Impress your date or throw a dinner party for your favorite single friends. Play domestic diva for an evening, no experience required, with this quick & tasty recipe for a delicious dinner at home!

Spiced Scallops with Balsamic Braised Red Cabbage

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 pound red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
• 2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
• 3/4 cup water, divided
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 pinches ground cloves
• 1 1/2 pounds large sea scallops, tough ligament removed from side of each if attached

- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cabbage, bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and toss to coat.

- Stir in 1/2 cup water and 2 tablespoon vinegar and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a platter and keep warm, covered.

- Stir together spices, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pat scallops dry and season both sides with spice mixture.

- Wipe out skillet, then heat remaining tablespoon butter over medium-high heat until foam subsides. Sauté scallops, turning once, until golden brown and just cooked through, about 5 minutes total. Add to cabbage.

- Add remaining 1/4 cup water and tablespoon vinegar to skillet and boil, stirring, until slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour over scallops and cabbage.

Pair the scallops with Egg Fried Rice served in ramekins . Find a wok on be so .

Then, end the evening on a sweet note with Chocolate Orange Turnovers served on dessert plates or a cute set, like Yedi Housewares heart-shaped cups and saucers.  After all, how can you appreciate dessert without some chocolate?

All recipes provided by Epicurious .

Looking for something sweet to do for your honey this weekend? Yes, Valentine’s Day has passed, but romance should be spontaneous and not just a one time of year event.  What about breakfast in bed?! Need a little inspiration? Well, that’s what your beso buddies are here for!

When planning the perfect way to pamper your significant other, the first thing to think about is the menu. To that end, I’ve included a scrumptious recipe for buttermilk pancakes, from Bon Appetite . If you want to make them a little pinkish, substitute raspberries or strawberries instead of blueberries, or add a little berry yogurt and hold back a bit of the buttermilk:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for cooking
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• Pure maple syrup

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 250°F. Place baking sheet in oven. Whisk first 4 ingredients in large bowl. Whisk buttermilk, eggs, and 2 tablespoons butter in medium bowl; stir into dry ingredients. Fold in berries.

Heat large nonstick griddle or skillet over medium heat; brush with butter. Drop batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto griddle. Cook pancakes until brown, brushing griddle with more butter as needed, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to sheet in oven to keep warm. Serve pancakes with maple syrup.

To make this an even better surprise, try cooking the pancakes in a heart-shaped mold, such as these, from Norpro:

To add balance, I suggest pairing the pancakes with a protein of some sort – whether that’s turkey/chicken, pork or tofu sausage, bacon or eggs is up to you. A nice dish of fruit, in addition to the fruit in the pancakes, makes a lovely side. So does a champagne cocktail!

So…how to serve…

First, you will need a tray, like this Bamboo serving table :

If you’re making a breakfast meat, you can present this on the same plate as the pancakes, but the fruit ought to be plated separately, in its own little dish. Not only will this add a pretty distribution of color on the serving tray, it will also keep the syrup from coating the fruit and making a big, goopy, too-sweet mess!

Warm the syrup and pour it into a graceful creamer or sauce pitcher, like this one from Mikasa :

Place a single red rose into a bud vase. Depending on your style, you might like either crystal or brushed stainless steel:

Tuck a delicate napkin to the left side of the pancake plate. Top with a fork, and place a knife and spoon on the other side of the plate.

Fill a champagne flute with a beverage of choice (sparkling wine/champagne alone or with orange or cranberry juice). Add a fresh violet, to rest just on top of the liquid, if available in your area (yes! they’re edible!).

Add a cup of coffee or tea, if that is what your true love’s heart desires.

Viola! If your sugar didn’t love you before, this ought to do the trick.

Summer is just around the corner, and we are excited about the sweet treats that are perfect for our favorite season. Share your favorite summer sweets recipe for a chance to win a KitchenAid Mixer ! Emily Schuman, Beso’s Style Director, will select the winner and bake up the winning recipe. The grand prize winner will be featured on the Beso Blog in June. If the baker in you needs the best mixer on the market, enter now and share your winning recipe with us! Entry ends May 31, 2010.

My favorite summer dessert resolves around fresh ingredients. I have so many wonderful memories that involve picking berries and incorporating them into a sweet dessert and these vanilla cupcakes with a strawberry meringue buttercream frosting certainly top my list. See my recipe below for strawberry meringue buttercream frosting. It’s best paired with fresh berries and white cake.