Easy Dinner: Scallops with Salad, Dutch Baby Pancake

Scallops, while expensive in the off season, make for a sure-fire quick dinner and are really delicious. Here’s how we did it up:

1. In a lukewarm (kosher) salt bath, let scallops soak for ten minutes (technique courtesy of Thomas Keller in Ad Hoc), then pat dry with paper towels, and salt/pepper
2. Meanwhile, fry a few strips of bacon, set aside to cool
3. In same pan as bacon, cook scallops on med-high heat, 4 minutes each side (let them cook a little longer if they aren’t caramelizing)
4. Meanwhile, toss a salad. We use the Organic Farms Italian Salad with Annie’s Goddess dressing, chopped up the forementioned bacon, added some herb croutons and grated blue cheese for the top.

And a SUPER easy dessert from (you guessed it) Molly Wizenberg: Dutch Baby Pancake. I overcooked by about 30 seconds, so keep your eye on that baby as the timer counts down. However, it was still so good…

Jimmy’s Dutch Baby Pancakes

Jimmy likes to make his babies in two 6-inch cast-iron skillets, but you can also make this recipe in a single 10- or 11-inch one.

For the pancakes:
4 Tbs unsalted butter (or, if you’d prefer to try it as we did with today’s happy butter accident, try using 6-8 tablespoons, and then do not add clarified butter when serving)
4 large eggs
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup half-and-half

For the topping:
4 oz clarified butter (or, if you’re not into clarifying, simple melted butter will do)
Juice of 1 lemon
Powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Divide the 4 Tbs butter between two 6-inch cast-iron skillets, and melt it over low heat.

In a blender, whir together the eggs, flour, and half-and-half.

Pour the batter into the skillets over the melted butter. Slide the skillets into the oven, and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove the puffed pancakes from the oven, transfer them to a plate or shallow bowl, and pour on clarified butter, sprinkle on lemon juice, and dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

Serves two.