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Serves 2
6-8 large sea scallops
1 cup assorted cherry/grape/colorful tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 small shallot, minced
1/3 cup white wine
juice and zest of 1large lemon- meyer if you can get it
2 tablespoons of butter
2 teaspoons chopped fresh herbs (dill, thyme, parsley, chives, etc.)
2 generous handfuls of baby arugula
Heat a generous drizzle of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the scallops until golden brown, roughly 2 minutes per side. Do not disturb the scallops once you place them in the pan. Moving them around prevents the caramelizing sugar from forming the golden crust on the scallops.
Cut one scallop in half to ensure they are cooked though (should not be translucent in the center). When done- remove the scallops from the pan and set aside.
Wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel and add another small drizzle of olive oil and the shallots. Cook over medium-high heat until tender but not yet brown- 2 minutes. Add the white wine. Zest the lemon into the pan and squeeze most but not all of the juice in as well. Save a squeeze or so of lemon juice to dress the greens.
Cook the sauce for 1 minute until reduced a bit and then add the tomatoes- cooking another 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and add the butter, herbs, a pinch of salt and some black pepper- swirling the pan to melt the butter into the sauce.
Toss the arugula in a separate bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, the remaining meyer lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Plate the scallops next to the greens- spoon the tomatoes and sauce over top of the scallops. Serve warm (doesn't have to be piping hot) with a crisp white wine or champagne.
Looks even better on our beautiful wedding china!
Serves 2 as an entree or 4 as a starter. Salad: One bag of Butter lettuce blend salad (or two heads of bibb lettuce, cleaned well) One navel orange, peeled and segmented* One pink grapefruit, peeled and segmented* One avocado, peeled and sliced 1/4 cup toasted almond slices or slivers *
For each sandwich you'll need: 1 ciabatta roll sliced in half (or a ciabatta loaf cut into individual sandwich pieces) 2 large dill pickle slices (I like Claussen) 1-2 slices of mozzarella cheese a schmear of dijon mustard If you have a panini press (on my wish list)- that would of course work great. If not, you can use the griddle or skillet method as I did. Assemble the sandwiches and then melt one tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Place the sandwiches in the skillet and then use a large cast iron skillet/pot/some combination of heavy things on top of the sandwiches to give them a good press. I lined the bottom of the pot/skillet touching the food with foil first. 
Grill for 3-4 minutes per side until toasty brown. Add an additional tablespoon of butter when you flip the sandwiches over. 
Simple Pomodoro Sauce: 3 tablespoons good quality olive oil 1/4 cup of diced onion 2 cloves of garlic, minced or grated 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon died oregano 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar Approx 3 cups of roughly chopped fresh tomatoes of any variety salt and pepper I start the olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. I then sauteed the onion for 2 minutes until barely translucent. I then add rest of the ingredients through the vinegar and cook together, stirring, for 2 more minutes. I then add the tomatoes, season with a pinch of salt and pepper and let cook together over medium heat for 20 minutes or so until the flavors marry together and the sauce reduced slightly. 
For my plate however I omitted the sausage and simply ladled the tomato sauce in the bottom of the dish under my gnocchi which I also dusted with cheese and basil. I think the presentation was fun and a little bit "Top Chef-esque" this way but you could also toss the gnocchi into the sauce before plating if you prefer. This is truly a great staple 30 minute dinner and worked out to be the perfect "his and hers" pasta recipe too. 
Recipe from 
In a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, I sautéed the asparagus and squash in a little bit of olive oil until crisp tender but cooked through. I then transferred them it to a dish and set aside. In the same skillet over medium high heat I added another three tablespoons of olive oil and three tablespoons of butter. As soon as the butter melted I added the shallot, garlic and cherry tomatoes and tossed it all together. I turned the heat down to medium and let it cook for 5-8 minutes until the tomatoes were melting into a sauce and the garlic and shallots had softened. I let this cool a quick minute while I added one box of whole wheat penne pasta to the boiling water along with a generous sprinkle of kosher salt. I set the timer one minute less than the package called for to ensure that the pasta cooked to perfectly al dente. 
Next I tossed the tomato mixture into the food processor along with ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese, 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, and my basil and parsley. I pulsed the blade until it was all blended together- resembling a pesto-like sauce. 
I set the greens and beans aside, barely covered with a lid to keep warm while John grilled the steak. I removed the steak from the marinade and patted somewhat dry with a few paper towels. This helps to create a caramelized sear on the meat as it grills. John grilled the steak for about 3-4 minutes per side and then we let it rest for 10 minutes, tented with tin foil, before slicing it on a diagonal. 
The soy sauce in the marinade helps to tenderize the meat while flavors of the red wine and garlic are absorbed. For a super simple marinade and only 45 minutes or so of soak time, the steak was incredibly flavorful. The kale and white beans were the perfect compliment- I could make a meal of them alone actually. John and I happily ate left overs again the next night. Thank you once again, Epicurious, for a fantastic meal. All for just about $10 in groceries! 
