Recipe of the Week! Pan Seared Scallops on Linguine

Our Recipe of the Week is a Recipe for TWO being the big Valentine's Day is coming! There's no need to go out to a fancy restaurant... in the cold... only to come home and resume all normal activities... I'm being prejudiced towards the scant few people left in my life who are SINGLE or don't have any kids yet! :) Not much going to the bar or staying out all night left in this girl!

My suggestion is the find a sitter for the kids AWAY from home and surprise your sweetie with a great meal you don't have to wait for. Followed of course, but some cuddling on the couch and well... other things depending on how long the kids are away! LOL! {Yes, I really just said that, but HEY!}

Anyway, here is a start for your romantic evening... If any of the men who might happen upon this website are like my husband... the first course, salad, can pretty much be eliminated. So we'll skip to the main course. Maybe I'll talk about dessert in another post, but just having a nice meal between 2 people with no other distractions can be nice all by itself!

**Now... If you're new to cooking scallops... I suggest going to your local grocer {since most of us don't have a local Fish Monger!} and asking specifically for the scallops. If they're fresh, even better, but if you must buy them frozen, either defrost them in the fridge which is the preferred method, or put them in a bag and run them under COLD water. Warm water will certainly thaw them faster, but also cook them and make them rubbery. Ick. Please take consideration of all the proper methods of defrosting, because when you're paying a little more for these tasty morsels... well... you want to make sure they're still tasty!
Pan Seared Scallops on Linguine... with a tomato cream sauce...

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
• 2/3 cup chopped seeded plum tomato
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups hot cooked linguine
• Cooking spray
• 3/4 pound large sea scallops
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Chopped cilantro

Preparation

Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium skillet; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 5 minutes). Drain mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, reserving liquid; discard solids.

Return wine mixture to skillet. Add cream; cook over medium heat 1 minute. Add butter, stirring until butter melts. Stir in tomato, 2 tablespoons cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Add linguine; toss well. Cover and keep warm.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Arrange scallops in pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Add scallops to pasta mixture; toss gently to combine. Garnish with cilantro, if desired