Scallops with Capers and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Hubbs is home =) He finally pulled in around 5:30 last night. His originally scheduled ETA was suppose to be around 2 yesterday afternoon, but thanks to one of the drivers in the convoy taking a few wrong turns and a huge construction backup, his trip was prolonged. Which really didn't shock me.. considering the job was suppose to be done at the end of April, why wouldn't an extra 3.5 hours of drive time be a surprise, eh? Anyhoo.. it's over, he's home and I'm relieved and quite happy! After he recovered from almost being licked to death by the dogs, we sat and chatted a bit on the deck as he was surveying the back yard. The overgrown grass, the still covered pond, those lil f'in maple tree "helicoper" thingies that were EVERYWHERE. I could see his mind racing with everything that had to be done. Thankfully, I got outside a couple weeks ago and cleaned out the beds as best I could, and his brother came over to help plant the garden and he mowed a few times.. but the work to be done outside is quite monumental. He's never had to deal with all of this as he's one of the first in the neighborhood to start on the yard work after a long fall & winter. You know, the weirdo up the street who is wearing his winter coat, gloves and hat mowing the lawn and weed-eating? Mmm hmm.. that's my Hubbs. It was kinda comical watching his eyes dart here and there while pretending to carry on a conversation with me.. teeee! So I asked if he wanted to take a walk around the two yards to check out what flowers have bloomed so far. I thought he would trip over Nigel the way he jumped out of that chair with a squeal in his voice, "OKAY!" hahaaa! After the quick walk and a short visit with the neighbors (ugh) he got this look on his face and I knew what the evening was going to consist of. So I told him I'd go in and start dinner as he was longingly looking at his garage. Yep, after 11 hours of driving the man got out his blower and took care of the helicopter thingies and then he mowed. He wanted to start weeding but I told him dinner was done. Sheesh! lol One of his favorite seafoods is scallops. So scallops it was last night. I don't really make them too often, not sure why because I love them too, so I don't have many recipes for them.. this one I found on Epicurious and it was delicious. The sauce that's created with just a few ingredients and the liquid given off by the scallops was scrumptious. I was going to serve this with sun-dried tomato risotto.. which I didn't remember until after I had peeled, cut and started frying the potatoes and onions. I don't even recall giving fried potatoes a thought when I was figuring out what to make for dinner yesterday.. must be habit when I cook for Hubbs? He definitely likes his potatoes. Well the scallop recipe is definitely a keeper, it was heavenly. Scallops with Capers and Sun-dried Tomatoes 2 TBS. olive oil 3 large garlic cloves, pressed - (I minced) 1 tsp. minced lemon peel - (I grated with the microplane) 12 sea scallops - (as if that'd be enough for him.. I used 2 pounds of large sea scallops and the sauce, as is, was plenty) 2 TBS. minced, drained, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes 1 TBS. drained capers 2 TBS. fresh lemon juice 3/4 tsp. minced fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp. dried, crumbled - I used 1/4 tsp. Herbs de Provence but I wish I had upped it to 1/2 tsp. 1/4 c. (1/2 stick) chilled, unsalted butter, cut into pieces Salt & Pepper to taste Heat oil in heavy large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and lemon peel and saute 30 seconds. Add scallops and saute until almost cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer scallops to bowl using slotted spoon. Add sun-dried tomatoes, capers, lemon juice and thyme to same skillet. Boil until liquid (The scallops will give off a lot of juice) thickens, adding any accumulated juices from the scallops in the bowl to skillet, about 2 minutes. Add butter and whisk until just melted. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Return scallops to skillet and stir just until heated through. Transfer scallops and sauce to plates and serve. All I did for the potatoes was semi-peel and quarter about 1 lb. of new red potatoes, slice about 1/2 of a vidalia onion and mince 3 cloves of garlic. Fried them in 2 TBS. of olive oil with salt & pepper until they were nicely browned then finished them with a good sprinkle of fresh clipped chives and chopped parsley.