Make It My Own Scallops

So the recipe is call "Seared Scallops with Pancetta over Avocado and Wasabi." It actually sounds wonderful and if I was in a restaurant I'd order it. However the Swan household is not a restaurant and we don't strive to cook like one. There are two things I'm considering as and shop and make this meal: 1. How much does this cost and 2. Is this easy enough for me.

So this recipe became Seared Scallops with Charred Thick Cut Apple Wood Smoked Bacon over Guacamole Sauce. I got the scallops at Central Market. There were on special, but 4 jumbo scallops costs a little over $14. I looked over the pancetta, but it seemed so delicate and too expensive for any possible mistakes.

Yesterday I had lunch with a friend and mentioned I was trying this recipe and she said bacon sounded better than pancetta. I love bacon, so I went with that instead.

When I was growing up my Granddaddy was a big cook and he charred everything. Even the crispy charred bits of anything he made tasted like his love. I especially remember his crispy bacon. That's what I was going for but Carl thought it looked burned and it did. Even though the bacon was a little blackened it still tasted pretty good. Since I hadn't splurged on pancetta I could afford to toss out the first batch of bacon and start over, but I decided to go with my charred version.

The recipe called for fresh avocados and wasabi for the foundation sauce. I didn't want to half avocados and go to that much trouble, so instead I have a couple of Wholly Guacamole 100 calorie packs (Chloe loves guacamole) and I added lemon juice to that to thin it out a bit and used it as our base sauce.

Then I simply seared our scallops and dinner was done.

I've reluctantly included a picture. Since I used to be part of a team that shoots food photography I know this isn't the most appetizing shot, but it did taste good. I probably will make it again, the only change is I might try to add the wasabi to the guacamole. I'd call this dinner a success, but not an everyday meal.