I often ask my family what they would like me to cook for meals. Our son recently began requesting pulled pork sandwiches because that is one of the school hot lunches he likes. We let them have a hot lunch once a week at school if they choose for something different. So I told him that I’ll do that in a few weeks once Thanksgiving has died down. Unbeknownst to me he requested that from a friend’s mom this week. He got invited to go a book signing for Diary of a Wimpy Kid and she asked what she should make for dinner. I don’t think he realises what goes into making these sandwiches! But she was a great sport and made them. Awesome. 🙂
For last night my husband requested the cream and butter sauce over pasta. Which I was happy to do but because I’m on very low gluten/gluten free I needed to do something for myself that would allow me to get both dishes done at the same time. I originally wanted to do some salmon but the salmon at the shop was really sad looking. However they had some lovely sea scallops.
Instead of pasta I roasted potatoes for my dish. I made the cream and butter sauce the way I usually do. In a skillet saute 5 slices of streaky bacon. After a few minutes add half an onion chopped.
After the onions have softened add 3-5 finely chopped cloves of garlic and sliced shiitake mushrooms. Deglaze the pan with a few teaspoons of sherry and stir well.
For colour add some red or orange bell pepper. While the pasta is cooking prep the scallops by patting them dry on paper towels.
Heat up a skillet with olive oil and starting searing one side of the scallops. Because of the bacon involved I seasoned mine with a spicy dry rub.
To get a good sear on the scallops don’t play with them. Let them be until they freely move in the pan. Sometimes they will slide round before the sear is complete but definitely don’t try to force them up to flip them over. Once you have a nice sear turn them over to sear the other side.
I prefer my scallops to not be overly translucent but cook them to the level you desire, just don’t cook them so that they are tough or dry. To serve I layered the roasted potatoes with the sauce then topped with the scallops. Grate some fresh parmesan cheese over the dish.
I loved this substitution for pasta. I felt like I ate enough without that awful stuffed feeling. And cream and butter sauce is such an indulgence. I could eat bowls of it! 🙂
yumminess! <3
Definitely!
Great story. 🙂 Your scallops look delicious!
Thank you! I’m lucky our kids like to eat but I never thought how that might increase the workload for others. 🙂
One of my favorite seafoods, Your recipe looks delicious.
Thank you. 😊. I should cook them more often.
Nicely done.
Lovely. I can never get such a pretty sear on my scallops.
Make sure you pat them dry and the oil is hot. 😊
Seriously nice job on the searing. People always crowd too many in the pan and end up steaming them. They look DeLish!
Thank you so much! 🙂
Looking good. Fresh scallops are such a treat for me, so I’d make those my request
It was nice to find some that hadn’t been previously frozen! 😊
I have never made my own scallops–you’ve convinced me to try my hand at them!
Just be patient with them and you’ll be fine. Most of us have a tendency to keep flipping the protein which kills the chance of a good sear. 🙂
These pics look so tasty my mouth was watering. My hub doesn’t like scallops so I never make them but I bet if he tasted this recipe, he’d change his mind. Maybe I’ll try this for the next time he’s here (he’s leaving for 2 weeks again next Monday)
I only do them once in awhile as my husband doesn’t like seafood but I love scallops. Especially if I get the sear right. 🙂
It’s so hard to NOT keep looking at them while they sear and caramelize and all that. But you’re right, you HAVE to leave them alone!
It’s hard not to fidget when it comes to cooking. 😉