Seared Scallop with a guanciale marmalade

For guanciale marmalade:

1 cup guanciale, cut into 2” X 1” X 1/2” pieces

¼ cup yellow onions, julienned

3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

3 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon butter, unsalted

Salt, pepper, cayenne

1 recipe fontina polenta (recipe to follow)

8 large scallops dry pack preferred

Directions:

1. Render guanciale in a heavy sauté pan until crispy then remove guanciale.

2. Cook onions in the remaining fat, scraping bits from the bottom of the pan until onions are dark golden.

3. Add brown sugar and stir to coat.

4. Add a third of the chicken stock and place pan back on the burner to simmer.

5. Reduce mixture until thick, almost dry (approx 5-15 minutes). Watch carefully that it doesn’t burn.

6. Add half of the remaining stock and reduce again until thick.

7. Add all remaining stock and remove pan from the stove. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.

8. Pour contents into a blender and puree until smooth.

9. Pour contents back into sauté pan and stir in honey to combine.

10. Put pan back on to the stove and cook stirring frequently until deep brick red color is reached.

11. Re-season and mount with butter. Allow to cool to room temperature. Reserve.

Fontina Polenta

1 cup Polenta

1 cup Heavy Cream

2 cup Chicken Stock

½ cup Fontina, Grated

2 Tbsp Butter

Salt, To Taste

Directions:

1. Combine the polenta, cream and chicken stock in a medium saucepot. 

2. Bring to a simmer, whisking often.  Take care not to let the polenta stick to the bottom of the pan.

3. Cook stirring frequently for 20 minutes, until the polenta starts to pull away from the sides of the pot.

4. Fold in cheese, and finish with butter.  Season to taste with salt.

To serve:

1. Preheat a large sauté pan with one ounce of oil until hot

2. Season scallops with salt (not a lot because the rest of the dish has a heavier salt content)

3. Add scallops to pan and sear 2-3 min per side; allow them to get brown

4. Place polenta in center of dish, place scallops on top and spoon one teaspoon of guanciale in the center.

Featured below is a recipe from the Taste of Osso Cooking Class on January 7th 2012

Crab and Ricotta Crostini
with a spicy pepper jam
4 oz Crab Meat, picked carefully for shells
6 oz Ricotta
1 tsp Chopped fresh herbs, such as thyme, parsley, basil, chive, sage, etc.
2 oz Parmesan
1 recipe chili jam (recipe to follow)
1 baguette cut into 12 long crostini
Salt, To Taste
Directions:
Fold Ingredients together, careful not to break up crab too much. Keep chilled

Spicy Pepper Jam
1 cup Calabrese Peppers
¼ cup Sugar
½ cup Water
Salt, To Taste
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a pot and bring to a simmer.
2. Reduce slowly on low heat to bring out the heat of the peppers.
3. When a nappe consistency is achieved, pull off of heat and cool thoroughly
To serve:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Spread crab evenly among the crostini and place on sheet pan
3. Toast until cheese is slightly melted and crostini begins to brown on the edges
4. Place on plate and drizzle chili jam over the crostini & serve immediately

Cooking with Executive Chef Gene Briggs 
 Next Class: 
$44.95 per class (excludes tax and gratuity)
January 7th- A Taste of Osso

Menu:
Crab and Ricotta Crostini
With a spicy pepper jam

Seared Scallop
With a guanciale marmalade and fontina polenta

Flatiron Steak Tagliata
With a romano bean ragu and roasted potato

Pistachio Semifreddo