Pan Seared Scallops With a Bacon Cream Sauce

This recipe was found on an amazing foodie blog I follow called “Cake N’ Knife“. Meghan who is behind it all focuses on seriously delicious recipes, and what I love about her is that she doesn’t hide behind a calorie count. Sometimes you just have to say screw it, I am eating this delicious dish with all the bacon and heavy cream… which is exactly what I did when I followed her recipe, and I have absolutely no regrets! 🙂

This recipe is relatively simple, since the sauce is basic and the scallops cook quickly. Though I can’t claim credit for coming up with the recipe, my husband has added it to his “Reasons Why My Wife is a Keeper” list since he loved it so much. If this isn’t enough to convince you to give it a try, I will leave you with this: BACON.

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 T butter
1 C heavy cream
1/2 C Parmesan, freshly grated
1/2 t olive oil
6 large scallops
Salt & pepper
Garlic Powder
Chopped chives for garnish

Directions:

In a medium skillet, cook your chopped bacon. With a slotted spoon, remove the cooked bacon from the pan and place aside. I would use a plate with a paper towel beneath to soak up extra grease.

In the same skillet with your remaining bacon grease, add your butter and allow it to melt. Then toss in your heavy cream and cheese. Bring the mixture to a low simmer over medium heat and reduce by half. Stir occasionally to keep it from burning to the bottom of your pan. Add the cooked bacon bits, and season lightly with salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat to low just to keep warm while you prepare your scallops.

Scallops are tricky since they can easily be overcooked. The trick is to get a nice sear on either side, and that is it!

In a separate skillet, heat your olive oil on medium/high to prepare to sear (don’t get it so hot that you burn your oil). Lightly season your scallops with a dusting of salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then place them in the pan. Sear until golden brown then flip and do the same on the other side (approx. 1 minute per side).

Plate your sauce first, then place the cooked scallops on top. Garnish with your chopped chives. I served this up with a side of homemade focaccia bread (will blog this recipe later too 🙂 so that we were sure to get every last drop of that delicious sauce!

I hope you all enjoy this, and be sure to head over to Cake N’ Knife to check out more of Meghan’s amazing recipes!

X.O. Abbey Co.