Scallops over Kale and Brussel Sprout Salad

For Valentine's Day, Nate and I decided to stay in and cook to avoid the restaurant bussel. We chose to make bacon-wrapped scallops over the kale and brussel sprout salad from Parsnips, not Potatoes on Valentine's Day, but Whole Foods was out of scallops that day! I guess everyone else had the same idea so, we decided to wait until the weekend to make it. I went to the Farmer's Market and found beautiful purple brussel sprouts, which I feel really brought some color to the dish and I was ready to start. As I said, the scallops were originally supposed to be bacon wrapped, but I didn't do my research because the bacon would not stay on the darn scallops. I ended up cutting them up and turning them into bacon bits for the salad. Then, I used the bacon fat instead of chicken fat (listed in the recipe since that was what was used at Parsnips, not Potatoes) to dress the salad. I didn't really notice a difference from the chicken fat version so you are fine either way!

The scallops were super easy too. I had tried to make scallops before but they always ended up gritty and firm so I turned to my Ad Hoc at Home cookbook. Thomas Keller recommended brining the scallops in salt water for 10 minutes, then cooking them in clarified butter. The key is not to crowd them or else they start steaming instead of caramelizing. Anyway, below is the recipe for the salad. Enjoy!