After a crazy week of unpredictability, Matt and I settled into a really fancy dinner! And one we cooked ourselves too.
This afternoon I biked over to Seamane’s and then to the bakery. We had a malfunctioning label printer that I fixed after an hour (turns out Matt had SKIPPED a step of installation!!) We also got our lobby tables all set up! Special thanks to Caroline at IKEA Baltimore for her help. The new tables arrived in good shape today and we’re good to go. The mill is also working!! Woo hoo.
Once home, we put together dinner. I made this scallop recipe for a project I’m working on for Jefferson Vineyards’ wine club. It turned out fantastic!
MY OTHER RECIPES
We picked up these giant scallops at Seafood @ West Main and my gosh they were not cheap!! But if you think about how much an entrée would cost in a restaurant, the price was easier..to swallow.
Matt even came home on time to help cook!
Sizzlin’ in buttah!
Spicy Orange Vanilla Scallops
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 2 servings
The delicate flavors of vanilla and orange work in perfect contract with the spice of red pepper and the complexity of the Viognier in this recipe that takes just minutes to cook but brings the ambiance of a restaurant into your home. A touch of vanilla at the end adds a subtle aroma to the dish, while the garlic and red pepper add a bold spice to the succulent scallops.
Ingredients
- .75 lbs large sea scallops
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp butter
- Juice of 1 large orange (or ½ cup of orange juice)
- ¼ cup Jefferson Viognier
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Season scallops with salt.
- Heat butter in a large cast iron skillet.
- When it begins to bubble, add scallop and cook 2-3 minutes. Flip, and cook second side, being careful not to overcook.
- Remove scallops from pan and add garlic, pepper, orange juice and wine.
- Reduce heat to medium and simmer until sauce is reduced to a glaze.
- Stir in vanilla and red pepper flakes.
- Plate red peppers with sauce and serve scallops on top.
Absolutely amazing!!
We paired them with a different Viognier, actually, because we have a triple vertical tasting to do with the Jefferson wines next weekend when we have more people to enjoy them with. I might need to recreate this recipe!
Instead we had the Porter Creek Viognier, a winery we actually went to in Sonoma and loved!! This wine is award-winning and amazing!
Jefferson glass, of course!
The scallops were served with a Tomato Basil Risotto. Just risotto rice (1/2 a cup) cooked with 1 cup water and a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes. We stirred in chopped basil at the end. Delish!
Lastly, we had Orange Kale – simply kale steamed in orange juice and orange segments and sprinkled with salt.
We actually had the company of our landlords for dinner!! They couldn’t stay for food, but they enjoyed a handful of homebrews on the porch after doing some housework this afternoon. They’re awesome and just like Emily + Casey, they’re moving from Old Town to Seattle this month for a job opportunity.
Dessert was a couple of handfuls of Lynda’s granola. YUM!!
We are both pooped – it’s been really early mornings with not-early-enough bedtimes a few nights in a row. G’night!
Yuuum! I love scallops so much, but you are right they aren’t cheap. Part of the reason I never spring for them though is because I’m not quite sure what to do with them…. bookmarking this recipe!
This is indeed fancy! You go, girl. I love it when meals looks professional. I mean…your meals always look professional of course!
I’ve never really acknowledged this before, but your photography is so beautiful. Those scallops look absolutely amazing, and I think I imagined the smell of them when I was reading this post. Now, I feel like I had two dinners!
Thank you!
I’ve never tried scallops. They look “meaty” though – yum.
How do you come up with your dishes?! I always get lazy and throw together the same ‘ole. I need inspiration!…wait, I guess that’s here right? 😉 Hope you get to sleep in (alittle even!). You never have a day off it seems!
I am totally digging the risotto and kale from tonight’s supper. So simple, but so fresh and delicious sounding as well.
I love scallops!! They can be hard to cook sometimes, though. Many times they’re chewy..but if they’re cooked juustt right they’re fantastic.
Holy yum! Sign me up!
that recipe sounds amazing! yumm!
This meal looks incredible and the photography is even more incredible!! Really amazing shots. How random about your landlords also moving from Old Town to Seattle!! I was so sad to see Emily and Casey go…selfishly, I wanted them to stay in the DC area, but I cannot wait to read about her adventures in Seattle!
Looks like the perfect dinner to spend “in” Saturday night, especially after such an early morning and preparing for the bakery to open. Enjoy your time relaxing!
Yum for the risotto! that’s definately easy enough for a college student! :]
Your photography skills are quite admirable, these pictures are breath taking! And scallops are one of my favorite foods, they are so versatile and can adapt many flavors! Yumm
I can’t wait to be home from school soon so I finally can cook dishes like this 🙂
That looks fantastic!! I love scallops and the risotto looks wonderful!
That dish does look amazing and I’m not a big fan of scallops. The marinade would probably be wonderful over a white fish. 🙂
Looks delicious, I love scallops!
Those scallops look fantastic! Your whole dinner looks like it’s from a restaurant. Yum!
Lovely meal! The orange/vanilla combo sounds scrumptious!
I think the rice especially looks good – did you drain any liquid off the tomatoes, or just use the whole can?
I used the whole can
Thanks Kath!
I love scallops but I rarely order them and I’ve never cooked them. Maybe it’s time.
I LOVE scallops and yours looks so delicous. And Matt always looks super cool in his hat 🙂 I am an accessory queen, lol.
I love how you guys always cook together~ 😀 so adorable teehee
Fancy! I planned on having dinner outside tonight, but it’s too chilly!
Ah that dinner looks fabulous. One bite in and I have no doubt that’s what heaven would taste like!
I have such horrible luck with cooking scallops 🙁 They seem to turn to rubber! Yours look delicious!
I think that means you cooked them too long
Spicy Orange Vanilla Scallops look PERFECT and i bet that marinade/spice combo could work for tofu too.
I love Viognier’s. And I love Sonoma. I love it more than Napa. I always say if it wasnt so cold up there, I could live there. (this, coming from a girl who grew up in MN and chicago…too cold in norcal for me now…haha!)
And you have the coolest looking landlords! mine are usually 78 yr old men who have canes and hearing aids and dont even know my name!
🙂
such a simple meal, yet so elegant! I could totally recreate this! thanks, Kath 🙂 I tweaked your grilled asparagus frittata the other day, too!
Those scallops look delicious!!! Yum, yum, yum!!! Once again, your combination of ingredients is something that I would not have thought of.
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I neeeed those scallops!
Mmm I love scallops, and yours look just divine! I also love viognier, but barely ever drink it (I’m a sucker for a good pinot gris).
Do you know if Jefferson wines are available in New Zealand?
I doubt it is available there, but you could certainly ask a distributor. I can ask next time I’m there
Oh wow! It’s so lovely that you treat yourself like this regularly 🙂
Scallops are amazing! But yes, the price usually scares me away. I love them the way you cooked them, seared with a crisp crust. They look amazing!!
Oh, and do you like your risotto runny or thick?? I only ask because I was watching this season of Top Chef, and one of the chefs was criticized for having a risotto that didn’t spread, kind of like yours! I wouldn’t know, since I’ve yet to try making any!
We don’t make our risotto the right way. We are too impatient! We make it more like rice than a creamy starch explosion, which is delicious when someone else makes it 🙂 So I’m sure we would have had points taken away too
oh wow. yum yum yum…yum. I have nothing else to say!
uh I am so jealous of that cast-iron, well-seasoned and love pan you have
Mmm…I’m not even normally a scallop kind of gal, but these look mouthwatering! And I love your side dishes as well. I often get stuck in the rut of making plain brown rice, but tomatoes and basil sound like such a pleasant addition. 😀
YUM – on that entire dinner! I love orange-infused anything these days, so I am just swooning over this orange-themed meal, and the simple risotto is a perfect compliment as well…fine dining, indeed!
Love the fancy shmancy meal! Looks delicious!
Ive never had scallops! Those make me want to try them!
What a gourmet looking meal! It makes me wish I hadn’t developed an allergy to scallops… I used to love them! 🙁
Looks amazing. Scallops are one of my favorite dishes to make and I can’t wait to cook them like this. Never would have thought to steam kale in orange juice. I know this may seem like a dumb question but when you steam the kale I assume that the orange juice gets tossed after and not mixed in with the cooked kale???
No I actually just poured on the OJ and orange segments (that had been squeezed by my finger) and just let them all cook down together in the pot. I don’t own a steamer basket, so when I say steam, I mean that I’m putting liquid on the bottom of a pot and the greens are cooking both in the liquid and from the liquid vapors.
that meal looks so gourmet!
That dinner looks absolutely amazing. I always cringe when I see the price of scallops too, but you’re totally right that if you compare it to a restaurant meal price it’s still a win.
Your photography continues to amaze me! 🙂 The scallops look awesome- I wish I was adventurous enough to try something like that in the kitchen! Thanks for the updates on the bakery- exciting events on the horizon for you both!
Ha ha, even your landlords are cute and wholesome-looking. What kind of world do you live in? 😉
I’ve never made scallops at home before but this recipe looks fantastic!!
Hope you’re having a lovely Sunday.
Catching up on your weekend posts and had to stop by to say this looks AMAZING! And well-deserved after all your hard work 🙂