Seared Scallops + All Hearts Salad + Brown Rice {valentine's}

I know I know I know.  Not everyone celebrate's Valentine's day.  

BUT ALSO not everyone celebrates lots of holidays, but holiday food is still fun.  

I got a request a looooong time ago from a reader wanting a scallop recipe, and I hemmed and hawed because they're SO delicious but also SO expensive, and if there was ever a time to throw down for fun/expensive ingredients it'd be a holiday, right?

Still cheaper than going out.  Way cheaper. 

So, scallops it is.  Or was.  For our first Valentine's day which took place three weeks ago because blogging. I made a super duper simple salad with hearts of things to be really cheesy (we all remember the lovebirds from last year, right?  I'm not sorry), and then seared some scallops and made the fastest pan sauce ever.  The great thing about scallops is that if you like them, you hardly have to do ANYTHING to them because they're so perfect on their own. 

This meal also takes like 20 minutes so....seriously.  More time for gushy Valentine's stuff.  Or in our case, family business meetings because we never see each other except for in passing, but whatevs.  

Let's cook.  Enough chatter.  We're making salad, scallops, and rice if you'd like.  Start the rice first, then do the salad while the scallop pan preheats, then sear the scallops very last.  So simple.  For the salad, you need hearts of things!  Or really, anything you'd like to create a light salad.  I used artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, romaine hearts, and some seasonings:  almonds, olive oil, salt, and crushed red pepper.  Couldn't be easier!  If you're not into canned heart things (Jay isn't, sorry dude), you can add any veggies you like and a squeeze of lemon juice for some acidity.  

First, let's toast the almonds.  Add them to a dry skillet over medium heat. 

Shake the almonds for a few minutes in the pan until they just start to turn golden, then remove them from the heat. 

Drain any canned items you're using on paper towels. 

And chop the lettuce!

Add all the items to a bowl, and drizzle lightly with the olive oil.  

Sprinkle on some salt and crushed red pepper, too - I love adding heat to really mild flavors.  

Toss the salad all together and taste - add more salt if you think it needs it.  

Now, this is a LOVELY salad on it's own, but let's grab some scallops and cook them, too!  Preheat a skillet to medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes.  I actually toasted the almonds, then removed them from the skillet, then left the skillet on the stovetop while I made the salad so it'd be REALLY hot when I was ready to use it.  We want nice brown scallops.  For the scallops, you'll need large scallops, butter, white wine, and salt.  That's IT.  I have this lovely salt blend from my bff Heather, but regular old salt will do!

Add the butter to the pan, and let it melt and get foamy. 

When the butter foams, add the scallops to the pan - they should sizzle!  Let them SIT, and sprinkle them lightly with the salt.  

Let the scallops sear without touching them for 4-6 minutes until they flip easily - if they stick to the pan, let them cook for another minute or two until they release naturally from the pan.  

On the second side, do the same thing.  Cook the scallops until they remove from the pan, and yay!  Seared scallops. 

Now.  We have a lovely, gorgeous salad that can be eaten all on it's own. 

We also have seared scallops that can be added to the salad - what a pretty lunch. 

THEN THEN THEN, though, we can also add some rice to the plate and make a quick sauce for the scallops.  YES!  Let's do that!  To the pan you used to cook the scallops, add the wine - it should bubble and reduce almost immediately.  

Use a spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan to remove all the cooking bits from the scallops - basically we're using the butter, salt, and scallop flavor left in the pan to combine with the wine and make a lovely little drizzle.  When the wine thickens and reduces by about half, we've got ourselves a sauce!

I served this with brown rice, and look!  Small ramekin + cooking spray = rice mold. 

Just press the rice into the ramekin. 

And gently turn it onto a plate prepared with salad and scallops. 

Then drizzle the pan sauce over the rice and the scallops.  What what WHAT. 

This can be Valentine's day, friends!  It's super light, so easy, but the scallops add a nice special feeling, unless you're rich and eat scallops all the time in which case....nachos?  I got nothing. 

Enjoy this!  Even if not for V-day, maybe for....weekend?  Because FRIDAY.  Seriously.