I love seafood, and I love Mariano’s. This post is going to be a big ol’ love fest! I’ve always sort of sucked at cooking seafood. Actually, I suck at cooking a lot of foods (sorry, future hubby!). So, I recently enlisted the help of my would-be chef of an older brother to teach me a few of his mad kitchen skills. I selected the dish, bought the best Chicago seafood I could find, and headed to his house for the feast!
Obviously, I went straight to Mariano’s when I knew I would be looking for fresh ingredients and quality seafood. There is really no other option. Plus, I recently bought my 10th gelato (for the 5th time) and my kiddies were looking to cash in on their free Vero Gelato using my Mariano’s Rewards Card. The promise of gelato and strawberry milk kept them sitting tight while we browsed the aisles looking for the ingredients on my list.
The seafood section of Mariano’s is actually one of my favorite parts of the store. They have a wide variety of fish, shrimp, crab, oysters, clams, just about everything. My favorite part, is that they will grill it for you on the spot. No cooking skills required on my part? Sign me up!
I won’t lie to you and tell you that this jumbo shrimp and scallop mushroom risotto meal is budget friendly, because it isn’t. Good seafood isn’t cheap. Though, I think Mariano’s has totally fair prices considering the quality of food you get. Plus, any excuse to drive out to Mariano’s for a little foodie experience is fine by me. I can’t wait until they open the Aurora location! I’ll be there every week. 🙂
If you’re looking to fancy up dinner for you and the beau one night, I would TOTALLY recommend this dish. If you’re looking to feed a family of picky ankle biters, not so much. I tried to get both of my toddlers to taste the decadence on my plate and they stuck their noses up at me. Boxed mac and cheese, they’ll eat. Culinary masterpiece, they’ll pass. One day they are bound to develop taste buds.
One of the things I learned is that having a mega hot pan is vital in searing your scallops and shrimp. I once “seared” my scallops in a cold pan, with no oil. Gotta tell you, there wasn’t much sizzle happening. #ScallopFail
This dish was surprisingly easy to make. That’s easy to say, considering I mostly just watched it being created. I did assist in the plating portion! And really, what’s the dish worth if it doesn’t look amazing on a plate? There are a few tips on plating at the end of the post.
The finished product really is something to behold, isn’t it? This dish was inspired by a meal I had while out to dinner for Valentine’s Day. In total, it was about half the cost (per plate) of the one I got from the restaurant and dare I say, twice as good. I did prefer my dinner date that night to the rowdy toddlers that joined me for this meal. You can’t win them all, I suppose. 😉
Ingredients
- Scallops & Shrimp
- 6 Scallops
- 6 Jumbo Shrimp
- Sea Salt & Peppercorn to taste
- 4 Tbsp Olive Oil
Directions
- Season the scallops and shrimp on each side with a generous amount of coarse sea salt and coarsely ground peppercorn.
- Bring a frying pan to a high heat and add olive oil.
- Once oil is hot, add the scallops and shrimp in a clockwise manner beginning at twelve o’clock.
- Sauté the scallops and shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown and then begin flipping the scallops and shrimp in a clockwise manner, once again beginning at twelve o’clock.
- Sauté for another 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown on both sides and then remove from heat.
Ingredients
- Risotto
- 4 Tbsp Butter
- 2 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1/2 Medium Onion (chopped very fine)
- 1 Finger's Length Celery (chopped very fine)
- 1 Cup Arborio Rice
- ¾ Cup White wine
- 3-4 Cups Vegetable stock
- 4 Tbsp Parmesan cheese (shredded)
- 1 Cup Mushrooms (any desired type)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tsp Basil
- 2 Tsp Thyme
- Sea Salt & Pepper to taste
Directions
- Bring a frying pan to a high heat and add the olive oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the chopped mushroom.
- Season the mushrooms with basil, thyme, salt, and pepper and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes or until they are nicely seared, then remove from heat.
- Bring the stock to a boil in a separate saucepan.
- Melt the butter in a sauté pan with olive oil over a medium heat.
- As soon as the butter is melted, add the onions and celery and sweat them until the onions are tender and translucent, but not brown.
- Add the rice to the onions and celery and toast the rice for 1 to 2 minutes (coat the rice with oil to keep it from absorbing liquid too quickly). Add the white wine to the rice and stir until the wine is absorbed.
- Once the white wine is absorbed, add some hot stock to the rice about 1 cup (or ladle) at a time and stir frequently until the liquid is absorbed. Keep adding stock to the rice until the rice is fully cooked and the bright white kernel fades away completely, usually about 20 minutes.
- Once the rice grain is fully cooked and the rice mixture has a creamy consistency, add the butter and parmesan cheese to the rice and mix together.
- Take the pan off the heat and cover with a lid for about 3 minutes.
Plating Tips:
Place a scoop of risotto on the center of the plate and gently shake it up and down while turning it to spread it over the center of the plate. Garnish with parmesan cheese and extra virgin olive oil. Place the scallops and shrimp atop the risotto in alternating order in a circular fashion. Garnish with micro greens or chopped spinach, as we did. Enjoy!
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I love working with #CollectiveBias and #MyMarianos. It always means my home is going to be filled with amazing food. Yay!
I love scallops and shrimp, this dish looks amazing! I must confess I’m too scared to try to cook scallops at home, but you (or at least your brother:) made this look doable!:) #client
Alicia recently posted..Buildable Heroes with Mega Bloks #Skylanders SWAP Force™ & a Giveaway
OH girl. I’ve decided (just now) that I’m coming to live with you. We can raise our children together in harmony (chaos), and you can make delicious food for me. I’m not sure what I have to offer, because I don’t scrub shower stalls, bathtubs, or toilets. I can cook a mean breakfast? Does that count? I mean really? I just want to start a web show a la iCarly with you but it would be like iSarah & Summer & their butts, and shop at Mariano’s. That’s really all I want in life. And this for dinner. Is that too much to ask? #client
Summer Davis recently posted..The Mind – Body Connection, Concussions, & Flora
Oh wow this looks great! I am going to have to try it.
love the recipe and I can’t agree with you more about Mariano’s, but you are aware that Seafood is meat, right?