Seared Scallops with Pickled Vegetables

Scallops are such a good way to be impressive without being a lot of work.  We have a great seafood place in town so we are lucky to always be able to get high quality scallops, but they are rather pricey. Hence, they usually only make an appearance at our house in the form of an appetizer.  I wanted to do something light, but also wanted something that would contrast well with the sweetness of the scallops.  I love the sweet, rich, almost caramel-ly flavors that scallops really show when they are seared just right, and I thought the acidic pickled flavors in this salad were a good pair.

Seared Scallops with a Pickled Vegetable Salad

Serves 2 appetizer portions

• 4 large sea scallops, side muscle removed
• 1 tablespoon butter
• big handful mixed greens
• 1/3 cup pickled onions
• 5 cornichons, halved and sliced thin
• 1/3 cup roasted red peppers, sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon(ish) olive oil

Thoroughly  season scallops on each side with salt and pepper.

Melt butter over medium high heat in a saute pan.  Add scallops and sear on each side for about 3-4 minutes.  Be sure to let them develop a nice brown sear on each side before you flip them.

Remove from pan and let rest at least 5 minutes.

As scallops are resting, assemble salad.  Mix lettuce, pickled onions, cornichons, roasted red peppers, chives, sherry vinegar, and olive oil in a small bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.

Place a small mound of salad on two plates.  Top each salad with 2 scallops.  Serve.

Perfecting the Ultimate Burger – Round One

My goal is to make the most ultimate, mouth-watering, who-cares-if-I-have-a-napkin-to-wipe-the-ketchup-off-my-face-it’s-so-good burger this summer.  I felt good about Round One, but I think there is always room for improvement, so this summer I’ll be documenting my burger escapades.  I think a really great burger is the sum of it’s parts.  It’s not just about the meat (which is very important), but also the bread and the fixings.  For today’s, I’m doing a bacon cheddar burger with pickled onions and a sweet and spicy ketchup. As a side note, when I went to the butcher store to get the meat and the bacon, the guy behind the counter asked me if I bought bacon every time I came in.  I’m not sure what it says about me that the butcher has noticed the large quantities of bacon I buy…