Sea Candies

Folks, welcome to the season of the sea. Cold weather makes the fish fatten (...and what's the cardinal culinary rule? Oh, that's right! Fat=Flavor!), the oysters plump, and the scallops... well, the scallops just do whatever they happen to do during scallop season. Which it is. Scallop season, that is.

This weekend, I sautéed up some fresh, untreated (never buy those nasty wet scallops... unless for some reason you really like soggy seafood and chemical moisteners) Nantucket Bay scallops in a hot skillet with buttah and a dash of the 'ol S&P. Gorgeously caramelized, mindblowingly sweet, the little gems begged me for a wedge of lemon. Alas, I had none at hand.

Low in fat, high in protein and flavor, these little guys may just be the perfect meat. This week, I'm buying a few more to make a ceviche. mmmmm. ceviche...

Meanwhile, here's an adorable guide to cleaning a scallop. A shellfish cleaning guide is adorable, you wonder? Yes, indeed. It's simple, informative, and includes natually-lit photos and one sweet dog. It's a scallop-cleaning guide with a soul. More web sites could take a cue from the scallop cleaning guide.