, salt and pepper; deglaze with champagne. Reduce by half. Add cream. Add scallops and mussels and cook until cooked through, about 5 minutes (mussels will pop open). Return mushrooms to the pan and add cooked orzo, letting all the flavors marinate together for a few moments and the sauce reduce a bit further.

Enjoy!

Tags: mussels, orzo, scallops, taste of the week