Scallops and Kielbasa with pan sauce

Paired well with a not-too-sweet Riesling.

Watching Josh sear the scallops, I had a sudden urge to yell at him in a British accent, "RAW!!" (So, I did.) I love watching Gordon Ramsey terrorize young chefs on Hell's Kitchen.

However, Josh was not fazed by my antics, and his scallops would have definitely stood up to Chef Ramsey. He always does our green beans, by the way. They are so simple: blanched for a couple of minutes, then warmed in butter. But, somehow I almost always manage to over or under cook them. Maybe they just taste better when somebody else makes them. I'd sure hate to think I can't cook green beans. 

Moving on... This was a random Thursday treat for us last week, and it surprised me in more ways than one. First, after several days of rain, several nights of a teething one year old, for whom the only way to end her 2 AM screaming fit was to allow her to flop endlessly about between her (exhausted) mother and father, plus a necessarily hectic first week back to school... it made me really, Really happy. Less tired, more... Happy. It's wonderful what a plate of good food can do. 

Second, the kielbasa! Who knew? Maybe it's been done... Yeah, it probably has, but I've never seen it: Scallops and Kielbasa. Awesome. The contrasting textures, sweet pan sauce, slightly spicy sausage. (Is this contrast thing becoming a theme in my recipes?) I totally wanted to bottle this pan sauce and eat it on everything for the next week, but it was especially tasty on the green beans. 

Ingredients

12 fresh sea scallops

1/2 lb. cooked kielbasa

1/2 c. dry white wine

2 Tbsp. shallots

3-4 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. olive oil

kosher salt

pepper

In a large, medium-high pan, heat one Tbsp. olive oil and one Tbsp. butter. Just as fat begins to smoke, add scallops and dust with a pinch of kosher salt and pepper. Don't move the scallops around in the pan! Cook 3-4 minutes or until about 1/4'' browned up the side. Flip and cook another 3-4 minutes.

Remove pan from heat, and set scallops aside. Add one Tbsp. butter to pan and return to medium heat. Add shallots and cook until translucent, 4-6 minutes. Add wine and remaining 1-2 Tbsp. butter in generous chunks. Stir occasionally until sauce is desired thickness.

Serve each scallop on top of thin slice of kielbasa, drizzle with sauce. Serves 4.

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