2C
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2015
WHAT’S
Cooking
GOURMET RECIPES FROM LOCAL CHEFS
By STEVEN DeKAY
For The Daily Astorian
I’m 25 years old and was born and raised in Portland.
My wife, Sarah, and I moved to Seaside, in June of 2014.
I’ve only been cooking on a professional level for about
three years.
I started my culinary career as a dishwasher for Lau-
relwood Brewery in 2012. Within six months I was
promoted to line manager. After a while at Laurelwood
I wanted to expand my skills and knowledge. So, we
moved to the coast.
I’ve never attended any culinary school. Everything I
know is self-taught or on-the-job experience. My passion
for food was inspired by my grandmothers and great-grand-
mothers. Everything was made from scratch which really
made me get involved with food from a young age.
One of my recent endeavors is conquering molecular
gastronomy. It’s where the culinary arts meets mad sci-
entist. I love what I do and hope to do it as long as I can.
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
Prosciutto-wrapped seared sea scallops with brown sugar-carrot puree and sweet corn salsa prepared by chef Steve
DeKay at Maggie’s on the Prom in Seaside.
Prosciutto Wrapped Seared Sea Scallops with
Brown Sugar-Carrot Puree and Sweet Corn Salsa
What you’ll need:
10 sea scallops, ligament removed
10 slices prosciutto, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cup sweet corn, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup red onion, 1/4 inch diced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, 1/4 inch diced
2 tablespoons jalapeno pepper, 1/8 inch diced
2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/4 cup lime juice
2 carrots, peeled
1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons warm water, if needed
1 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
salt & pepper to taste
What you’ll do:
If using fresh corn, first cook in a pot of boiling water until done, 6-10 minutes. Carefully cut corners from cob. Let corn
come to room temperature. If using frozen corn, place 1 1/2 cups on a baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes in a 350-degree
oven. Let corn come to room temperature.
In a large mixing bowl add the corn, onion, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, chili flakes and lime juice. Toss gently.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside until plating.
Cut the ends off of the peeled carrots. Halve the carrots. Place carrots in a pot of boiling water until soft, not mushy
— about 7-10 minutes. Remove soft carrots from water and place them in a blender with the cinnamon and butter. Run
blender until a smooth puree forms, no lumps. Add a little warm water if needed to smooth out the puree. Transfer puree to
a small bowl and set aside until plating.
Take sliced prosciutto and cut lengthwise to match the thickness of the scallops. Wrap each scallop with one slice of
prosciutto. Season top and bottom of scallops with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a medium nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Place scallops in hot pan, taking notes not to crowd them.
Brown scallops — about 2 minutes on each sides. Remove pan from heat. Leave scallops in pan to cook through while you
plate.
To plate, place about 5 ounces of the corn salsa in the center of the plates. Spoon a little puree in five equal amounts
surrounding the salsa. Something resembling the points of a star. Place one scallops on each portion of puree, five per
plate. Garnish with parsley.
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
Chef Steven DeKay is a chef at Maggie’s at the Prom.
DeKay has been cooking at a professional level for
about three years.
Serves: 2
Time: 30 to 45 min.
Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Tagged orca makes close approach to Cape Disappointment
LONG BEACH, Wash. — After spending a few
days on the central Washington coast north of the
mouth of Grays Harbor, the L pod of Southern Res-
ident Killer Whales (SRKW) spent April 23 and 24
around the southern tip of the Long Beach Peninsula.
Satellite tracking of male orca L84 shows him
coming within a short distance of Benson Beach in
Cape Disappointment State Park. At other times in
the past two days, he was zigzagging across the en-
trance of the Columbia River close to the Buoy 10
line, as well as due west of North Head. At 7:06 a.m.
Friday he was roughly a mile west of Long Beach.
L84 has spent much of the past month along the
Washington Coast, occasionally dipping into Ore-
gon waters. He is believed to still be accompanied
by other members of L pod, possibly along with
members of the associated J and K pods. All are con-
sidered animal celebrities in Puget Sound, where or-
ca-watching has become a popular pastime.
NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science
Center hasn’t recently monitored these orcas from
abroad a research vessel, so there has been no sta-
tus update on the condition of L94 and her new calf,
L121. Although orcas are widespread around the
world and considered a healthy species, the Puget
Sound-based SRKW pods are at risk for extinction.
Their birthing success is carefully monitored.
Here is NOAA’s latest update, posted April 24, on
K pod’s outer coastal movements:
“L84 was just to north of the entrance to Grays
Harbor, but well offshore, on our previous update
(20 April). The whales moved inshore that afternoon,
to just off the entrance to Grays Harbor, but by the
morning of the 21st they had traveled due west and
were on the shelf break. They headed north/northeast
and were just north of Cape Elizabeth on the morn-
ing of the 22nd. From there they traveled south and
by the morning of the 23rd were near the entrance to
the Columbia River. They remained in this general
area overnight and as of this morning (24 April) they
were just north of Cape Disappointment.”
NOAA MAP
The orca pod
containing satel-
lite-tagged male
L84 was just
off Long Beach
Monday morning
after spending
all day Thursday
in close prox-
imity to Cape
Disappointment
and the mouth
of the Columbia
River.
GE T
Y O U R CO PY
TOD AY !
D iscoverO urCoa st.com