The trick to cooking delicious scallops

I am a big fan of Sam the Cooking Guy. If you are a local in San Diego, you surely have seen his television show. He is entertaining and funny, and he shows us how to cook with simple ingredients and make tasty but uncomplicated dishes using ingredients we already have or can easily get.

The other night I turned on the show and caught most of a segment in which he is preparing scallops. I guess I tuned in a little late, because I didn't know they were Ginger Scallops. I saw all the other ingredients and already had them at home, so I planned to make the dish for dinner. When I got ready to start and actually looked up the recipe, I realized that the recipe was for Ginger Scallops. Naturally, ginger is a key ingredient in the Ginger Scallops recipe...imagine that. No problem - I would just wing it and substitute the ginger. Truth be told, I rarely follow recipes. I am a southern girl and I learned to cook mostly from my mama. When my mama cooks, the measurements consist of "a pinch", "a smidge", "a dab" or even "a pretty good amount" of something. So following recipes has never been a priority for me. I use recipes as guidelines and then experiment. Sure, once in a while the dish comes out disappointing, but that's rare. And experimenting is just part of the adventure.

So I made the recipe using a teriyaki baste/marinade, just a dash :-) and they turned out beautifully. I haven't attempted to cook scallops often, and in the past, I have sautéed them in olive oil, butter, lemon, wine or whatever else I could think of. That was definitely not the way to cook scallops. The trick, I have now learned, is to get your pan very hot and simply sear them on either side in a little olive oil. They come out beautifully browned and taste as good as (and sometimes better) those in restaurants where I order them. You can add other ingredients about a minute before taking them off the stove. Oh, and Sam the Cooking Guy's other tip for scallops is hugely important. Don't overcook them! 1 or 2 minutes on each side does the trick. I served the scallops with a variation of Pasta with Clear Sauce (another Sam recipe) and a glass of refreshing Fumé Blanc.

Sam the Cooking Guy's Ginger Scallops recipe http://thecookingguy.com/cookbook/recipe.php?id=318