Recipe Review

Recipe Review
Bay Scallop Gratin
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

It's rare that I watch any actual cooking shows on Food Network these days. I'm way more into the reality TV shows. One day while watching Barefoot Contessa (I was likely cleaning my room, or something) I saw her make this scallop dish that looked amazing, and simple! I thought I'd give it a try.

Now I'm all about saving a few bucks in my homemade dinners. This recipe calls for Prosciutto di Parma. I used cooked bacon. It also calls for Pernod. I don't even know what that is, so I left it out.
:)

I blended all the ingredients it called for.


Then I folded in the panko breadcrums.


I used these oven-safe bowls that I have (not a gratin dish. Oh well.) I poured some white wine in the bottom and topped the scallops (four per bowl) with the butter mixture (above).

It was a lot more food than it looks. Four scallops really filled me up. I didn't buy french bread at the store. Instead, I just toasted in the over some sliced wheat bread we have in our cabinet that we use for sandwiches.

So, uh, I think I over-cooked the scallops. Oops!

Otherwise, the topping was really good, and went great with the toasted bread. R gave the topping a 4 rating. Suggested next time we cook the topping separately, pan sear the scallops, then combine, rather than cooking all together in the oven. Noted.

As a whole dish, over-cooked scallops and all:

Girl likeability - 3

Boy likeability - 2.5

Ease of preparation - 4 (surprisingly easy for an Ina Garten recipe!)

Score - 3: Buffet-style. Could easily make this in large serving. If you use small scallops, would be great for a one-bite dish. I could go back for more.