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Recently I’ve prepared some familiar recipes, but different versions. My last soup for the month of January was a Lentil Soup with Pasta, Bacon and Garlic by Marcella Hazan. Ms. Hazan was born in a fishing village on the Adriatic in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Her recipe is made with extra-virgin olive oil, chopped bacon, onion, garlic, celery, parsley, fresh ripe tomato, lentils, salt, pepper, short tubular pasta and Romano cheese.
 
Unlike the lentil soup with fennel and sun-dried tomatoes recipe which is on my website, this version uses a minimal amount of ingredients, but is very flavorful.  You’ll notice that the recipe calls for bacon, not pancetta or guanciale. The bacon is cooked in olive oil along with the onion, garlic, celery and parsley until a rich brown color. Then the tomato is added and cooked for a few minutes before adding the lentils and enough water covering the lentils by 1-inch. The soup simmers for 25 to 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Lastly, pasta is added along with salt and freshly ground pepper and cooked until the pasta is al dente. The soup should be on the thick side rather than thin. To finish the soup, adjust the seasonings and add grated cheese and some olive oil.

This soup was fantastic; both my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We had it for lunch and I drizzled a bit more olive oil and additional cheese on each serving. It was thick and the ingredients melded together to create a savory soup. From prepping the ingredients to completion, it probably took me an hour to make this soup. It was so good, I made another pot the following day.
 
I love scones, that have a firm exterior with a tender crumb. In the September 2023 issue of “Southern Living Magazine,” there was a recipe for Butter Pecan Scones. Now that the holidays are over, I finally had a chance to make these. For the recipe you’ll need unsalted butter, chopped pecans, granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, an egg, vanilla extract, heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and pure maple syrup.
 
The pecans are toasted in a saucepan along with butter until fragrant. They are seasoned with a bit of salt and sugar and set aside. The scones are made with flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, sugar, butter, an egg, vanilla and some heavy cream. Part of the toasted pecans are mixed into the scone batter until just combined. On a lightly floured surface, the dough is formed into a 6-inch-diameter circle approximately 3/4-inch thick. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, 6 wedges are cut and placed on a parchment lined baking sheet. The scones need to be chilled for 20 minutes uncovered. If uncovered, chilled for up to 12 hours.
 
Before baking, the scone tops are brushed with 1 tablespoon of heavy cream. I placed the balance of the toasted pecans on top, using the cream as an adhesive. (The recipe calls for doing this step after icing.) Once the scones are baked and start to cool, a delicious icing is made with powdered sugar, maple syrup, heavy cream, salt and a pinch of cinnamon. The icing is drizzled over the warm scones.
 
The key to enjoying these scones is to eat them while still warm. They were tender, not sweet and the hint of cinnamon made for a scrumptious bite. The maple flavored icing really pulled all the flavors together; they were fabulous.
 
My husband loves stuffed peppers. One Sunday afternoon I caught an episode of Lidia Bastianich’s new season of “ Lidia’s Kitchen” featuring recipes from her latest cookbook “Lidia’s - From Our Family Table to Yours.” The recipe she featured this particular Sunday was Turkey Stuffed Peppers (Peperoni Ripieni di Tacchino). This recipe was particularly interesting as she used ground turkey instead of beef and incorporated shredded carrot and zucchini along with grated  Grana Padano, parsley, egg, salt, freshly ground pepper and moistened day-old bread. The peppers are cooked in a tomato sauce made by sautéing onion in olive oil and using passata, water, oregano, salt and bay leaves.
 
This recipe does take a bit of time to prepare, I think it took me approximately 30 minutes to prep the ingredients before placing them in the tomato sauce to cook for roughly 45 minutes. I used my instant read thermometer to make sure the internal temperature reached 165°. To serve, just like Lidia, I made mashed potatoes and placed the stuffed pepper on top.
 
This was a wonderful meal. It was hearty for a damp, dreary day. The filling was tasty and the turkey filling made for a lighter tasting stuffed pepper. As I was just making these for my husband and I, I only made two peppers. The balance of the ground turkey were turned into meatballs and saved the extra tomato sauce which I can turn into another meal later this week, I’m thinking manicotti.
 
Last week the specialty food retailer, Uncle Giuseppe’s had fresh sea scallops on special for $19.99/lb. Scallop prices have remained quite high since last year, but I couldn’t resist purchasing some for dinner. I searched The New York Times cooking app and found a great recipe by David Tanis for Seared Sea Scallops with Ginger-Lime Butter. For the recipe you’ll need 12 ounces of dry-packed fresh scallops, salt, freshly ground pepper, unsalted butter, grated ginger, hot red chile pepper, the zest and juice of a lime, olive oil, baby bok choy and fresh cilantro. Also, Mr. Tanis suggested serving the scallops with roasted sweet potatoes.
 
I made minor adjustments to the ingredients as I couldn’t find baby bok choy or a hot red Chile pepper while shopping.  I also substituted parsley for the cilantro, taste preference, and used red pepper flakes in place of the fresh chile.
 
The recipe begins by preparing the ginger butter. Aside from the aforementioned, the butter includes chile, both lime juice and zest and salt. Next, using a large cast iron skillet the scallops are sautéed in olive oil over medium high heat until crisp and caramelized on one side. The scallops are turned over, heat turned off and the other side is cooked until firm with the residual heat. When done, the scallops are removed and the butter is placed in the pan to warm. Serve the scallops drizzled with the ginger-lime butter and garnish with chopped cilantro or parsley.
 
This was a scrumptious meal. In fact, I called my husband at work to see if he wanted this or bacon wrapped scallops. He told me afterwards, “How many husbands get a phone call asking if they want Seared Sea Scallops with Ginger-Lime Butter or Bacon Wrapped Scallops for supper.” He’s one lucky guy who loved this preparation as I did too. It’s a great Valentine’s dinner idea for those so inclined to prepare a special meal at home for the one they love. 

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Lentil Soup with Pasta, Bacon and Garlic
“Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking”
Marcella Hazan
Alfred A. Knopf, New York ©1992
 
Servings: 6
 
Extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons oil for cooking, plus more for stirring into the soup
¼ pound bacon chopped very fine
½ cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/3 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/3 cup fresh, ripe, firm tomatoes, skinned raw with peeler, all seeds removed, and chopped, or canned Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
1 cup dried lentils
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1-1/2 cups short, tubular soup pasta
¼ cup freshly grated Romano cheese (see note below)
 
Note: Romano is the most widely available export version of cheese made from ewe’s milk. All such cheeses are known in Italian as pecorino. Romano is, regrettably, the sharpest of these, and if you should come across a better pecorino of grating consistency, such as Fiore Sardo or a Tuscan Cacciotta, use it in place of Romano, increasing the quantity to 1/3 cup, or more to taste.
 

1. Choose a saucepan that can later contain the lentils and pasta with sufficient water to cook them. Put in 2  tablespoons olive oil, the chopped bacon, onion, garlic, celery and parsley and turn on the heat to medium. Cook, stirring and turning the ingredients over often, until the vegetables become deeply colored, about 15 minutes. Add the chopped tomato, stir to coat it well, and cook for a few minutes until the fat floats free of the tomato.
2. Add the lentils, turning them over 3 or 4 times to coat them well, then add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Adjust heat so that the liquid simmers gently, and cook until the lentils are tender, about 25 to 30 minutes. Whenever the water level falls below the 1 inch above the lentils you started with, replenish with as much water as needed.

 
Ahead of time Note: You can make the soup up to this point several hours or even a day or two in advance. Reheat thoroughly, adding water if necessary, before proceeding with the next step.

1. Add salt and several grindings of pepper, put in the pasta, and turn up the heat to cook at a brisk boil. Add more water if necessary to cook the pasta. When the pasta is done--it should be tender, but firm to the bite--the consistency of the soup should be more on the dense than on the thin side.
2. Taste to correct for salt and pepper. Add the grated cheese and about 1 tablespoon of olive oil, stir thoroughly, then take off heat and serve at once. 

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Butter Pecan Scones
By Catherine Jessee/”Southern Living Magazine”
August 21, 2023
 
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Servings: 6
 
Ingredients
5 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, divided
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup, plus 1/8 tsp. granulated sugar, divided
3/4 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp., plus a pinch of ground cinnamon, divided
1 large egg, cold
1 tsp. vanilla extract
9 Tbsp. cold heavy whipping cream, divided
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
 
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in top third position. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium skillet over medium. Add pecans; cook, stirring occasionally, until nuts are toasted and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and transfer to a plate. Sprinkle pecans with 1/8 teaspoon each of the granulated sugar and the salt. Cool 10 minutes.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cut remaining 4 tablespoons of cold butter into small cubes, and work the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter or 2 forks until the mixture is crumbly but some larger pea-size pieces of butter remain.
3. Whisk together egg, vanilla, and 6 tablespoons of the cream in a medium bowl; add to flour mixture, and stir until almost combined, about 2 minutes. Add 3/4 cup of the toasted pecans, and fold until just combined and a loose, crumbly dough comes together.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; shape into a 6-inch-diameter disk about 3/4 inch thick. Use a sharp knife to cut disk into 6 wedges. Arrange wedges about 1/2 inch apart on a small rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill, uncovered, 20 minutes, or cover and chill for up to 12 hours.
5. Lightly brush tops of scones with 1 tablespoon of the cream. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and edges are crisp, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes.
6. While scones cool, whisk together powdered sugar; maple syrup; and remaining 2 tablespoons cream, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of cinnamon in a small saucepan over medium, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Drizzle icing over warm scones, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup toasted pecans.

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Turkey Stuffed Peppers
Peperoni Ripieni di Tacchino
From the website “Lidia’s Italy”
By Lidia Bastianich
 
Ingredients
3  tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cups tomato passata
1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Sicilian oregano on the branch
Kosher salt
3 fresh bay leaves
4 cups day-old bread cubes (from a sturdy loaf)
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 medium zucchini, shredded
1 cup freshly grated Grana Padano
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 large eggs, beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (93/7))
6 medium red, yellow or orange bell peppers
 
Directions

1. Heat a large Dutch oven (large enough to hold the peppers) over medium heat. Add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion, and cook until it’s tender, about 8 minutes. Add the passata, and rinse out the bottle with 2 cups water, adding the water to the pot. Then add the oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, and the bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, and let cook while you stuff the peppers.
2. Put the bread cubes in a bowl, and add warm water to cover. Let them soak until they’re just softened, about 5 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water, and place the bread in a large bowl. Put the carrot and zucchini in a dish towel, and wring out any excess moisture. Add them to the bowl, along with the grated cheese, parsley, and eggs. Season the mixture with 1 teaspoon salt and several grinds of black pepper. Crumble in the turkey, and mix all to combine.
3. Cut the tops from the peppers, and remove the seeds and ribs. Divide the stuffing among the peppers. (If you have any leftover stuffing, depending on the size of your peppers, make the remainder into a few meatballs, and bake them on a sheet pan at 350 degrees for 15 minutes to set them, then cook them alongside the peppers in the sauce.) Nestle the peppers in the sauce, adjust the heat so the sauce is simmering around them, and cover. Cook until the peppers are tender and the filling is cooked through, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Pluck out the bay leaves and serve.

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