Pan-Seared Lemon Butter Sea Scallops...

Love me 'em scallops but always order them off restaurant menus and don't cook them at home. Maybe it's the fine line to overcooking, but being attentive to the short searing time, they really are so darn easy to do!!! Just a simple shake of salt and pepper on both sides, seared in butter over a hot pan and you are in tender sea-bite oceanic heaven. To jazz it up, you can simply whip up a lemon butter sauce to spoon over. It took treating ourselves with my annual end-of-year Loblaws grocery points with something different and gourmet, to get a bag of jumbos to serve with grilled steaks surf and turf-style! Glad I did, cause we loved them juicy succulence, bringing the elegance of restaurant-dining home. 

To start off our low-key family New Year's Eve dinner, hubby and I shared a platter of malpeques!

Of course, he shucked while I watched and salivated waiting, sipping a glass of wine :)

Pan-Seared Lemon Butter Sea Scallops
Makes about 20 scallops to serve 4 to 6 

1 pkg. 400g frozen jumbo sea scallops, thawed overnight in fridge
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

For the lemon butter sauce:

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup white wine

juice of 1/2 lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley or basil leaves (optional)

Lay thawed scallops on paper-lined towels on a plate and pat dry. Season scallops with salt and pepper to taste. 

Shelled malpeques along scallops ready for cooking.

Melt one Tbsp. butter in a large skillet/pan (not non-stick) over medium high heat. Working in batches, add scallops to the skillet in a single layer and cook, flipping once, until golden brown and translucent in the centre, about two minutes per side. Remove scallops aside and keep warm.

To make the lemon butter sauce, melt two Tbsp. butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about one minute. Stir in white wine and lemon juice and let simmer to deglaze the bits off the skillet; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve scallops immediately with lemon butter sauce, garnished with parsley or basil, if desired.

Surf and Turf-- got the fatty bits, ends and bones after dissecting the steaks for the kids. Just the way I like it...

Some turf parts got cooked well...oh well. But medium-rare is best!

Cheers Y'All! 

Feeling like grown-ups with bottled Mexican cola and ginger beer.

Wishing you all a HapPy NeW YeAR from our family to yours!

In much warmer times.... (Playa Del Carmen, Mexico last year )

We are always taking care of others and doing things to make people happy, but remember you need to take care of yourself #1 and make time for your own passions. I am ever grateful for another year of sharing food discoveries with you all and achieving my personal fitness goals with yoga and now kick-boxing too! Let's keep shining and reaching for the sky! Here's to continual growth, improvement & fun in 2018!  ♪٩(✿′ᗜ‵✿)۶♪   #livethelifeyoulovelovethelifeyoulive

For a Killer Kick-A$$ Combo.. Namaste with a POW POW!! 
Come and get me 2018... I'm ready for you!!!