Baked Scallops

One of my favorite things to order at a seafood restaurant is scallops.  When they're cooked just right they are slightly sweet and melt in your mouth.  Our local grocery store had a big seafood sale recently and I bought some baby bay scallops.  I've never cooked scallops before and was worried about ruining them.  When I found a highly rated recipe for Baked Scallops on Allrecipes.com, I decided it was time to give it a try.

Ingredients (printable recipe)

5 1/2 Tablespoons butter, melted

4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

2 lbs. bay scallops, rinsed, drained and patted dry

3/4 cup dry bread crumbs

1 1/2 teaspoon minced onion

1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika or regular paprika

3/4 teaspoon dried parsley

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

fresh lemon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Melt butter and minced garlic cloves together in a 3 qt. or 9x13 casserole dish in a preheated oven (it takes about 3 mins). Add scallops and distribute evenly with the butter inside the dish.

3. Combine the bread crumbs, minced onion, garlic powder, paprika, parsley, and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle this mixture over the scallops.

4. Bake scallops in pre-heated oven for 15 mins. Finish under the broiler for about 5-6 mins.  Eat them with a sprinkle of lemon juice.

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Here it is, right out of the oven.  I only used a little more than half of the breadcrumb mixture.  Next time, I will adjust the recipe and make less.

The Results...
Did I ruin the scallops?  I did not!  I didn't realize how small "baby" bay scallops are.  Next time I will try a larger scallop.  This recipe was quite simple and the scallops turned out tender.  The garlicky, butter sauce and seasoned bread crumbs complimented the scallops well.  A sprinkle of fresh lemon juice added a nice tanginess, too.  My husband doesn't really like scallops, but the rest of us do.  We decided this was a 3 1/2 star recipe.  Not bad for my first try!