Let There Be White.....and Red!

It's time for Cuisine Kathleen's second Let There be White event! This time, Kathleen said we should combine one other color ~ so I chose red! Those of you who know me, know I have two favorite colors...blue in the garden and red inside my home.

Over the years, I've collected a wonderful array of red dishes and accessories, some of which were sent to me by kind cyber friends.

The white and red made a great combination in my eyes :)

I've put together a little compilation of my red/red and white pieces.


The white dishes were the first set of dishes that DH and I bought right after we were married 35 years ago. The brand is called Pontesa and I have yet to find it on Replacements or EBay.





Since I have an abundance of beautiful red tomatoes in my garden right now, I decided to prepare a little 'white and red' for dinner also - grilled sea scallops with caprese-style tomatoes.

I also grilled some lovely red and white potatoes :) Stayed tuned this week ~ these will become my next Ode to a Tuber post! They were wonderful!

The pure white scallops soon became...

beautifully charred on the grill...

...and were tossed with tomatoes, basil and grilled onions for a wonderful, low-calorie dish.

The big question was whether to drink white or red wine!

As darkness came, the candle light was even more lovely.

Desert was white and red also. Vanilla custard with fresh raspberries.

Thank you, Kathleen, for hosting another fun Let There Be White event! Please be sure to visit Cuisine Kathleen to join in or just to see all those participating this week.

Here is the recipe for the scallop dish..DH declared it 'Delicious'!

Scallops alla Caprese
Recipe adapted from Mario Batali's Italian Grill
Printable Recipe

Serves 6 (I halved the recipe for my husband and myself)

2 pounds tomatoes, fresh from the garden or Farmers' Market would be ideal
24 fresh basil leaves
3 medium red onions, cut into 1 inch slices
Kosher salt and black pepper, freshly ground
5-6 tablespoons Extra-virgin olive oil
About 2 pounds of sea scallops
Fleur de Sel or Sea Salt
1 lemon, halved

Preheat the grill. Place a flat griddle or grill pan (Mario uses a granite 'piastra') on the grill to preheat.

Slice the tomatoes attractively, leaving the very small ones whole or halved and arrange them on a platter. Tear the basil leaves into strips and sprinkle over the tomatoes. Set aside.

Season the onion slices with salt and pepper and place them on the hot, dry griddle and cook without moving for 7 to 10 minutes or well charred on the first side. Using tongs, carefully turn the slices over and cook for 7 to 10 minutes on the other side. Transfer to a plate and let cool slightly, then separate the onion slices into rings and scatter them over the tomatoes and basil. Drizzle the platter with 3-4 tablespoons of the olive oil.

While the onions cook, carve a checkerboard pattern about 1/4 inch deep into one side of each scallop. place the scallops in a bowl and season on both sides with salt and pepper, then toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and gentle stir to coat them.

Place the scallops on the dry, clean griddle, design side down, and cook for 5-7 minutes, without moving, until almost cooked. They should be opaque almost throughout. Flip them over and sear for about 30 seconds and remove from the grill. Arrange them over the tomato and onion salad.

Squeeze the juice from the lemon halves over the scallops and tomatoes, sprinkle with Fleur de Sel, and serve.