I've always had an affinity for scallops. Sea, not bay. I personally loved
Season Five of Top Chef and especially
Jaime's Top Scallop recipes. After that season, I cannot look at a scallop without thinking of
Fabio's famous one liners.
Especially after a long day spent at the beach or out on the boat, I love nothing more than to dig into some fresh seafood. This weekend, we found these succulent scallops at a tucked-away seafood shack in Half Moon Bay. They smelled like the sea, but not in a funky, who forgot their deodorant kind of way, but in a refreshing, hey, smell that sea breeze kind of way. I reached for the twenty dollar bill that I tucked in my pocket with our IDs (it was a no wallet kind of day) and was amazed to find that our 20 bucks not only got us a pound of scallops, but also a pound of mussels, with some cash leftover for ice cream. See why I'm not linking the seafood shack? I want it all for me.
When we got home, I washed the scallops, patted them dry, and added salt and pepper. Then, I threw them in a piping hot cast iron skillet and seared them quickly on both sides. I couldn't resist showing you this picture of them simmering in the pan, light pink and white, bubbling with my excitement. We threw these in with an herbed risotto
(inspired by the NY Times last week) and just for good measure, tossed in the mussels, freshly steamed. The result? A delicious, creamy, herbed seafood risotto, gluten free, of course. And a perfect end to a pretty perfect Northern Californian day.
Especially after a long day spent at the beach or out on the boat, I love nothing more than to dig into some fresh seafood. This weekend, we found these succulent scallops at a tucked-away seafood shack in Half Moon Bay. They smelled like the sea, but not in a funky, who forgot their deodorant kind of way, but in a refreshing, hey, smell that sea breeze kind of way. I reached for the twenty dollar bill that I tucked in my pocket with our IDs (it was a no wallet kind of day) and was amazed to find that our 20 bucks not only got us a pound of scallops, but also a pound of mussels, with some cash leftover for ice cream. See why I'm not linking the seafood shack? I want it all for me.
When we got home, I washed the scallops, patted them dry, and added salt and pepper. Then, I threw them in a piping hot cast iron skillet and seared them quickly on both sides. I couldn't resist showing you this picture of them simmering in the pan, light pink and white, bubbling with my excitement. We threw these in with an herbed risotto (inspired by the NY Times last week) and just for good measure, tossed in the mussels, freshly steamed. The result? A delicious, creamy, herbed seafood risotto, gluten free, of course. And a perfect end to a pretty perfect Northern Californian day.