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This is a guest post by my son, Thom Hunt – If I were clever and techy enough I would figure out how to let him directly post on Dish To Remember, but … not today!

“Whenever my beautiful and perfect wife leaves town, I devolve into a monster. The diet goes out the window, along with my pride and social life. I usually stay in, binge watch movies, drink beers, and order my usual delivery from New York Fried Chicken: fried gizzards, mac n cheese, wings, cheddar munchers, and a pizza puff or two. This order usually lasts me through most of the weekend, and I normally destroy all incriminating evidence of my debauchery before my better half returns home. I used to look forward to this ‘Thom Time’ as an exercise (LOL) in self-care and solitude, although lately this has left me feeling more guilt than pleasure.

My wife was due to go on a girls’ trip recently. In an effort to curb this terrible tradition, I reached out to my dad to see if he would be interested in a collaborative cooking day and help me save me from myself. Luckily, he and Mom were available and planning on a white wine tasting at home as part of his wine spectator class. This was all great, for several reasons. 1. I enjoy their company. 2. I enjoy free wine. 3. I enjoy using their kitchen, as the kitchen in my old apartment is literally uneven (oil will pool to one side of the pan, uneven cooking if not monitored, etc.) and has less countertop space than a toy kitchen playset built for microscopic babies. But, mostly the first two reasons!

We started brainstorming what would go well with the white wine tasting. With his wisdom and my instincts combined, we finally landed on a few dishes. Brie and cranberry sauce wrapped in prosciutto and mozzarella-infused dough and then baked would be perfect with white wine – simply because bread and melted cheese has always been a great mix with any beverage. For the main course, we went with a spaghetti dish with a citrus zest pesto and seared scallops and shrimp. Partly because I once read somewhere that seafood plus bright, citrusy flavors pairs beautifully with white wine, and also because the handmade pasta that Dad makes is awesome. For dessert, I went for a mango and peach cobbler. It was easy enough to assemble, but I wanted to kick it up a notch (can I say this? Is there a copyright on this phrase?) with a garnish of candied mint leaves that I would make the night before. The mint complimented the fresh vibes of the mango and peach, and I couldn’t have been happier with the result. There was a moment of panic near the end of the bake time when it appeared that some of the cake mix had not absorbed the peach/mango juice, but it was quickly fixed with a few stirs and a little more time in the oven.

Overall, it was a resounding success. I got to hang out with my parents and drink their wine,  and Mom declared that the cobbler was the best dessert she’s ever had (they each had TWO servings! That RARELY happens!).  Most of all, I was able to avoid wallowing in the darkness of my apartment eating fried food until I passed out. Not too shabby!” – Thom Hunt

Brie Baked En Crout

Ingredients

Cranberry Sauce

12oz bag of frozen cranberries
Juice of 1 orange
1 ½ cups water
1 cup sweetener
Zest of ½ an orange
1 cinnamon stick

Mozzarella Infused Pastry Dough

1 ¼ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ stick unsalted butter
4 oz shredded low-moisture mozzarella
2 large eggs

Other

2 – 8oz rounds of brie, top rind removed from one and bottom rind removed from the other
6 slices prosciutto
1 beaten egg
fresh berries
rosemary sprigs

Preperation

Cranberry Sauce

Heat cranberries, orange juice, water, and sweetener in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring liquid to a boil and then add orange zest and cinnamon stick. Simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes. Cool and store in refrigerator.

Mozzarella Infused Pastry Dough

Place flour, baking powder, and salt into mixer. Place butter and mozzarella into microwave-proof bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Cook on full power for approximately 2 minutes, checking every 30 seconds until mixture is melted. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and add 2 eggs. Beat on high speed with stand mixer or handheld electric whisk until dough is smooth. (This will take a little longer than regular dough.) Place dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and flatten into large circle about 1/8 inch thick. Place dough in freezer while you prepare Brie filling. Preheat oven to 350F.

Brie

Slice top rind off one round of brie (this will be the bottom) and the bottom rind off the other (this will be the top.)

Assembly

Sandwich the rounds together with ~3tbsp cranberry sauce and wrap with 6 slices of prosciutto. Remove pastry dough from freezer and place ~2tbsp cranberry sauce in the center of the dough. Place wrapped brie on top of this and add more cranberry sauce on top. Carefully fold the dough to enclose the wrapped brie. Remove excess dough and smooth out, use excess to decorate. Place brie onto sheet pan and brush with egg wash mixture. Bake for ~35 minutes until puffed up and golden brown. Serve with fresh fruit and rosemary sprigs.

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Spaghetti w/ Scallops, Shrimp & Citrus Pesto

Ingredients

14oz spaghetti
12 fresh scallops
½ pound shrimp, peeled and de-veined
brine for scallops (1/4 cup lemon juice, 3 tbsp sea salt, and 1 cup water)
extra virgin olive oil
butter
2 oranges, reserve some juice
1 lemon
3.5oz cherry tomatoes
½ glass white wine
2oz capers
2oz peeled/blanched almonds
salt

Preperations

Pesto

Grate the zest from the oranges and lemon. Blend in a mixer with capers, almonds, orange juice, and some extra virgin olive oil.

Scallops

Brine the scallops in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, then drain and blot dry with paper towel. Heat olive oil and butter in a pan at med-high heat. Sear each side of the scallops and remove from pan, careful to not overcook them. Add shrimp to pan along with white wine, turn up heat slightly and allow wine to evaporate. Move shrimp to edge of pan and place tomatoes in the center. Add salt and sauté over low heat for ~15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pasta

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add plenty of salt, and bring to a boil again. Cook the spaghetti al dente. Save a cup of spaghetti water. Drain the spaghetti al dente and add to pan with tomatoes, shrimp, and scallops.  Add pesto to the pan along with some spaghetti water and mix everything together and sauté for a minute. If sauce is a little dry, add more spaghetti water.

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Mango Peach Cobbler w/ Candied Mint Leaves

Ingredients

Candied Mint Leaves

20 fresh mint leaves (no bruising or brown spots or torn leaves)
1 egg white
½ cup superfine sugar

Cobbler

4 14oz cans of sliced peaches in juice (save juice from 2 of the cans)
1 fresh mango, sliced
2 TBSP brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 box yellow cake mix
½ stick unsalted butter

Preperation

Candied Mint Leaves

Rinse mint leaves under cold water and pat dry with paper towel.
Prepare cooking sheet or large plate with a piece of parchment or wax paper.
Beat egg white with a whisk or fork until frothy.
Brush each side of each leaf with egg white, or hold each leaf by the stem and dip into egg white.
Coat each leaf with superfine sugar, make sure it is entirely coated.
Set on parchment paper to dry overnight and then store in an airtight container.

Cobbler

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In Dutch oven, add 4 cans sliced peaches along with juice from 2 of the cans. Add sliced mango.
Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon across the top of peaches and mango.
Evenly distribute yellow cake mix on top of peaches and mango.
Thinly slice butter (approx. 12-15 slices) and evenly place each slice across the top of the cobbler.
Put cobbler into oven uncovered and cook for 60-90 minutes. (You may need to stir cake mix in a bit if the peach juice hasn’t soaked it up)
If necessary, turn broiler on for a few minutes until cobbler has a golden brown crisp to it.
Remove from oven and garnish with candied mint leaves.
Eat with ice cream or whipped cream 😊