Rumaki OG

Day 9 of The Advent Calendar of Cookbooks

Day 9’s door opens on the Advent Calendar of Cookbooks and, there I find a memory. It’s the first holiday cookbook that I ever bought. It’s been around so long, its corners are smashed, its spine is broken, its front cover scratched, and a page here and there clings to a single string, but it hangs in there. You see, like me, it still has dreams to weave.

1986 John Hadamuscin published THE HOLIDAYS: 25 Menus for Elegant Entertaining from Thanksgiving to Twelfth Night. From the moment I bought it, it opened my mind. In my backward, unsophisticated life, he opened the door to the possibility that life held….more. He showed me that there were many, many ways to serve food and celebrate. From introducing me to the concept of The Feast of Seven Fishes to romantic New Year’s Eve dinners for two to English Teas by the fire and to making my own Christmas liqueurs and bottling them in attractive carafes, Mr. Hadamuscin brought a lot of sophistication and possibilities into my life. I am immeasurably thankful to him for that.

CONTENTS

When you thumb through the book today, the photos are certainly dated, but the food still stands. There are definitely Old Guard recipes in there, and one day, I promise, I’ll make Martha Washington’s fruit cake. His recipe for Cranberry-Cumquat Compote is stellar and provides a stunning bowl to have sitting on the Holliday table.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Sea Scallops

Bonus: The music I’m listening to today is Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”

THE ULTIMATE OG APPETIZER: SCALLOP RUMAKI (courtesy of John Hadamuscin)

Makes 24

This is the appetizer of all appetizers. It’s fiddly and, frankly, a pain in the ass to produce, but the results? They are stellar! Rarely can people stop eating one. The toothpicks will pile high as they are scarfed down. You might need a Rumaki-Tamer at your party when you serve these to help control the eaters.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE MARINADE

• ½ cup tamari

• ¼ cup firmly packed dark muscovado sugar

• 3 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced

• 1 teaspoon dry mustard

• 2 green onions, white and green parts, finely chopped

• ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice

TO ASSEMBLE THE RUMAKI

• 24 sea scallops

• 12 thin slices of applewood smoked bacon, cut in half

• 1 or 2 cans of sliced water chestnuts

• 24 toothpicks

• Leaf lettuce

• The green part of the green onion, cut on the diagonal as thinly as possible and curled in ice water.

METHOD

FOR THE MARINADE

1. Combine all the marinade ingredients into a jar, cover it, and shake it well to combine all the ingredients.

2. Place the scallops into a bowl, pour the marinade over them, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, but preferably overnight.

TO ASSEMBLE THE RUMAKI

1. Line up your bacon pieces on a tray.

2. Place a water chestnut slice in the center of each bacon strip.

3. Place the scallop onto the chestnut.

4. Bring the edges up and over the scallop and secure with a toothpick.

5. Cover well and refrigerate until half an hour before serving.

6. Preheat the broiler.

7. Set the top rack about 4-inches below the heat source

8. Place the assembled rumaki onto a rack that’s placed onto a broiling pan.

9. Broil for about 5 minutes, turn them over, and broil for another 1o minutes. The bacon should be brown and the scallops opaque.

10. Arrange the lettuce on a platter and place the hot rumaki on it. Sprinkle with the green onions and serve immediately.