As long as we keep posting, it'll stay active, and hopefully busy.<br><br>I'll start it off with a recipe that's a combo between my ideas (the scallops) and my Mom's (the onions):<hr height=3 width= 87%>Honey Onions and Braised Scallops with Lemon and Ginger<br><br>2 lb [1 kg] Onions, peeled and sliced<br>2/3 cup [160 ml] butter<br>2/3 cup [160 ml] honey<br><br>Place sliced onions in a large shallow baking dish. Melt butter and honey in a small sauce pan, low heat, whisking till smooth and easily pourable. Drizzle evenly over the onions. Bake in preheated 350°F [175°C] oven—basting regularly—until golden brown, about 45 minutes to an hour.<br>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>While onions are baking (time the cooking of scallops to finish at same time as onions):<br><br>1 lb [500 gm] Sea Scallops (the 1.5 inch/35 mm size), rinsed, drained and patted dry with paper towels<br>2 Tbsp [30 ml] Olive Oil<br>1 Tbsp [15 ml] Butter<br>2 Tbsp [20 ml] fresh lemon juice<br>¼ cup [40 cc] fresh green onion (scallion) minced finely.<br>1 tsp [3.5 cc] ground ginger, fresh ground is best<br>Salt and and fresh-milled black pepper, to taste<br><br>In a measuring cup, combine lemon juice, ginger, scallion, salt and pepper. Keep nearby.<br><br>In a large skillet frying pan (I prefer my old, seasoned cast iron) heat pan over medium-high heat until a drop of water dances and evaporates. Turn down to medium-low and add olive oil and butter. Heat until it starts smoking just a little bit. Carefully place scallops into pan, in one layer. Very lightly brown one side, moving them about the pan when they start to firm up for even heating, lift with tongs to check the undersides. When just slightly browned, turn scallops over and brown the same amount. This whole process of cooking and lightly browning the scallops on both sides should only take about 4-5 minutes, tops.<br><br>While the second side of the scallops are browning, use bulb baster to extract about 1/4 cup [60 ml] of honey/lemon mixture from the dish the onions are baking in and combine with the lemon/ginger/scallion mixture in the measuring cup. Brush mixture over top of scallops, when second side of scallops are lightly browned, flip over again brush more of the mixture. After about 30 seconds, remove from heat, and then immediately transfer scallops to a heated dish. It's very important to not over cook the scallops or they'll become tough.<br><br>At this point, if your timing is good, the onions should also be done to a nice golden brown, caramelized nicely.<br><br>Serve scallops on a bed of the honey onions, garnish with thin orange slices and spicy radish curlicues. <br><br>

Scallops ~ what a classy way to start. I swear, the aroma suggested by your recipe is so dreamy. We're lucky, like anybody living near a coast, to have pretty sure access to fresh scallops. I'm partial to the huge "diver" vaiety.<br><br>It's really important, novice scallop chefs, not to overcook these babies. Sparky's technique should give you a beautiful browned "outside," while the interior is ideally firm, yet almost creamy. <br><br>I've got a recipe for King Ranch Chicken. It makes the kitchen smell delicious, it's beautiful a serve and it puts folks into a good mood food coma. Texas Soul Food in a cassarole dish.<br><br><br><br><br><br>[color:blue]I always deserve it. Really.</font color=blue><br><br>

I love scallops. Thanks!<br><br>&#63743; &#63743; &#63743; &#63743;

Any time you're ready to post that King Ranch Chicken recipe, Lea, I'm ready with the Command + A,C,V!<br><br>And if anybody tries the Scallops & Onions, lets us know what you think!<br><br>Pictures, Carp! <br><br>

And for dessert:<br><br>ADVOCAAT (DUTCH EGGNOG)<br> <br> Serving Size : 12<br> <br> Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method<br> -------- ------------ --------------------------------<br> 10 Eggs<br> 1/2 Level teaspoon salt<br> 275 g Sugar<br> 4 dl Cognac - dl = half litre<br> 1 1/2 level teaspoons vanilla<br> -essence (extract, I think)<br> <br> Separate the eggs and beat the yolks with the salt and the sugar, until the<br> mixture is thick and creamy. Beat in the cognac, very slowly and put the<br> mixture into a double saucepan. Heat gently, whisking all the time until<br> the advocaat is warm (not hot) and thick. Remove the pan from the heat and<br> stir in the vanilla essence. Pour into a jug. Advocaat is served in a glass<br> and eaten with a teaspoon. It can also be topped with whipped cream.<br><br>Sorry about the mix of measuring formats; it's a conundrum. <br><br>- alec -

Not a big fan of Egg Nog, but maybe I could just have one of those bottles of Cognac, and maybe you could pack in a few Cohibas when you send the package, right?<br><br>

Oops! Apologies for the inconsistency in measurement conversions between Tbsp & ml in the scallop's butter & lemon juice quantities.<br><br>2 US Tablespoons = 29.6 (30) ml.<br><br><br><br>

I often wonder if the authors of some recipes mix up the measures to mess with our heads!?! <br><br>- alec -

I had a "friend" (ahem) who did that on purpose. She was a fantastic cook, always willing to share a recipe. It took the rest of us a couple of years to figure it out that not one of us could duplicate any of her dishes from her written recipes.<br><br>She wasn't dyslexic either, she taught HS. I never really liked her anyway.<br><br><br><br><br><br>[color:blue]I always deserve it. Really.</font color=blue><br><br>

I think I'll try that eggnog at Christmas time. Sounds yummy!!!<br><br>Only one problem.... Serving size : 12 ..... tasters : 1<br><br>Oh well, it's okay to get a bit blotto from time to time. <br><br>