Scallops with Spaghetti Recipe

Seafood and pasta belong together, and my Scallops and Spaghetti is a tasty combo. It's a simple recipe made with sauteed Scallops in butter over tender Spaghetti with the addition of a little shaved Parmesan.

This recipe comes together in the length of time it takes to boil Spaghetti. 

Spaghetti is still cheap. I even find Parmesan at Dollar Tree. Of course, $1.50 containers of Parmesan doesn't quite compare to fresh, shaved Parmesan, but I always keep some cheap Parmesan when I run out of the good stuff, or my bank account is low.

I was lucky to see nice, big, plump Scallops for half price at my local chain grocer, Ralphs, in the seafood refrigerated case. 

As usual, when I buy any seafood or other protein on sale, close to the expiration date, it will go right into the freezer, or I will cook with it within a day or two, at the most. 

With seafood, I always give it the sniff test for a foul odor. You can always cook a small piece for a final taste test. 

The trick to this recipe is to saute one side of the scallops for about 3 to 5 minutes until charred and carmelized, then quickly saute the other side for just a minute, or until desired doneness. 

If you carmelize both sides, the Scallop may dry out. There is nothing tasty about a rubbery Sacllop! I also cook my burgers and steaks this way, too.

You will know when the sauteeing Scallops are done by watching the moisture from the Scallops turn brown. That is the time to turn the Scallops for a quick saute on the uncooked side.

Try not to overcook seafood. I turn the Scallops while the topside is still raw. Small Bay Scallops will cook faster.

I cooked the Scallops over a medium, low heat. 

I leave out salt and pepper because I like the sweetness of a Scallop to come through as the main flavor. Of course, add salt and pepper if you like.  

If you are using a pan without a non-stick surface, the Scallop may stick to the pan, so a spatula or knife is needed to free the Scallop. Try not to scrape off the caramelized surface of the Scallop, it holds a lot of flavor, plus it looks cooler that way

Dried Spaghetti boils tender in about 8 minutes, on average. Read the package directions since different pasta brands' cooking times may vary slightly.

For al dente, or pasta with a slight chew, shorten the time by a minute or so. I always pull out a strand and give it a taste test.

Make sure to stir boiling pasta to keep it from sticking together. I don't add salt to the water, but you can. Reserve a cup of pasta water to add when finishing up the recipe. Pasta tends to dry quickly. Pasta water will make a creamy sauce when mixed into the Spaghetti and shaved Parmesan cheese.

I made a sauce with Parmesan Cheese, but you can leave it out - keeping it simple.

Sometimes I like a recipe simply done, like Scallops & Spaghetti.

Scallops & Spaghetti Recipe - Video             Play it here, video runs 3 minutes, 47 seconds

Ingredients

Scallops - I sauteed large scallops. Small Bay Scallops will cook faster.

Cooking Oil - 1 tablespoon of any favorite oil. I like Olive Oil.

Spaghetti - I used a 1/2 package of dried spaghetti. You could add more spaghetti.

Parmesan Cheese - optional. I shaved a 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Okay to add more. You can leave it out, as well.

Water - Enough to cover the spaghetti. Usually, 6 cups of water to start. Add more water if you add more Spaghetti.

Directions

Add 6 cups of water to a pot and bring it to a boil over high heat.

In a frying pan over medium/low heat, add a tablespoon of oil. Add raw Scallops.

I leave out salt and pepper for this recipe because I want to have the Scallops at their maximum sweetness, and any more seasoning gets in the way.

It's fine if you like salt and pepper, plus any favorite Italian herbs.

Allow the Scallops to cook without moving them. This will give the surface of cooking Scallops a caramelized surface. 

I like to cook one side for about 3 to 5 minutes until the butter browns, which means the Scallop surface is browned, too. 

For a pan without a non-stick surface, you may need to loosen the Scallops with a spatula or a knife. Try not to scrape away the caramelized surface of the Scallop - that's a lot of flavor in the browned bits, and it looks cooler on the finished plating.

Loosen the Scallop and turn over to cook for another minute, or until the Scallop reaches the desired doneness. Remove the caramelized Scallops when done. Hopefully, the Scallops and Spaghetti are ready about the same time. It's easy enough to reheat either.

While cooking the Scallops, bring a pot of water to a boil and add the dried Spaghetti.

As the Spaghetti softens, stir it so it does not clump and stick together. Follow the Spaghetti cooking directions. Usually, dried pasta takes 8 minutes or so.

For al dente, reduce cooking time by a minute or more. I take a strand of spaghetti out of the pot after 6 minutes and give it a chew test. Slightly soft, with a little chew, is fine. The spaghetti will continue to soften when added to the warm saute pan with the Scallops and some pasta water.

Finally, reduce the heat to the lowest setting.

When Spaghetti and Scallops are done, add half a cup of hot pasta water to the saute pan and scrape loose the caramelized scallop bits stuck to the pan. There is a lot of flavor in the Scallop bits. 

Turn off the heat.

Add the cooked Spaghetti to the pan, and sprinkle on the shaved Parmesan cheese. Mix well so the Parmesan creates a creamy sauce. Okay to add more pasta water if the Spaghetti soaks up too much.

It's okay to leave out the Parmesan Cheese completely - it's a delicious dish with or without cheese. 

The trick of a creamy Parmesan sauce is all in the pasta temperature. The pasta and cheese should not be boiling, just warm, or the cheese will turn into stringy cheese. So stir vigorously as the Parmesan melts and creates a cream. Again, add more pasta water if the sauce dries out too much. 

You can mix in the cooked Scallops, or serve them charred side up, on top of the Spaghetti.

Texas Barbecue in DFW International Airport

What is there to do at DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas) when your flight is cancelled, and the first available flight is the next day? 

When my wife, Linda, and I had hours to fill, the search was on for authentic Texas Barbecue in the many airport terminals.

We were stuck in Terminal C, near gate 22. I parked us at a table with AC power plugs so I could while away the hours on my laptop computer working on my 99 Cent Chef YouTube videos and Blog Posts.

Click on any photo to see larger.

Thanks to Linda's persistence online and phone calls with our airline, she wrangled two $12 meal vouchers and a hotel voucher for our overnight stay nearby. 

She out-cheap$kated me!

We stayed overnight at airport-adjacent Comfort Suites - I had a Texas Waffle for breakfast.

Back to DFW, the hunt was on for Texas Barbecue when pangs of hunger hit. I found a Bánh Mì restaurant counter where Linda ordered a Bánh Mì Vietnamese Salad with Tofu. I kept going, sniffing the air for the tell-tale aroma of hickory smoke. 

I hit the jackpot when I saw the Dickey's Barbecue Pit sign - look no further! 

Go to the counter to order. The barbecue will be waiting for you by the cash register before you get your credit card back. I'm sure they smoke the meats off-site and bring it in. 

The thing about Texas Barbecue is that it's ready to eat after hours of slow-cooking over smoky hickory coals. The meat stays moist, wrapped up then reheated. A whole beef brisket is smoked, then sliced or chopped to order. 

I spent a few of my younger years in Texas and have indulged in many slices of smoky, lean, tender, and moist Barbecue Beef Brisket. I like the Barbecue Sliced Brisket piled high in a hamburger bun smeared with tangy barbecue sauce, sliced raw onion, and pickle. 

For a heaping full-on order, tackle the 1, 2, or 3 Meat Plates with 2 Sides, and Texas Toast. Similar to a Prime Rib station, all that's left is slicing the whole brisket, then adding the sides.

I skipped the $18 tap beer at the bar nearby, and used the airline $12 voucher on a 2-meat plate of Sliced Beef Brisket and 2 Pork Ribs. My 2 Sides were Green Beans with Bacon and Mac & Cheese. Barbecue can be expensive, but worth it. My $12 Voucher saved the day - 99 thanks, Linda!!

The Pork Ribs are not as meaty as larger beef ribs, but they were tender with plenty of smoky flavor.

The thickly Sliced Barbecue Brisket had a thin, red, tender rind between the seasoned, crisp, dark outer bark and succulent lean beef.

This is a real Texas-style Barbecue Brisket restaurant oasis, slotted into a cacophonous airport.

The sides are almost beside the point, but a tasty distraction.

I selected the Signature BBQ Sauce, which is sweet and tomatoey tart.

The Mac and Cheese would be better with a baked-on crust of cheddar. The cheese sauce was creamy, the macaroni tender. A fine Mac & Cheese similar to any fast food joint like KFC.

My small side of Green Beans with Bacon was missing bacon - I did detect a couple of small pieces, but the flavor of bacon grease was there. The Green Beans were tender and smoky. Quite tasty.

A thick slice of white bread, Texas Toast, served its purpose of sopping up any leftover beef juices, barbecue sauce, green beans juices, and yummy streaks of mac & cheese.

 

If you are going to be stranded in an airport, DFW is the one! Moist, smoky, lean Beef Brisket from Dicky's is amazingly delicious, even in a busy airport setting.

I would hop the airport Skylink tram no matter what terminal you are in. The tram is quick, so head to Terminal C and about Gate 6. Look on the restaurants/shopping side for the signage of Dickey's Barbecue Pit. You will see the long bar, then look for the food display counter to order.

Dickey's Barbecue Pit has 2 locations in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport: Terminal C near Gate C6, and Terminal E near Gate E27.

Skylink trams are on the upper level for fast transport to all Terminals. 

Airport Address: 2400 Aviation Drive, DFW Airport, TX 75261

Dickey's Phone Number: (972) 973-4799

Website: www.dickeys.com

Hours: Monday thru Sunday 5 AM–10 PM

🍩 National Donut Day - Videos

I've died and gone to Donut Heaven because it's National Donut Day! Check out your local Donut purveyors for any deals and specials on this holey day!!

From the Donut Man at the edge of L.A. County in Glendora to my local donut shop Krispy Kreme, right down the road, or a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean, is DK's in Santa Monica -- let's check out the donut scene here around Los Angeles.

For a couple of summer months, my fave donut is from Donut Man, and my considerate neighbor drives out to Glendora once a year to bring back a few boxes for our condo complex. But now we can get them in Downtown Los Angeles in the Grand Central Market.

On my sister, Denise's, last visit here, we had Strawberry Donuts. Man, are they huge. You have to eat a few strawberries before you can fit the pastry in your mouth.

And each donut is huge, loaded with freshly peeled and sliced peaches swimming in a sweet syrup. At $7.50 per donut, these are not cheap, but each one weighs 3/4 of a pound, and last time I counted, there were 10 peach slices per donut. And the pastry donut part is humongous as well.

The pastry is yeast-style, so it's light, airy, and has a sweet sugar glaze. 

For a neighborhood dunker, I've been going to DK's Donuts in Santa Monica lately. It's on the way to one of my favorite movie theaters, the Aero, where I've been known to make a homebound late-night stop. 

They are located in a mini-mall, of course, and in the alley behind the store is an angel wings/donut halo mural pictured at the top of this blog post. So go there for your own Instagram donut-halo selfie.

And they have the most picture-perfect donuts around. Exhibit A is their Original Ube Purple Yam Donut. It looks unusual, but it tastes like any regular donut. 

It's a heavy, sweet donut. The purple color is from a Japanese yam, but the donut doesn't taste like a yam. Most of DK's donuts are $3 each.

Their next standout donut is worthy of a pot of gold, the most colorful Rainbow Donut.

But the prettiest donut in town is right there as well, an Edible Flower Donut, made with a mild-tasting orchid flower.

My go-to local pastry is a Krispy Kreme Doughnut. They're so good I had to learn how to make my own, and just watch the next video below, and you will learn too.

What is it about a Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut? Crusted with sugar, Krispy Kreme doughnuts are so soft, slight, and featherweight that you are left wanting more -- all for about a buck apiece.

Get a free Krispy Kreme Doughnut on National Doughnut Day

When I first had them, I was reminded of powdered beignets from Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Both are made with a yeast-risen dough, and, in fact, the original recipe for Krispy Kreme was purchased from a New Orleans French pastry chef over 70 years ago.

The ingredients for this East Coast confection are simple and inexpensive: yeast, flour, sugar, milk, one egg, and vanilla flavoring. Krispy Kreme's recipe is secret, so I am approximating it. You can always show up at your local Krispy Kreme for a free one on this auspicious day.

Go ahead and experiment with doughnut dough flavors, using different flours (wheat) and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, chocolate powder (or chocolate syrup), and fruit juice (or pureed fruit) instead of water. Watch the video -- it's easy to make a baker's dozen.

Krispy Kreme Donut - VIDEO

Play it here. The video runs 7 minutes, 5 seconds.

To make your own Krispy Kreme on National Donut Day, just follow my simple directions below:

Doughnut Ingredients (Baker's dozen - about 13)

• 1/2 package yeast (video shows 1 package) - about 1 tablespoon of dried yeast.
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water (100 degrees)
• 2 cups flour - cheap, white all-purpose. Okay to try out different types for extra flavor and texture.
• 3/4 cup of warm milk (100 degrees) or milk substitute
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 stick (28 grams) of butter or shortening - softened to room temperature.
• Vegetable oil for frying donuts

*Wide skillet or pot with vegetable oil one inch deep -- the doughnuts will float (in the video I used 3 cups of oil - oil is reusable.)

Sugar Glaze Ingredients and Directions

• 1/4 stick of butter (28 grams) 
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tbsp. water (clear glaze) or milk (white glaze)

Directions for Glaze

Melt butter and add to the powdered sugar, vanilla, and water. Mix well for a couple of minutes. Pour into a shallow dish for dipping/coating warm doughnuts. For a harder glaze, leave out the butter.

*Here is a great website that converts my ingredients into grams (for all my international cook visitors), just click here.

Directions for Doughnuts 

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water, then add warm milk, egg, sugar, butter, and flour. Mix well for a few minutes (electric mixer for 2, or 5 minutes by hand). Cover dough for at least an hour, or overnight for breakfast doughnuts.  

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin about 1/2 an inch thick. 

The dough is much softer and stickier than typical bread dough. To make it easier to work with, sprinkle on flour as needed -- or just plop the dough on a floured board and pat it down with your hands.

Cut doughnuts with a cutter (I used a coffee cup), then a smaller cutter (bottle top) for the centers. You can set aside the doughnut holes with the doughnuts or re-roll them for another doughnut or two. Let the cut doughnuts set for another half an hour to rise one last time before frying.

When doughnuts have risen, heat oil in a wide shallow pan to about 350 degrees (medium heat). Test one of the doughnut holes in the oil - it should bubble and quickly brown the doughnut hole. 

Fry one doughnut at a time until you get the hang of it - I burned a couple. Watch carefully, as doughnuts will begin to brown along the edge in a few seconds. Flip the doughnut over to brown the other side.

 It may take a few tries - a light to medium brown doughnut is done enough. Set cooked doughnuts on a rack or on paper towels to drain. 

Finally, dip one side of the doughnut in a shallow bowl of sugar glaze -- then enjoy! 

99 thanks to the Baldwin Hills Krispy Kreme Doughnuts store, their employees, and customers for allowing me to shoot the video.

Location: 4034 Crenshaw Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA. 90008
Phone: 323) 291-4133
Drive-thru is open 24 hours.

 And if you like a good time, be sure to check out my Judging the Donut Summit 2 video below.  It is chock-full of crullers, dunkers, bear claws, chocolate glazes, and lemon filling. I recorded the outdoor park event while selecting the best-of-show donuts, including Best Vegan, Filling, Chocolate, Raised (Yeast), Fritter, Unconventional, and Visually Appealing.

It was fun judging such a prestigious event. Highlights included an Awards Ceremony with donut medallions, a Donut Croquet, and a Donut Poetry Slam -- be sure to listen to the hilarious limerick, "The Babysitter." To see photos and read more about it, click here.

Judging the Donut Summit 2 - Video

Play it here. The video runs 5 minutes, 34 seconds.

Another local donut fave is Randy's Donuts, is on the way to LAX Airport, so if you are on the 405 freeway, exit for a donut or two.

For Super Bowl LIII, our local team, the Los Angeles Rams, was in the NFL Playoffs. While we were not victorious, Randy's left a sweet taste in our mouths with a couple of special edition pastries they served during that exciting time, and I made a video about them right here:

Let's leave for New Orleans and enter Cafe Du Monde for beignets, fried puffs of dough covered in a blizzard of powdered sugar.

Cafe Du Monde is a must-stop when you are touring the French Quarter in New Orleans. Open 24 hours, every local has had coffee au lait with beignets here. The coffee is flavored with chicory, and the beignets look like they've been hit by a powdered sugar avalanche!

The original Café Du Monde was just a stand started in the 1860s at the French Market. Now it has a huge green and white striped awning that covers the patio and a smaller indoor dining area -- all barely cooled with ceiling fans. Want a behind-the-scenes tour of the place?  The 99 Cent Chef has it. You'll see the waitstaff busting coffee cups and beignets amid snowdrifts of powdered sugar. And it's cheap -- 3 beignets and coffee for about $5 total.

The coffee beans are dark roast. To tone down coffee's bitterness, it's brewed with chicory. You can order your coffee "black" or light brown au lait -- au lait means half milk and half coffee.

The beignets are deep-fried squares of pillowy dough covered in powdered sugar. Yeast is used, so the doughnuts are light and airy like a sponge. You will get dusted with white powdered sugar, so make sure to lay out napkins on your lap, especially if you are wearing black. I usually shake off the powdered sugar -- enough is left on to sweeten the beignets.

If you want to make your own homemade beignets, Cafe Du Monde has a mix to sell you on its website, here. Or you can just use my Krispy Kreme Doughnut recipe, which is posted here. The only thing you need to change about my recipe is to cut the doughnuts into squares, and, of course, don't punch out a donut hole.

Cafe Du Monde is a great way to start or end your French Quarter tour in New Orleans.

Cafe Du Monde - Video

Play it here. The video runs about 1 minute and 32 seconds.

Cafe Du Monde - for various Louisiana locations, click here.

Main location: 800 Decatur Street, New Orleans, Louisiana. 70116

Phone: (504) 525-4544

Website: www.cafedumonde.com

Speaking of the end, let's return to the beginning...of the waking walk to your coffee machine to jumpstart the early morning when you are foggy and don't always think your actions through. Well, watch my video below and let me know if you have ever gone to the extremes I have for a desperate jolt of caffeine -- with a side of Krispy Kreme!