Table for One

One of my most favorite food items is the fat little sea scallop. Sweet and mild, but still flavorful and delicious - perfect just as they are - scallops are a treat in our house. Scallops are also pretty expensive . . . Or they can be expensive. I picked up a bit less than a third of a pound for lil' ol' me and paid just over three dollars!

But the rub . . . the rub is that the little-over three-dollar pricetag increases greatly when Our Hero's appetite is factored into the equation. Maybe one day scallops can be a more frequent meal, for now it's an affordable treat for me when Our Hero's out of town. Like yesterday night.

All alone in the apartment, I drowned my sorrows (okay, not really) in a plate of scallops, a phone call to A, a glass of wine, and classic Robert Redford. (Sidenote: If only senators actually looked like him . . . I can imagine what it'd do to C-SPAN's ratings.)

A was saying she wasn't sure how to cook scallops, so I'll offer a brief guide. They are quite simple. Make sure you pat them dry with paper towels before cooking them. This ensures you'll get a nice brown sear. Heat a bit of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and add scallops. They only need to cook about 2-3 minutes per side. It's important not to overcook them - scallops lose their delicate charm when they're chewy. And that's it. Done.

In this case, I set the cooked scallops to the side and added about a third of a chopped red onion to the pan. I then deglazed the pan with a bit of water, which released all of the crusty bits in the bottom of my pan (you'll get more crusty bits if you forsake nonstick, but either will work fine). I sauteed the onion for a short while, added about a cup or so of broccoli cut into small florets. I let that cook a few minutes, and added a handful of halved grape tomatoes. Once these softened, I removed the pan from the heat and squeezed a half of a lemon onto the veggies. I topped the mixture with a couple of tablespoons of crumbled feta. I must say, I enjoyed it immensely.