It’s Worth It To Challenge Yourself

For weeks I’ve been wanting to take the plunge in my cooking journey and attempt the challenge of cooking scallops. I found plenty of recipes, but just couldn’t pull the trigger. They’re certainly not cheap, so I wanted to find the “right” recipe for my first attempt, especially knowing that I would be reviewing it as well.

When writing these reviews I always want to be conscious of three things: Budget, Difficulty, and Flavor. I also want to continue to challenge myself, because that’s the beauty of it. Learning from each attempt and building our mental recipe cook. Have you done something this year that really challenged you?

Well, let’s get to it! Today’s review comes from Art and the Kitchen.

You can find the recipe right -> here!

You Don’t Need a Special Occasion To Treat Yourself

I think we can agree that 2020 has been stressful, to say the least. I find myself not looking for “special” occasions to make something a little bit more delectable. Sure, I’ll make these dishes during the weekend to have some more time, but you get what I’m talking about, right?

Make something delicious that you don’t often make because you want to. That’s a special occasion all on its own–treat your tastebuds to deliciousness!

Prep, Prep, PREP!

I absolutely cannot stress this enough. This recipe needs all of your ingredients measured out, chopped, sliced, and separated by step. One of my best recommendations is to read the recipe many times before making it. Not just when you’re actively cooking. Anticipate each step because you may often find yourself re-reading a step and your scallops develop a darker crust than you wanted. Yikes! But if you have everything prepared ahead of turning on the stove, then it will be smooth sailing.

Any time I make something new, I like to really become familiar with it. This recipe, especially, as I’ve never made anything like this before.

Not only is it important to know which steps to take while cooking, but also to understand the timing of each step. Recipes are like symphonies.

In this recipe you want to start cooking the bacon first. You should then start cooking your scallops as well, but place them in the oven once they are ready in order to keep warm, but not overcooked. I kept my temperature low, but warm. About 250 F. As the bacon begins to crisp up, add the green onions and shallot, then the garlic. While that is cooking you should be cooking your pasta. I used fresh egg linguine, so it only took 2-3 minutes to cook from boiling.

As you can see above, it’s all very timed in order for everything to come out all at once. You don’t want anything going cold, especially the pasta which will need to be hot when the cream mixture is added so the eggs can cook. See? It’s like a symphony, each step and ingredient plays an important part to finally end up with a delicious plate.

Grey’s Grade: 5/5

One of the best parts of cooking is being able to learn something new and see your hard work pay off in the final plating. I’ve never made scallops before, but I bit the bullet and finally tried. This recipe explains the steps extremely well, so each attempt will end up being delicious. Have faith in your skill, this recipe, and treat yourself.

As I mentioned, scallops may not be cheap, but they certainly are worth paying a good price for. Go for fresh, if possible. I ended up getting our scallops at Whole Foods. 12 for about 21 USD. The rest of the ingredients certainly fit my more standard budget, which keeps this recipe reasonably affordable for a weekend dinner.

Overall this recipe came together very quickly, especially since everything was prepped. The instructions were clear and the meal came out delicious. I’d highly recommend this recipe to those who are looking to jazz up their seafood game. This recipe is a real winner.

Art and the Kitchen, you get a full 5/5 from me!

Check Out My Reviews

• Guilt-Free Oven “Fried” Chicken
• Delicious Creamy Spinach Stuffed Salmon
• Spruce Up Your Pasta Night! Orecchiette With Broccoli Sauce!

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