Seafood for Dinner

The Foodie Boyfriend* wasn't over on Saturday,

so it seemed a perfect time to have

shrimp and scallops for dinner.

*Unfortunately,

the Foodie Boyfriend is allergic to shrimp.

The food is plated.

Seared bacon-wrapped scallops and

shrimp, some bacon-wrapped and some plain,

are drizzled with an Orange Whiskey Barbecue Sauce.

White rice, cooked and then mixed with a bit of

Half-and-Half and sugar,

is served with the seafood.

A fresh salad of Romaine lettuce,

sugar snap peas,

red onion

and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

accompany the meal.

I first peeled the shrimp

before wrapping the scallops and a few of the shrimp

with fully-cooked bacon,

securing with toothpicks.

In the meantime, the Foodie Daughter set to work

on the Orange Whiskey Barbecue Sauce.

She mixed the ingredients to taste -

a little of this,

a little of that -

until the sauce had the desired consistency

and taste.

When the rice was about 10 minutes from being finished

cooking, I got to work on the seafood.

As the scallops take longer to cook,

I started on them first.

A bit of olive oil in a hot pan,

some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

were the only seasonings.

Allow the scallops to brown,

developing their natural sugars.

This is called caramelization.

When they were just barely done

(and preferably just shy of that point),

I took them out of the pan and placed them

in a warm oven

before turning my attention to the shrimp.

Again, sea salt and black pepper seasoned the seafood.

The shrimp needed only a couple of minutes on the first side

and perhaps just a minute more on the second side.

Do not overcook seafood.

It will become dry and rubbery.

Definitely not good eats.

The scallops were cooked to perfection.

Remember, it is better for these to be just a bit underdone.

The sauce was light and flavorful.

The shrimp were divine,

although I really didn't think that the bacon

added all that much to the experience.

All in all, this was a very satisfying meal.

And that was good eats.