Today's Lesson in Cookery

If you buy fresh cilantro, for god's sake, do yourself a favor and buy a lime. Nearly everything you make with cilantro will be just a tiny bit better with lime.

Did I learn this lesson in time? No. Did I still manage to nearly break myself on delicious food? Yes. Did I step away from my dinner ecstatic? Yes. Do I wish I had a lime anyway? Yes.

Seriously, I am still reeling. Well, that might be the wine, but it was a damn good recipe, Oven Fried Sea Scallops with Cilantro White Wine Drizzle, and excessively easy and quick. Here is what I did (for my imaginary reader ;)):

The old red and white Good Housekeeping Cookbook turned me on to this "oven frying" thing. I had never heard of it, but since my broiler is broken, I was game. Plus, who doesn't love breading? You can do this for prepared fish or shellfish. First, lightly bread your scallops. I didn't use any sort of bonding step like milk or egg, just a quick roll in some breadcrumbs. Arrange them in a very well greased pan. Drizzle a little oil over the tops, and pop them in a 500 degree oven for 10 to 15 min. No turning or basting needed.

My local veggie stand has been taunting me lately with fresh cilantro for 50c/bunch, and since it was right by the fish market, I decided to pick some up and figure out what to do with it later. A little Google research gave me this idea, but not the recipe (mostly it just convinced me to add the wine). While the scallops were sizzling away, melted 1T butter in a small sauce pan, and sauteed about 1T each of diced garlic and scallions until they were soft. Then I added a handful of the cilantro, slightly chopped, just to bruise it really, and let the whole thing cook for a few more minutes. (What with all the chopping, the scallops were getting on towards done.) Once the cilantro had wilted a little, I poured in just a splash (enough to cover the bottom of the pan) of white wine, and turned up the heat to cook off the alcohol.

The scallops at 12 min had just started to brown their tops, and I popped them out and spooned the sauce mixture over them. It was fabulous. The only thing I would change was having a fresh lime wedge to squeeze over the whole thing.

Also, oh imaginary reader, If you try this at home, know that I only did 6 scallops, just enough for me, so if you're cooking for more then one, multiply the sauce recipe accordingly.

And this concludes Today's Lesson in Cookery. We now return you to your regularly uneventful blog.