Bored with making the same ol’ recipes?

If boredom and fear has kept you from the kitchen, chef John Ash has some recipe tips that are sure to get you running back. The renowned cooking teacher and innovative California chef helps you conquer your kitchen fear by focusing on specific techniques, simple sauces and main ingredients — turning your cooking repertoire into something extraordinary. Here’s a sample menu from his latest cookbook, "Cooking One On One:"

Seared Scallops with Corn Cream
Serves 6
I love this combination of rich scallop, salty pancetta, peppery cress, and sweet corn cream sauce. Dry-pack scallops are those that are never put in seawater or brine and are much firmer and meatier as a result. You’ll probably have to ask your fishmonger to order these ahead of time for you. If scallops are unavailable, substitute firm white fish, such as halibut or sea bass.  You can also certainly do the recipe without the pancetta wrap, if desired.

Ingredients
12 thinly sliced rounds of pancetta
12 large dry-pack fresh scallops (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups young watercress leaves with tender stems (discard woody stems)
Corn cream
Freshly ground pepper

Directions
Gently unwind the pancetta and then wrap it around each scallop. Secure with a toothpick, if necessary. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed sauté pan over medium-high heat until very hot and just beginning to smoke. Using tongs, carefully place the scallops flat side down and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Turn and cook the other side until browned, about 1 minute. Resist the temptation to move scallops around so that they can brown quickly and evenly.
Arrange the watercress leaves in the center of warm plates (a nice touch) and place the scallops on top. Spoon the corn cream around and garnish with a grinding or two of black pepper. Serve.

Corn Cream
Makes about 2 cups
This is another good example of how vegetable purees can be turned into  worthy sauces, though this time, I go for the cream. You can use this same approach with sweet peas, roasted butternut squash, or carrots. I serve this with delicate fish or chicken dishes; one of my favorite pairings for this sauce is bacon-wrapped scallops. The complete recipe follows.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 teaspoon medium-hot pure chile powder; such as Chimayo or chipolte
2 cups homemade chicken or vegetable stock or your favorite canned broth
1 1/2 cups sweet corn kernels, fresh or frozen and thawed
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon dry sherry (optional)
Salt

Directions
Warm the butter or olive oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and chile powder and sauté until the onions are soft but not brown. Add the stock and the corn, cover, and simmer until the vegetables are very soft, about 10 minutes. Add the cream and sherry, if desired, and bring to a simmer. Pour the mixture into a blender or food processor (you can let it cool slightly first for safety) and puree until very smooth. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, pressing down on the solids. Discard the solids, and return the sauce to the pan and keep warm. (Depending on the corn, the sauce can appear a little “grainy” even after straining. If you want a velvety smooth sauce, you can puree and strain again.) Taste and season with salt and additional chile powder, if you think it needs it. The sauce can be made a day or two ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator.

Oven-Dried Mediterranean Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups oven-dried zucchini, sliced or diced (from about 1 pound fresh)
1 1/2 cups oven-dried cherry tomatoes (from about 1 ½ pounds fresh)
1/4 cup pitted and sliced Kalamata or other olives
1 tablespoon mixed chopped fresh herbs, such as chives, parsley, and chervil
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Drops of fresh lemon juice to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions
In a bowl, combine the zucchini, tomatoes, olives, herbs, zest, and juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Crisp Fried Polenta with Oven-Dried Mediterranean Salad
Serves 4 as a main course
This is a template for a neat main course that is infinitely variable. Polenta, the Italian “grits,” or “cornmeal mush,” is cooked ahead, then chilled until firm. At serving time, it’s sliced into portions, sautéed, and topped with an intensely flavorful mélange (that means mixture) featuring oven-dried vegetables.
I like my polenta with a little texture, so I cook it for a much shorter period then is traditionally called for.  For a smoother, traditional polenta, cook it in a double boiler over simmering water for an hour or so, stirring every 10 minutes.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots or green onions (white parts only)
1/2 dry light- or medium-bodied white wine
2 1/2 cups homemade chicken or vegetable stock or your favorite canned broth
3/4 cup coarse polenta cornmeal
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
Oven-dried Mediterranean salad
Garnish if you like with shaved Parmesan or crème fraiche and baby arugula or mustard greens

Directions
Lightly oil baking sheet or 8-inch cake pan and set it aside. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a deep saucepan and add the shallots or onions. Sauté over medium heat until softened but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the polenta meal until the mixture begins to thicken and then reduce the heat to low and stir regularly until the mixture is very thick, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the basil and cheese, and taste and season with salt and pepper. Pour the polenta onto the baking sheet or cake pan and, using a spatula or wet hands, smooth and even it out until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Chill in the refrigerator until firm. The polenta can be made and stored covered in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Cut the polenta into 4 pieces and heat the remaining butter and the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Brown the polenta over medium-high heat until crispy on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Place the polenta on a serving plates and top with the salad and shavings of Parmesan or a dollop of crème fraiche and baby greens, if desired.

Wild Mushroom Hunter’s Soup
Serves 6 to 8
This is not a wild mushroom soup for hunters; it’ s soup for wild mushroom hunters, one we threw together in a camp after a day of wild mushroom hunting. The soup has few ingredients, and its flavor will vary depending on the type of mushrooms used. If you are lucky enough to have found some other wild edibles such as ramps (wild leeks) or a young cress, by all means, throw them in too!

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds fresh wild mushrooms, cleaned
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 cups thinly sliced white or yellow onions
2 tablespoons slivered garlic
1 1/2 cups fresh or canned diced tomatoes in juice
6 cups homemade chicken or vegetable stock or your favorite canned broth
1/4 cup ruby port or amontillado sherry
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese
Garnish if you like with chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, chives, basil, or chervil, or a combination

Directions
Slice the wild mushrooms thickly (at least 1/8 inch) and set aside. In a deep saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and cook the onions and garlic over medium heat until they are lightly golden.

While the onion mixture is cooking, in a separate sauté pan over high heat, sauté the mushrooms in the remaining olive oil until they are cooked through and lightly browned. (If you’re not comfortable having two pans going at once, finish the onions and garlic, remove the pan from the heat, then do the mushrooms.) Add the mushrooms to the saucepan with the onion mixture along with the tomatoes and the stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the port and zest. Taste and season with salt and pepper just before serving. Serve in warm bowls or mugs garnished with a good sprinkling of cheese and chopped fresh herbs, if using.

Lemon Zabaglione
Serves 6
Zabaglione (Italian) or sabayon (French) is an impressive and unusual but easy-to-do dessert that can be made at the very last minute if necessary. This version can be made 30 minutes or so ahead. Zabaglione is like a soufflé without the dish… or the beaten egg whites… or the baking. I like to serve it with fresh fruits spooned on the side. For a more dramatic presentation, arrange fresh fruits in a shallow heatproof dish, spoon the zabaglione on top, and quickly brown it with a propane torch (If you’ve got nuts) or under a hot broiler.

Ingredients
2 large whole eggs
4 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
Finely grated zest and juice or 2 medium lemons (about ¼ cup juice)
1/3 cup white port, Muscat, Sauternes, or other desert wine

Directions
Combine all ingredients in the top of a double boiler and set aside. Fill the bottom of the pot with water and bring to a simmer. Whisk the mixture until it is light and thick. Place the mixture over the simmering water and whisk vigorously until it has rippled in volume (just eyeball this) and is thick and even lighter in color. Total cooking and whisking time will be 6 to 8 minutes.  Remove the top of the pot from the heat and whisk to cool slightly (this keeps the egg yolks from scrambling)
Serve immediately or set aside and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Use within 2 hours.

Recipes excerpted from “Cooking One on One: Private Lessons in Simple, Contemporary Food from a Master Teacher” by John Ash. Copyright © 2004 by John Ash. Published by Clarkson Potter a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt can be used without permission of the publisher.

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