I Knew I Should Have Turned Left At Albuquerque...

I do realize I may have just dated myself...And maybe my left turn should have happened at the seafood counter...but I always loved when Bugs Bunny got lost and Albuquerque was his point of reference.  I attempted Cook's Country's Grilled Bacon Wrapped Scallops.  I'm not personally a fan of seafood, but I try to accommodate the seafood lovers in this house, when I can.  Not to mention, I am sort of enjoying grilling things (now that I have figured the dang thing out).

I can't pin point the exact moment that I should have turned away from this recipe and never looked back, but it probably started at the seafood counter.  I live 15 minutes from the ocean, so I have a hard time buying frozen seafood.  It seems wrong.  But, gee whiz it's expensive.  I bought 8 large scallops and spent $10.  OUCH!  I knew if I did much more damage than that, I was going to completely blow my "Magazine Recipe Food Budget".

The next mistake was when the recipe called to toss the scallops in butter, salt, and pepper.  I was doing that when my husband called and said he hadn't left work yet.  So I left the scallops in the bowl, covered them, and put them back in the fridge.  Not smart.  By the time I got the word that I could start the recipe again, the butter was hard and I had to dig the scallops out.

Butter Shoved In Cracks and Crevasses
(not my best idea)

Assembly of the two scallops together with a piece of bacon wrapped around looked really easy in the cartoon drawing the magazine provided.  Not so easy with slippery scallops and congealed butter.  But, I somehow managed.  I thought it would be a great idea to shove a little of the butter in the cracks and crevasses, because let's be honest, who doesn't love butter?  Not smart.

Metal Skewers
(that didn't fit)

Bamboo Skewers
(that caught on fire)

I put the scallops on metal skewers and they were so long that there was no way to close the grill without lifting the scallops up and they were beginning to come loose from the josseling around.  I hadn't soaked any bamboo skewers, so I just wet them and reassembled the bacon and scallops.  By this time the butter was beginning to melt onto the flames and was catching my scallops on fire and in turn catching the skewers on fire.

More of the Skewers on Fire

Like I said, I knew I should have taken a left turn at Albuquerque....  The guys really did enjoy the scallops...all 4 each that they got.  I was done in the kitchen at this point.  Off to have a wine or 4.  I did see the evidence of spaghetti-o's in the trash later...  Nothing like a scallop appetizer, quickly followed by a can of pasta....

Cook's Country Aug/Sept 2012

And just for the folks who don't remember....