(gentle music) - As a chef and restaurateur, I know what a happy dining room feels like, and it's got to feel the same when I'm cooking for friends at home.

A gooey parm-fried mozzarella salad before some butter-seared scallops will do the trick tonight.

I've invited over Wine Director, Lee Wilson, and CBS Denver Reporter, Tori Mason.

She's been asking me how to cook the perfect scallop.

So we're gonna throw down some restaurant knowledge before everyone leaves my home full of life and buzzed on happiness.

So I have some fresh mozzarella.

They made this at the restaurant the other day, and I'm just gonna cut some slices of this.

I'm gonna lightly flour, bread and egg-wash it, right?

So it's like standard breading procedure.

I have just some straightforward bread crumbs.

I'm gonna add some Parmesan, just a little bit of Parmesan cheese to that.

- Is there any specific type of bread that we're using for the bread crumbs?

- So for the bread crumbs, I'm just using your straightforward stale bread that I pulsed in a food processor, so if you have leftover bread.

Otherwise, just buy a brand of Italian seasoning breadcrumbs.

I try to get the plain breadcrumbs from the store.

They work really well.

They've already done it.

Make it take a step out of it.

It's an easier way to go.

So just a few eggs.

(fork whisking) - Would it make sense to add seasoning to the breadcrumbs?

- You can add anything you want to breadcrumbs, but what I like to do is keep it simple.

I have the Parmesan cheese in there, and that's gonna give it that salty.

It's also gonna get golden brown.

- Okay.

- So, I want the mozzarella to really speak to what you're eating.

So I don't want to add too many flavors to something 'cause we're gonna have a little prosciutto.

We're gonna have soft, gooey mozzarella with a crust on it, and then some arugula to finish it all off.

So it's gonna be kind of like a really unhealthy salad.

So I'm gonna take my fresh mozzarella, and I'm gonna just cut some nice thick pieces.

- [Lee] Does it matter how small and large we're cutting the mozzarella?

- No, if you can buy some mozzarella at the store, it's obviously not gonna be this thick.

So I asked them to make me some big thick mozz, but if you do buy it at the store, one thing you can do is kind of take it out of that wrapper and let it sit on a tray to dry out.

So even though I'm using fresh mozzarella, I really want it to be a little bit dry.

I think people make margarita pizzas all the time with like really fresh mozzarella, and that's what makes your pizza soggy.

All the moisture in it still comes out.

- [Tori] Oh.

- So I'm kind of drying it out.

I want that flavor of fresh mozzarella, but I don't necessarily want all the moisture that comes with it.

- I'm excited to see how you're gonna fry this without the cheese melting.

- So am I.

(Lee and Frank laugh) - I mean physics.

- I am actually very curious to see if this is gonna work or not 'cause, otherwise, we're having little mozzarella crumbly soup, but I'm gonna just drop it in.

Typically, when you're doing a breading procedure, this portion of it, putting that flour around it, the egg, this should seal it in from oozing around.

- [Tori] Oh.

- So then we just do... (bowl clanking) And I'm not gonna like deep fry it, I'm just gonna pan fry it too.

So the mozzarella being cold helps with that.

You know, if this mozzarella were room temperature... - [Tori] Then we'd have problems.

- Then it would be super soft, and I'm starting with it nice and cold.

What I love about Italian food is simplicity.

So I'm really trying to just have a couple of things be the star.

We make the fresh mozzarella so we might as well showcase that.

I have some San Daniele 24-month aged prosciutto, so it's just about beautiful ingredients, a little bit of balsamic vinegar, some aged balsamic vinegar.

- [Tori] These are more like mozzarella cakes.

- Yeah, they are.

If I felt like I'd get away with it and people wouldn't make fun of me, I would've made sticks, but... (Lee laughs) - Well, the... - Too many haters on Twitter.

That's where you follow me.

- But the point of the stick is so you can dip it into the marinara.

It's the perfect shape.

- That is true.

- Yeah.

They're sticks for a reason.

- There's some brilliance behind TGI Fridays.

(Lee laughs) - Don't degrade my sticks.

- That was the last mozzarella sticks I had, so.

(laughs) - I make mozzarella sticks out of string cheese.

- There we go.

- Those are great to use actually, because they're firm and they melt really well.

I'm gonna use some extra virgin olive oil to pan fry this in because the flavor from what we're cooking, I do want it to impart into this.

So like your mozzarella sticks are usually fried in just vegetable oil or something.

I really want the flavor from this olive oil to be imparted in... To be absorbed in these breadcrumbs.

So I'm gonna go pretty high heat.

I want the oil to cover the bottom.

And then what you can do to make sure it's hot is just put a little piece in (utensil clanking) and if it's frying like it is there, I know it's hot enough.

I may turn this down a little bit once I add this cheese.

(mozzarella sizzling) But just remember I'm adding a lot of cold stuff to this pan (mozzarella sizzling) and you don't want to really move it too much.

(mozzarella sizzling) - [Lee] This so is my favorite part.

(mozzarella sizzling) - [Tori] I'm waiting for this to melt.

- I'm gonna try and recover.

If this turns into a big blob, we're gonna make it into a Frico.

You have to have a backup card.

- I mean, I'm gonna eat it regardless, but... (mozzarella sizzling) - But we just let that go and this'll sizzle and you can see it's kind of getting golden brown.

(utensil clanking) - How long before you turn 'em?

- So I'm just looking for them to be golden brown.

And this is gonna be the hard part to see without burning myself.

(triumphant music) - [Tori] She's beautiful.

(Lee laughing) (mozzarella sizzling) - Now what I'd like to do, these are probably just about done 'cause I can feel the cheese is getting soft.

Once again, I don't want it to be super stringy.

I'm just trying to give you like warm, fresh mozzarella that has a crust to it.

- Like a medium Well.

- Yeah.

- Of cheeses.

(plates clunking) - So, this is where I have the prosciuttos.

So I'm using just really good San Daniele prosciutto.

It's a 24-month age prosciutto.

And I think we're gonna do just a little bit of an arugula salad just to cut it, make it a little bit bitter.

I'm using some extra virgin olive oil.

This is really good extra virgin olive oil.

We want to use a squeeze of lemon.

- Could you use any other type of like green lettuce for this as well?

That'd be helpful.

- You, certainly, you could use any lettuce you want.

You could not use lettuce.

I'm trying to keep you regular though.

- I appreciate it.

Thanks.

(laughs) - But I just like the bitterness.

I mean, certainly you could use some romaine, or, you know, this is more for bringing it all together, I think when you just eat the cheese.

This helps to bring it all together.

(mozzarella sizzling) So let's just see how we're gonna do here.

(mozzarella sizzling) - [Tori] So that was just arugula, olive oil and salt?

- [Lee] Ooh, man.

- [Frank] Yes.

And lemon juice.

- [Tori] Lemon.

Okay.

The acidity.

Okay.

(mozzarella sizzling) (laid-back music) Oh my God.

- [Lee] Wow.

- I made maybe a little too much.

'cause I think as an appetizer- - You didn't make too much.

- I think it looks just great.

- [Tori] That's just enough.

- But I think just something like this and that lemon should cut through this.

And then, once again, it's just about some decadence of ingredients, we have beautiful 24-month prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, arugula, and then just a drizzle of 25-year balsamic, which will also help cut through.

These are three things that go together so well that I think you're gonna love.

I'm gonna have you try this.

It didn't take Lee long to already get the wine poured.

That guy's stealth over there when it comes to wine.

- Oh my gosh.

- You know, I like it.

And when it turned golden brown is when I wanted to pour the wine.

- [Frank] So let me know why this wine, Lee?

- All right.

So when you told me you were gonna fry up some cheese with prosciutto, I wanted something that was gonna kind of lift it, mozzarella cheese, prosciutto, and a little bit of that bitter.

It's gonna be real salty, it's gonna be kind of rich.

It's gonna be really heavy.

So I chose a Sauvignon Blanc, still from Italy, from northern Italy.

But something that's gonna be a little bit light, it's gonna refresh the palette.

It's not gonna overpower and just gonna add a little bit of levity towards the dish.

- If you say there's a way to compliment this dish even more, I'm gonna drink it, so.

(Lee laughing) - Well, cheers.

- Cheers.

(glasses clanking) - [Frank] Yeah.

(laughing) - Oh my gosh, this is a lot of pressure.

(Frank laughing) I feel like- - [Frank] Believe me, there is no pressure here.

(heavenly choral music) - It's all right.

(laughing) - It's all right.

- All right.

- Just all right?

(laid-back music) Tori, I think this is why you're here for the scallops, right?

- Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this.

(Lee laughing) - You're setting the bar awfully high.

Can we just- - It is high.

I've been trying to recreate your scallops for like a year and then they're not on the menu anymore at Luca.

So, your kitchen is the place I can get 'em.

I'm gonna be here.

- So I wanted to do something that goes really well with scallops and I think it's cauliflower.

I think cauliflower goes really well with just about everything.

So I'm gonna make a little cauliflower risotto.

I'm not gonna use rice.

I'm just gonna use the cauli florets.

And I'm just gonna take out this inner stem and I'm just gonna have these, and I'm gonna get the risotto started.

Like, so risotto would typically be, you know, Arborio rice sweated with onions and you add stock slowly three times.

But I'm gonna do a quick version of that and I'm gonna sweat some shallot.

- [Lee] Like when you say, especially when it comes to like vegetables and things like that, when you want to sweat them, we're not talking like putting them in a pan and tossing 'em around, are we?

Are we talking about putting 'em in water or what?

- We're talking about really just wilting them until they get translucent.

Like just softening.

So sweating means we just want to soften something.

- [Lee] Okay.

- We don't want to get any color on it.

We just want it to get nice and soft and start to let out the moisture that's in it.

- [Lee] Okay.

- So that's hence the term sweating.

So we're really taking the moisture out, but not over super-high heat.

So I'm gonna get these shallots just started sweating in some extra virgin olive oil.

(shallots sizzling) (laid-back music) - That's my favorite sound.

(utensils clanking) I don't know what it does for me.

(Lee laughing) - It's an emotional response.

- It just does something for me.

- It's an emotional response.

- So I've got these shallots and you can see like when I cut 'em that fine, they're almost sweated already, right?

So I'm just gonna keep that off the heat.

Now I'm gonna take the cauliflower and I'm just gonna go ahead and drop this.

In the restaurant, we would like (knife chopping) do this, but let's save some time.

And I'm just gonna throw this into a food processor.

- It's a good thing you have a dog 'cause... (laughs) - Yeah.

- That'd be going everywhere.

- Don't worry.

Watson will get that one.

- Watson's the sous-chef here.

(Lee laughing) - Watson eats better than I do.

(Lee laughing) (laid-back music) - So how much cauliflower does it take for, you know, two or three people to share this?

- I'm gonna use about a half a head.

I think that that's gonna be plenty.

(processor clanking) And what you want to do... (processor clanking) (water drop plopping) Oh, backwards.

(trombone playing) (processor clanking) So what you want to do is just put it in here (processor whirring) and I'm just pulsing it a couple times to give it fine.

Don't use your full setting and let it go.

You just want to keep a couple of quick pulses.

(processor whirring) So then when you take it out, this is what you're left with, is just this like rice, right?

- Wow.

- So it looks like rice.

And then we're just gonna scoop that right in.

- So Frank, I don't have a processor.

Is there a way to do this without one?

Could you use a blender?

- You could, no, a blender would probably pulse it and turn it into a puree.

So you don't really want to do that.

If you don't have a food processor, the next best way to really do this is just get a sharp knife and just, (knife clanking) you see it'll crumble and you just want to go around the outside of the florets.

If you start getting in to where the stem is, it doesn't really shred as much, but this would be, in the restaurant, kind of how we would do it.

So you can do that and you're just shaving it around.

And then I end up with just the stem.

And then I have this nice little... And these will crumble in your fingers.

- [Tori] Ah, okay.

- I've done this a million times in the restaurant.

This is one of my favorite things to do with cauliflower.

So now that I've added it, I'm just gonna give it a stir.

I don't really want to get any color on those shallots because then it will color the cauliflower.

So I'm really just trying to keep 'em like not even a golden brown, because I want this to stay nice and white.

Now that I've got it, I'm just gonna add a splash of water to really help steam it.

I'm gonna turn my heat up, I'm gonna go to a little bit of a high heat (risotto sizzling) and I'm just putting in like a couple tablespoons of water.

I want to hit it with a good amount of salt (risotto sizzling) and a little bit of cracked black pepper.

(pepper grinding) And I'm just gonna kind of steam that.

So I'm gonna put that back there.

Just give it a little stir to get that salt going.

(utensil clanking) Now we're gonna do the pièce de résistance, all right?

The scallops.

- Oh, okay.

- The star of the show.

- You're picking up the shallot and I was like really?

All right.

- When I'm cooking scallops, so two really important things, obviously the quality of 'em.

The biggest thing in order to get them to be that golden brown restaurant look is to make sure they're super dry.

So when you buy 'em, take 'em out, let 'em sit.

You can see like these have been sitting on this paper towel, but really get them dry.

That's what helps to get the color on them and a nice hot pan.

- [Tori] How long were they sitting out for?

- For about an hour.

- About an hour?

- You typically want to cook...

Anything you're cooking at home, steak, fish, you want it to come to room temperature when you cook it - So it's even?

- So it cooks evenly.

- Okay.

- That that is 100%.

So people freak out, "Oh my God, I have seafood.

I have to keep it refrigerated until the minute I use it."

If you're buying good quality seafood, no, you don't.

You want it to come to room temperature.

You don't want to let it sit at room temperature for a couple days, but an hour or two with a quality product, you're just gonna heighten the flavor.

It's a lot like wine.

You don't want to drink wine ice cold.

- Yeah.

- It inhibits the flavor from coming out.

With seafood and steaks, you don't want it to be ice cold in the center.

If I start searing something that's 34 degrees in the middle of the steak, by the time I get that to medium rare, that steak has got this big red, juicy raw thing in the middle.

The heat comes to it, all the blood rushes out of it.

And that's where you get those steaks at some of those steakhouses where they bring it to your table, it's sizzling hot, you cut into, it looks medium rare, four minutes later your steak is gray.

- It's still cooking?

- Yeah.

And all the blood has been pushed into the center and then once you cut it, it runs out.

So tempering your food is really important.

- [Tori] Okay.

- So for scallops, I'm not gonna go with tremendous amount of oil in the pan.

We just want enough to give us a light coating of this pan.

- Was that olive oil again?

- That is olive oil.

Okay, so just so it shimmers, I know that it's right.

(pan clanking) Really important, this is the only time I have to season these and it's gonna look like I'm putting a lot of salt on there, right?

- Is this kosher salt?

- This is sea salt.

- Okay.

- Kosher salts what we use almost exclusively (pepper grinding) and some pepper.

And even though it looks like I've put a lot on these, more than half that salt is gonna fall off when I put these in the pan.

So before I drop my scallops, the scallops are only gonna take like two minutes, so.

(utensil clanking) I can see this still has some texture.

(utensil clanking) So I'm gonna just pull this off the heat right now, most of my water has...

Most of it, the liquid has evaporated.

I'm just gonna pull this off to the side 'cause I don't want it to cook.

(utensil clanking) And I don't necessarily need it to be really hot, but we're gonna get our scallops going.

Very important, (chuckling) when you're putting 'em in the pan, put 'em away from you so they don't splatter back.

(scallops sizzling) A lot of people try and throw them in and jump back.

That doesn't necessarily work.

If you go nice and slow, careful, you won't get the splatter on you.

(scallops sizzling) These are gonna take about four minutes.

- [Tori] Okay, good.

- And the big mistake that I see from young cooks or chefs, they want to cook both sides of a scallop.

You only cook one side of a scallop.

- Just to make sure that I'm understanding this.

We sear one side completely open and only for about four minutes?

- [Commentator] Touch down!

- [Frank] Crystal.

- All right.

- So once I start to see I've got some color, right?

So you can see I'm starting to get a little color.

I don't want to flip.

Well, I'm gonna flip it, see how it's starting to get a little golden brown?

- [Tori] Yeah.

- So I'm about... (scallops sizzling) A quarter of the way you can see on it how quickly it's cooking up.

This also goes for most skinned fish.

You predominantly only cook the skin of the fish and let it cook through.

And the way we get around cooking the top of it- - I was wondering when that would come to play.

(Lee laughing) - We put- - A giant dollop of butter.

- Finally.

- We put just a pinch of butter in the pan.

(Lee laughing) (utensil clanking) - Oh, do you baste the scallops?

- So yes.

So I'm gonna cook them.

- [Lee] Wow.

- So what I'm doing is tilting the pan towards me, right?

So I'm not boiling these scallops in the butter.

The top of this pan actually has very little, like if you see the way I'm tilting it, there's not a lot that it's sitting in.

It's not sitting in oil and cooking.

It's still just kind of sitting in the pan.

(pan clanking) And you wanna make sure your heat is super-high while you're doing this.

And then this is what I'm doing.

(scallops sizzling) I'm letting this hot liquid poach it from the top.

'Cause really with a scallop like this, I don't want it cooked through, I want it kind of medium-rare.

I want it to just be warm in the center.

If you're buying good scallops, that's really all you're trying to do (scallops sizzling) is just get a crispy side.

(scallops sizzling) (light jazz music) - I mean, my biggest fear is always undercooking them.

I didn't know that medium-rare was an option.

- Yeah, especially for shellfish.

- So you really don't want to cook it through.

I mean, these, quite honestly, I could've just sliced these and put some salt and lemon juice on it and you could've eaten these raw, been perfectly safe, been delicious.

So really that's what I'm looking for.

But you can see, as I'm putting this hot butter, I'm also getting it brown.

So I'm getting that nutty flavor from the butter and it's a lot of butter I put on.

But the truth is, is most of this is gonna drain off.

I'm literally just using this to baste.

- How is your butter not burning?

- 'Cause I'm special.

(unicorn tinkling) - [Tori] Oh.

- No, it's just because I put a lot of it in.

If I had only put a teeny pinch of it in, it would've burned.

But since I put so much of it in, I cooled the pan temperature, now it's starting to brown as I'm cooking.

- See my butter would just be like black, five in.

- Yeah, I've got a feeling- - Just remember I had quite a bit of oil in the pan, right?

That diluted the butter I put in.

- Oh, the oil keeps the butter from browning?

- If you put enough of it in.

Have you ever put that much butter in your pan though?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

(Tori laughing) - Maybe not lately and maybe not on purpose though.

- But you'll see now it is starting to really brown, right?

Look at how much less butter it seems like, 'cause the milk solids has started to brown.

(risotto sizzling) And to finish this risotto, (risotto sizzling) (utensil clanking) I'm gonna put... - Yeah.

- Just another pinch?

- Another pinch of butter in here.

(utensil clanking) - [Tori] Just a little dab of... - I'm gonna add a little bit of mascarpone cheese (utensil clanking) just to give it that rich and creamy feel.

(utensil clanking) (risotto sizzling) And another pinch of salt, a little more black pepper.

(pepper grinding) (risotto sizzling) And then we're just gonna stir this in.

These scallops are finished cooking.

I can feel on top they're warm, they're not burning my finger, not that I would know, but they're not burning my finger.

But now I'm pretty much ready to plate.

(utensil clanking) (pot thudding) (laid-back jazz music) Right?

And then a little bit of lemon juice into there.

Stir it up and that nice- - Oh, bring that butter over here.

- That nice brown butter that I created in the pan, that's what you want to garnish with.

So you're getting a little of that flavor.

So that's how I make a nice seared crispy scallop.

But I think when you eat it, you'll see the texture is different 'cause it's not really cooked all the way, it's just cooked three quarters.

(utensil thudding) - Scallops, risotto, shellfish, kind of a rich kind of a dish.

We did a little bit of Vouvray, so this is a hundred percent Chenin Blanc, which is the type of grape coming from France, kind of in the region of the Loire Valley, which is a river that runs from almost the heart of France westward into the Atlantic Ocean.

This is a little bit sweet, you know, I think nowadays, I think a lot of people are kind of trying to get away from sweet wine.

I think there was some bad context about sweet wine from decades prior.

But Vouvray is on par with some of the best sweet wine in the world.

And so it's gonna be...

This is what's called off dry.

It's gonna be nice, it's gonna be rich, it's gonna be great to go along with the butter, the lemon juice, the scallops, the shallots as well that kind of brings out that sweetness as well.

I think all of it's gonna be perfect.

(utensils clanking) All right.

- I need like a drum roll.

I don't know.

(drum rolling) - It smells great, that's for sure.

(drum rolling) - Oh my gosh.

(drum rolling) (utensil clanking) (Lee mumbling) (laid-back jazz music) - So we're picking up a little bit of that saltiness for me, just a smidge.

You're getting that shallots, the, you know, the cauliflower, everything and then I'll just take a quick sip of Vouvray.

- I know it needed a chaser.

Hold on.

- And that is all the explanation I need.

- Okay.

This really works with that.

- Yeah, yeah.

I could sit around and talk about it all I like, but until I taste it together it all makes sense then.

- It kind of balanced everything out.

I feel like it's not like palate cleansing is the right word, but you know, if you get overwhelmed with the flavor of the scallops, you go to the wine, you kinda like go back to zero and then you never get sick of the scallops when you're drinking the wine.

I don't know what that is.

What is that?

- Yeah, it's just a refresher.

It's exactly what we were doing with that Sauvignon Blanc with the cheese.

You know, it was so heavy and rich, we did something that was bright and acidic and it just refreshes the palette.

And that's just...

It's a wonderful exercise in balance.

It's also a lot of fun to taste all the different things at one time.

- Well, I want to thank you.

Hopefully, this answered the questions you had about how to cook a scallop.

Lee, I don't know if there's any questions I can answer for you, (Lee laughing) but I do want to thank you all for coming.

It's been such a pleasure to have you in my house.

So, cheers.

- Cheers.

- Frank, thank you so much.

And Lee, thank you so much too.

This is amazing.

- I mean, chef.

- Lee.

(Lee and Tori laughing) (laid-back jazz music) (letters tinkling) (electronic beeping)