Eye On The Bay

  Bocce Café
(415) 981-2044
478 Green St. (at Varennes St.)
San Francisco, 94133
www.boccecafe.com

Park Chow
(415) 665-9912
1240 9th Avenue (at Irving)
San Francisco, 94122

Pasta?
Multiple locations
www.pastaq.com

Lunardi's Supermarket
Multiple locations
www.lunardis.com

Jamaican Soul
(510) 704-4083
2057 San Pablo Ave.
Berkeley, 94702

Chaat Café
Multiple locations
www.chaatcafes.com

Faz's Restaurants
Multiple locations
www.fazrestaurants.com

Vic Stewart's
(925) 943-5666
850 South Broadway
Walnut Creek

Il Fornaio
Multiple locations
www.ilfornaio.com

Crogan's
(925) 933-7800
1387 Locust Street
Walnut Creek, 94596
www.crogansbarandgrill.com

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Italian Dinner Party Recipes!
Italian Dinner Menu for Six for Less than $100

For questions or comments for Mychael, please e-mail her at mc@mychaelchang.com

Menu & Recipes
Created by Mychael Chang

* Seared Sea Scallops with Spicy Tomato Ragout
* Braised Osso Bucco with Gremolata
* Soft Wild Mushroom Polenta with Pancetta and Sage
* Shaved Zucchini Salad with Fresh Lemon, Pine Nuts and Pecorino Romano
* Roasted Amaretto Pears with Sweetened Mascarpone and Espresso Sauce
* Seared Sea Scallops with Spicy Tomato Ragout

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Seared Sea Scallops with Spicy Tomato Ragout

Ingredients
12 large sea scallops
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
¼ cup of Marsala wine
½ cup of tomato puree
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Fresh chopped parsley for garnish (optional)

Procedure
Heat a sauté pan over very high heat. Next, rinse and dry scallops completely by using paper towels. Season scallops lightly with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. (The sugar helps to caramelize the scallops and give it a nice golden crust; this is a trick that chefs use). Place the butter into the sauté pan and place the scallops into the hot pan and cook 2-3 minutes on each side, turning once. Drain the scallops onto a paper towel. Discard the butter from the pan and place the pan back on the stove. Add the Marsala wine to the pan and reduce slightly, about 30 seconds. Add remaining ingredients and cook 2 minutes. Place the scallops on small forks or on a platter and place a teaspoon of the spicy tomato ragout over each scallop. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if desired.

Notes
*Be careful when placing the Marsala wine in the pan; the alcohol in the wine will cause it to flame. Shrimp can also be used instead of scallops in this recipe. If you do not have Marsala wine, Madeira or any red or white wine will work just fine.

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Braised Osso Bucco with Gremolata

Ingredients
6 veal shanks
¼ cup of olive oil
½ cup of flour, placed in a shallow dish
1 cup of Marsala wine
1 onion, small dice
1 carrot, small dice
1 celery, small dice
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 cup of tomato puree
2 cups of chicken stock
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Gremolata (was not shown in segment)
Zest of 1 orange
Zest of 1 lemon
¼ cup of fresh chopped parsley
2 small cloves of garlic, crushed

Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix gently.

Procedure
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place a large sauté pan over very high heat and add the olive oil. Season the veal shanks with salt and pepper on both sides. Place each veal shanks in the flour to dust lightly, removing any excess flour. Place shanks in the hot sauté pan and brown about 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Next, add the Marsala wine and cook about 3 minutes to reduce slightly. Add remaining ingredients and season lightly with salt and pepper. Pull the shanks to the top so that it is resting on the vegetables. Cover and place in the oven for 1 ½ hours, until very tender. Place shanks on a large platter with the sauce and garnish the tops of each shank with the gremolata.

Notes
*Gremolata is a traditional garnish for Osso Bucco. Because of time restraints, this part was edited out of the segment.
*For variation, this exact braising technique we use here can be used to create other wonderful dishes. I often use lamb shanks or ox tail and they're amazing. The lamb shanks need to be braised for 2 hours and the ox tail needs to be braised for 3 hours.

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Soft Wild Mushroom Polenta with Pancetta and Sage

Ingredients
5 cups of chicken stock
2 teaspoons of kosher salt
1 teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper
1 ½ cups of cornmeal
1 tablespoon of olive oil
4 oz. diced pancetta
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
2 cups of sliced cremini mushrooms
1 tablespoon of fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon of butter
½ cup of heavy cream

Procedure
Place the chicken stock into a large heavy sauce pan, add the salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Slowly whisk in your cornmeal and reduce the heat to low-medium. Cover and cook an additional 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Next, place the olive oil into a sauté pan and heat. Add the pancetta and cook until slightly golden. Add the onions, garlic, mushrooms and sage and cook an additional 5 minutes, until the onions and mushrooms are tender. Season lightly with salt and pepper. When the polenta has finished cooking, add the butter and cream and fold the mushroom mixture into the polenta.

Notes
*I purchase ground corn meal to make my polenta. It is far less expensive then buying what the stores package as "polenta". It is the exact same thing: they are both ground cornmeal.
*I often use half milk and half chicken stock for this recipe; it gives it a slightly different taste as is a bit sweeter. If you do not have access to pancetta, you can substitute with bacon. Cremini mushrooms are baby Portobello mushrooms. You can use any type of wild mushroom you like.

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Shaved Zucchini Salad with Fresh Lemon, Pine Nuts and Pecorino Romano

Ingredients
3 green zucchini, sliced very thinly
3 yellow squash, sliced very thinly
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
½ cup of toasted pine nuts
¼ cup of flat leave parsley leaves
½ cup of grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil

Procedure
Place zucchini and squash on the bottom of a large platter. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Garnish with pine nuts, parsley and cheese. Place zest and juice of one lemon over the salad. Drizzle with olive oil.

Notes
You can use Parmiggano Reggiano cheese as well in this recipe. I've also used toasted almonds and hazelnuts for variation. You can use a nice aged balsamic vinegar for a slightly sweeter salad, but I truly like the simple freshness of the lemon. I slice my zucchini by using a mandolin, you can also use a food processor fitted with the proper plate, or you can do it the old school way, by hand.

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Roasted Amaretto Pears with Sweetened Mascarpone Cheese and Chocolate Espresso Sauce

Ingredients
3 pears, peeled, sliced in half lengthwise and cored
½ cup of brown sugar
3 tablespoons of Amaretto
1 tablespoon of melted butter

Sweetened Mascarpone Cheese
½ pint of mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons of sugar

Chocolate Espresso Sauce
½ cup of cream
¼ cup of strongly brewed coffee
8 oz. of chopped dark sweet chocolate

Heat the cream in a large bowl in the microwave for 90 seconds. Add the hot coffee to the cream and stir in the chopped chocolate. You can make this sauce several hours ahead and can be heated slightly in the microwave just before serving.


Procedure
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the pears in a bowl; add the brown sugar, Amaretto and butter. Toss gently and place the pears (cut side down) onto a foil-lined baking sheet for easy clean up. Make sure you get all of the juices and sugar from the bottom of the bowl onto your pears. Bake pears for about 25 minutes, until fork tender. To make the sweetened mascarpone, simply whisk the cheese and sugar together. I like to use a Kitchen Aid with a wire whisk attachment to do this, as it allows more air to be incorporated, resulting in a more fluffy and light texture. You can also use a wire beater or simply do it by hand using a whisk. To serve, place half of a pear into a large martini glass or shallow dish. Place about a tablespoon of the sweetened cheese in the hollowed out center of the pear and garnish with warm chocolate espresso sauce. Garnish with fresh mint if desired. I usually purchased just a mini sized bottle of Amaretto at the liquor store for about $2.00 instead of purchasing a big bottle, which I know I'll never use.

Notes
*Apples work well in this recipe but usually take a little longer. In the summer, I love using this recipe for peaches and apricots. I usually place the mascarpone in a piping bag fitted with a star tip for a nicer presentation. I often garnish with a few toasted hazelnuts for texture. This espresso sauce is also great with a platter of fresh fruit for another easy and delicious dessert.