Seared Scallops with Ginger and Garlic

I was a teenage idiot.  I did some stupid stuff when I was a teenager. Nothing horrible, just the usual stupid teenage stuff—underage drinking, staying out too late, having parties at the house when she was out-of-town. When I got older, I must have apologized to my Mom a hundred times for being such a knucklehead.I’m still doing stupid stuff.  But not as frequently.As a teenager, it is required by law that you do the exact opposite of what your parents tell you to do. Your parents tell you not to smoke pot, for instance.  For generations, parents have been telling their kids not to smoke pot.  Does it work?No.  Why not?  Teenagers don’t listen.We three kids – my older brother, my younger sister and I – lived with my Mom on a dead-end street named Rosebank, in Baltimore, Maryland. When my folks divorced, my Dad went back to New York.  Divorce is tough on teenagers.  You don’t know who’s right, who’s wrong, what to do, or where to go.The basement at Rosebank was our haven.  It was our safe place.  We decided to fix it up.Uncle Oscar gave us a pool table.  He had bought it for his son, Johnny.  Johnny and I used to play pool at Oscar’s house.  Johnny and I were close in age and close in general.  He used to come see my band, Momma Max.Johnny died in an automobile accident when he was sixteen.  It was so heartbreaking for the whole family.  I was crushed.  It was the only time I saw Oscar cry.  He gave us Johnny’s pool table.  It took a bunch of us kids, but we managed to get it in the basement at Rosebank.The basement walls were made of stone.  Not the good-looking Hollywood kinda stone, these were stones like you’d see on the walls of ancient caves – rough and lumpy and crumbly.  We whitewashed all the walls.  It took a few coats, but we painted them all white. We painted the poured cement floor dark green.We got a bunch of brightly colored paints and markers and brushes and spray paints.  Whenever anybody would come over – neighborhood kids, friends, cousins – we’d play pool, play music and draw on the walls.  Cartoons, poetry, graffiti, drawings, portraits, quotes – the walls became this mash-up mural of collective art.It was where my band practiced.  That basement should be in the Slimuseum! It once had a dirt floor and crumbling walls, and now it was all spiffed up, in a hippy-dippy way. My Mom was just glad to have everybody in one place, where she could keep an eye on us dimwits.The ceiling was really low.  In certain areas, big iron water pipes hung low, and you’d have to stoop under them to avoid busting your frontal lobe.  One time a friend of ours named Bruce made an incredible shot to win a game of pool.  In a fit of joy, he leaped straight up, hit an iron pipe, and knocked himself unconscious.Did we help him?  No.  We were laughing too hard.  I told ya, we were teenage idiots.My brother and I used to play tricks on our friends.  They’d come over, we’d hang out in the basement, play pool, and play music.  Then my brother and I would give each other a wink, and one of us would sneak out of the basement.We’d go outside and move our friends’ cars.  Park ‘em down at the bottom of our dead-end street.  Then we’d sneak back into the basement. When the party was over, our friends would leave, and my brother and I would wait until we heard the frantic knock on the basement door.“Dude!  I can’t find my car!  It’s my Dad’s!  He’s gonna kill me!”My brother and I would let the terror go on for a few minutes, and then we’d laugh and tell them what we’d done.  Pretty stupid stuff.  Like I said, I was a teenage idiot.I think the zenith of my moronosity came when I decided to make some pot brownies.  I put some pot in a blender, put in some brownie mix, and then made brownies in the oven.My brother and I each ate a piece.  We gave a piece to our sister.  We didn’t force her, she wanted one.  After an hour, my sister told us she didn’t feel anything.   She told us she wanted to eat another piece.  We didn’t think it was a good idea and told her so.  She ate another piece anyway.  Why?Teenagers don’t listen.A few hours later she was screaming that she’d never be the same.  She was freaking out, and she kept telling us she needed to go to the hospital.  It’s funny now.  It wasn’t real funny back then. She finally calmed down, but it scared the shit out of us.That night, I put the brownies in some aluminum foil.  I put a skull and crossbones on them, and hid them in the back of the fridge so no one would find them. I guess I should have thrown them out, but, like I said, I was a teenage idiot.The next morning I walked downstairs and saw the woman who cleaned our house eating a pot brownie with her morning coffee.I yelled out her name.She looked at me like I was crazy, and said,“What?  What’s wrong?”I thought for a quick minute, which is rare for a teenager.  Then I said,“Nothing.  How are you?”She gave me a funny look.  She’s a wonderful woman, has been a part of the family for years and years.  I’m still very close with her and her family.But if I told her that she had just eaten a pot brownie, she would have probably freaked out.  If I didn’t tell her, maybe she would just feel a little weird, and not think much about it.My Dad used to tell me, “Nobody gets in trouble by keeping their mouth shut.”So I said nothing.  And nothing happened.  She didn’t jump out of a window, or start a religious cult, or join the circus.After she left, I threw the brownies in the trash.I guess I was starting to grow out of my teenage idiocy period.  I’m now in my adult idiocy period…SEARED SCALLOPS WITH GINGER AND GARLIC Scallops are for adults only. They’re too expensive to waste on teenagers!When you sear scallops, it’s real important to use dry scallops.  These are scallops that have not been injected with water and chemicals.So make sure you use dry scallops — it’s almost impossible to sear wet scallops, because the liquid they throw off screws up the searing process.When you talk to your fish guy at the market, make sure he knows you want dry scallops. Rinse off the scallops and pat dry with paper towels. Keep patting dry until the moisture is gone from the scallops, and the towels do not get damp.Searing is one of my favorite things to do with seafood.  It’s quick.  It’s easy.After you sear a scallop or a piece of fish, you can eat it just like that.  Or you can add a little sauce.The sauce I made consists of garlic and ginger and honey.When you cook scallops, figure on three scallops per person.  If you serve two scallops, people will think you’re cheap.  If you serve four, you’ll need to take out a loan.In this recipe, I seared 6 scallops, perfect for a nice romantic dinner for two.Me and Batu!There is enough sauce here for 12 scallops! You’ll only need a teaspoon OR LESS per scallop, you’ll have PLENTY left over—it should keep in the fridge for a week.One last thing!  Scallops have a little muscle on the side.  Peel it off and toss.  The muscle, not the scallops!INGREDIENTSThe Sauce1 tablespoon minced garlic1 tablespoon minced ginger¼ cup of soy sauce¼ cup of olive oil2 teaspoons of honey (I sometimes use more)The ScallopsTurbinado sugar (or brown sugar)Salt and pepper1 tablespoon butter1 tablespoon olive oil6 large dry sea scallops, side muscle removedHere we go...Take all of the sauce ingredients, put them in a bowl, and whisk, whisk, whisk. Taste for sweetness, and add a little more honey if you like.Put half the sauce in a small pot over low heat--save the rest in the fridge for next time. Let the sauce reduce a bit as we sear our scallops.Sprinkle the top of each scallop with JUST A LITTLE sugar, kosher salt, and fresh cracked black pepper.Get a medium-size sauté pan.  Put the heat on medium-high.Put a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil in the pan.When the butter starts to turn brown and bubble, put the scallops in the pan — seasoned side down.Sauté for 2 minutes.  As the scallops sauté, sprinkle the top side of each scallop with JUST A LITTLE salt, sugar and pepper. If you’re concerned about splattering, place a piece of foil VERY LOOSELY over the pan.After 2 minutes, lift the scallops out of the pan with some tongs.Swish the butter and olive oil around in the bottom of the pan so you’re not placing the un-seared side of the scallop onto a dry pan. You need those juices to sear!Put the scallops back in the pan, un-seared side down.  Sear for 2 minutes.Dish it up! Put the scallops on a platter with a sprig of parsley or two. You can also put them on a plate of greens. Grab the pot with the simmering sauce.  Spoon a LITTLE over each scallop—a small teaspoon, and…MANGIAMO!!

Shrimp, Scallop and Vegetable Kabobs with Sherry Sauce

Shrimp and Scallop Kabobs with Mack and Myer’sMight have fun, might not.That was the sign outside Mack and Myer’s nightclub in Essex, Maryland.My band, BootCamp, was the house band at Mack and Myer’s. In the music binniz, that means we played there almost every night. It was the ‘80s. The 1980s, not the 1880s.Essex is a town outside Baltimore with a bad reputation; I’ve always liked the place. It has a singular charm. People in Baltimore make fun of people in Essex. Why? Maybe it’s because it’s on a river that has two, well, poop-processing plants right in the middle of the water. They look like two huge silver breasts, side by side, floating in the water, pointing to the sky.They let off a stench that is hard to ignore. A HazMat suit or a gas mask might be in order while near that body of water. The river is named Back River. There is a bridge over those troubled waters, and right across that bridge was a club called Mack and Myer’s.The club was owned by Dave Hutchinson. Dave was a cool guy; smart, funny and hip. He was one of those guys who was in the know, but a little offbeat. Dave embraced Essex and all its lowdown uniqueness. His brother was an elected official, an important executive for Baltimore County. My guess is that Dave was the black sheep.When you walked inside Mack and Myer’s, there were all kinds of strange things hanging from the ceiling. Old wooden chairs. Trombones. Guitars. Old street signs. All kinds of junk, suspended by wires and string, hanging from the ceiling — which was only a few feet overhead. Mismatched Christmas lights were strung everywhere.There was a jukebox in the corner. A real old-time jukebox. Dave had it stocked with every funny crazy old single ever released.   "Yakkity Yak (Don’t Talk Back)". "Along Came John". "Sixteen Tons". The jukebox also had songs like "Paper Doll' by the Mills Brothers.I loved the jukebox. I loved Mack and Myer’s. I loved Dave. And I loved Sophie.Sophie was the waitress. She had a bee-hive hairdo of red hair that was so thick and lacquered with Aqua Net that you could have bounced bowling balls off her hair without so much as a dent. She had a thick Baltimore accent and called everybody “Hon.”She was darling. Her favorite song was “Do You Think I’m Sexy” by Rod Stewart; so the BootCamp Boys learned the song. Whenever we did the song, Sophie would get up on stage and dance the hootchie-cootchie dance and sing off-key.It was precious. She was precious. There was a band room in the back. One night, before a show, Sophie — a divorced cocktail waitress who lived down the street — ran her hands through my hair as I sat in a chair in front of her. The guys in the band were getting ready to go on.Sophie said, in that lovely Baltimore accent, “Your hair is just like the hair on my *****, Hon! If I didn’t trim it, it would grow down to my knees!”Forgive the language, but that’s the way she talked. That was so Sophie.Mack and Myer’s was funky. It was eclectic. It was a crazy mixture of people — black, white, rich, poor, gay, straight, intellectuals and blue-collars — who were all in on what seemed like an inside joke. Members of a crazy secret club.It was a three-ring circus. Dave was Ringmaster. He called me “Boot.” As in BootCamp.“Hey, Boot!” he’d scream across the club.BootCamp started getting popular. Mack and Myer’s was packed every night. It went on like that for months and months.Then we got an offer to spend the summer as a house band in a club that was on the beach - IN THE HAMPTONS. New York. Long Island. Movie stars. Seaside mansions.In the spring, we left Mack and Myer’s. We left Essex, Maryland. We left Back River and the Poop Processors. We left Dave. We left Sophie.We bought an old beat-up, yellow bread truck. No radio, no AC. We filled it with all our suitcases and equipment and we drove up the New Jersey Turnpike to the Hamptons. It turned out to be the craziest summer of my life. Everyone has one. That was mine.The club was called Neptune Beach Club. We played six nights a week until 4 AM and did double shifts on Saturdays and Sundays. After all those hours on stage, BootCamp was getting pretty good.When the summer ended, we drove back down the Jersey Turnpike in our yellow, beat-up bread truck; tanned and dead-tired. A peculiar stench told us we were getting close to Back River. We crossed the bridge and saw the Mack and Myer’s “Might Have Fun, Might Not” sign. The Boys Are Back!Dave was outside waiting, beaming like a proud poppa.We got out of the bread truck and Dave led us inside. He had us close our eyes. When we opened our eyes, we saw a huge sign, about 6 feet tall and 12 feet long, with big black letters on a white background. The sign took up the whole wall. It said:NEW YORK CITYDave looked at us and said, “Whaddya think?”We had no idea what the sign was about. That’s when Dave told us he’d re-named the band. Instead of being called “BootCamp” we were now -NEW YORK CITYWe explained to Dave - we’d been playing all summer in New York as BootCamp, we had videos on MTV, labels were interested, managers were calling, and a name change might not be the best idea in the world. We kept our name.Dave kept the sign up anyway. We kept playing Mack and Myer’s, but not quite as often as we used to. It was still packed whenever we played; but we were starting to get lots of other gigs.We were opening for Split Enz and Squeeze and the B-52s. We started playing other clubs, drawing 500 people on Monday and Tuesday nights. We were doing showcases in Manhattan for major labels.It was time to move on. Dave knew it. We knew it. We said a sad goodbye to Sophie, Dave, Mack and Myer’s, Back River and the Poop Processors. We crossed that bridge and took off for the Big Time.BootCamp never quite hit the Big Time. For about five years, we came as close as you can come; we were constantly on the brink, but never quite hit the Big Time. But we had a great time trying.A few years later, I was at the airport in Baltimore. I had just flown in from a Slim Man gig. Things were going well. It was late at night, and there weren’t a lot of folks around. I was facing the baggage carousel when somebody tackled me from behind.We fell to the ground. The guy had me in a bear hug. We started rolling around.“Boot!!!”Dave. Scared the shit out of me. We got up, and Dave smiled at me. He was a tall, burly guy, with a beard, curly sandy hair, laughing eyes and a distinguished voice.He thanked me. He thanked me for the good times. He thanked me for the money I’d made him. He told me Mack and Myer’s did so well while BootCamp was there, that he was able to relax for quite a while. Then he gave me a hug.Might Have Fun, Might Not.We had fun.A ton of fun.GRILLED SCALLOPS AND SHRIMP KABOBS WITH VEGETABLESWhen you make this dish, make sure your scallops and shrimp are not from Back River.I love grillin’. I love chillin’. This is one of my favorite grill dishes because there’s not a lot of fuss. You know what I don’t like about grillin’? When the food you’re grillin’ falls through the grill and onto the charcoals. That’s why I like kabobs. When you put your food on skewers, not only do you keep things from falling onto the charcoal, but they’re a lot easier to turn over.If you’re using bamboo skewers, soak them for in water for 30 minutes or more. If you don’t they’ll catch fire and burn down the trailer park.I skewered the vegetables on one set of skewers and the seafood kabobs on another. Why? Because the vegetables take longer. Also, when grilling, a little non-stick cooking spray (or olive oil spray) helps a lot. Spray your kabobs lightly before grilling.Note for my peeps - there are two kinds of sea scallops, dry and wet. Use dry scallops. Wet scallops are soaked in who-knows-what, and throw off a lot of liquid when cooking. I don’t use wet scallops. Ever. Ask your fish dude – he’ll know whether the scallops are wet or dry. Use the dry ones. Make sure you remove the small side muscle from the scallops. It’s about the size of a postage stamp, just peel the side muscle off, it should come off easily.Ingredients8 large shrimp, de-shelled and de-veined8 sea scallops¾ cup cream sherry (you can use sweet Marsala or port as a substitute)¼ cup extra virgin olive oil1 tablespoon each of fresh grated ginger, fresh minced garlic, fresh chopped thyme (or dried thyme)Some hot sauce, baby this evening½ Spanish onion1 yellow bell pepper8 cherry tomatoesSalt and pepperHere we go…Rinse off the shrimp and pat dry with paper towels. Rinse off the scallops and pat dry with paper towels until the towels no longer get damp.For the marinadeCombine the sherry, the olive oil, the ginger, garlic, thyme and hot sauce (to taste). Add salt and pepper to taste and mix ‘em up. Let it sit for a while.For the vegetable kabobsCut the Spanish onion and the yellow bell pepper (remove the stems and seeds) into pieces that are about the same size as your cherry tomatoes.Take a piece of onion, put it on the skewer, followed by a cherry tomato and a piece of yellow bell pepper. Then add another piece of onion, a tomato, a piece of pepper. Your skewer should be full. Make 4 skewers.For the seafood kabobsTake a shrimp. Pierce it with a skewer, going through the bottom of the shrimp, and then through the top. Then add a scallop—pierce it through the side. Add another shrimp. Then a scallop. That’s 1 skewer—2 shrimp and 2 scallops.Make 4 skewers. Put the seafood and vegetable skewers in a large baking dish, and drizzle the marinade over them. Refrigerate for an hour or so.Heat up the grill! Set the heat to medium, and when the grill is nice and warm, add the 4 vegetable kabobs. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, and then turn.Put the seafood kabobs on the grill.Now, while the seafood kabobs cook, pour the leftover marinade from the baking dish into a small sauté pan and reduce over medium-low heat while the kabobs cook.When the seafood kabobs have cooked for 3 to 4 minutes, turn over. Cook for another 3 or 4 more minutes, until done. The seafood and the vegetable kabobs should be done around the same time. Remove to a platter, drizzle with the reduced marinade, and...MANGIAMO!!!!!!!

Slim Man Cooks Seared Scallops with Rosemary

After BootCamp broke up, I decided to circle the wagons.  So I gathered up the mules and the Conestogas, and sat by the campfire, trying to figure out my next move. One night, after getting kicked in the head by one of the jackasses, I came to the realization that I needed to go back into the studio and start writing and recording again.So that’s what I did. Monday through Thursday, from 10 AM until 3 PM, I wrote songs. The studio was owned by Rick O’Rick, AKA Cowboy Pickles; it was right outside of Washington, DC.I’d leave Baltimore at 9 AM, drive an hour to the studio, write and record for five hours, then drive back.At night, I was singing in piano bars.  I had decided to learn all my favorite songs, to find out what made them work.  From Sinatra to Elvis to Motown, I studied and learned every hit song I ever loved.  I would sing these songs and play piano at restaurants in and around Baltimore, Maryland. I also had a blues band — The Scrappy Harris Blues Band.  We played every Wednesday night at a dive bar called The Horse You Came In On.That was my Life After BootCamp.  I played piano bar.  I played the blues.  I wrote songs--all kinds of songs.I wrote a rock song and needed a singer for the demo.  Someone had mentioned the name Brian Jack.  I looked him up.  He was in a band called Child’s Play.  They had released an album on a major label, and had just broken up after being dropped.  I reached out to Brian and asked him to sing one of my songs.I picked him up — he didn’t have a car – and drove him to the studio.  He walked in, opened his mouth and sang that song like he’d sung it a hundred times.  It was magic.  Everyone who heard the song loved it, and loved his voice – he sounded like Bryan Adams meets Rod Stewart.I continued writing songs with Brian in mind.  I’d write a song.  I’d get everything done - all the guitars, keyboards, bass, backing vocals, horns, everything.  I’d go pick up Brian, drive him to the studio, and he would sing, as I guided him along.  It took us an hour a song – at most – to do the vocals.That’s the way it got started.  We became the best of friends.I wrote.  I produced.  Brian sang. He had an amazing voice.After about a year, when I had 12 songs finished, I suggested we put out a CD.  I borrowed some money to get the CDs made. Rick O’Rick and I took care of the studio bill. Brian did the artwork. He sent it off to the manufacturer. When we got the CDs back, I was pretty shocked when I read the back cover…All songs written by Brian Jack and Tim Camp.Dayuummm, son! Ain't that a kick in the head! Brian hadn’t written one word, hadn’t written one note of music.  When I asked him why he listed himself as songwriter on the credits, he said,“I always wanted to be a songwriter.”I suggested that he might start by writing his own songs, not by putting his name on mine. There was no way I could afford to get the credits changed. Not on this batch of CDs. I figured I’d correct the songwriting credits if we re-ordered more.The CD took off like a rocket.  We were getting airplay on the big rock station in Baltimore.  Lots of airplay.  Brian put together a band.  He asked me to play keyboards. I didn’t want to.  I had just finished the BootCamp saga, and I was in no hurry to play in a rock band again.  But Jackson — that’s what I called him — insisted.  I started playing keyboards in his live show.He was packing 1,000 seat clubs.  Jackson put together an incredible show.  At one club called Hammerjacks, he hung a rope from the ceiling, which was 20 feet high.  He would swing from the stage up into the balcony, hold the railing, sing a few notes, and then swing back on stage.He was like Tarzan, bare-foot and bare-chested, swinging from the rafters, screaming at the top of his lungs.   He was selling out wherever he went.  He had a great voice, along with charm, looks, charisma and stage presence.And he had incredible hair, which is the most important thing in the music binniz.I started calling some folks I knew in the music business.  I hooked Brian up with my attorney – who’s also my close friend – who hooked Brian up with a manager, Dee Anthony.  Dee came out to a show.  He loved it.Dee Anthony started off as a road manager for Tony Bennett.  Dee went on to manage Peter Frampton, J. Geils, Devo, and Basia, among others.  His daughter, Michelle, was a bigwig at SONY/Epic.Brian signed with Dee.  Dee signed Brian to SONY/Epic.  Frankie LaRocca was hired to produce — he had just come off a big hit with the Spin Doctors.  The future looked mighty bright.When it came time for Brian to record his CD for Epic, I found out that none of my songs would be included. Dee was under the impression that Brian had co-written all of the songs we had recorded.  Dee then set Brian up to write all new songs with other big-name writers.  I was out. Like Tom Hagen in The Godfather, I was out.Epic rented the finest studios, hired big-name musicians.  When they heard the first batch of new songs, they didn’t like them.  Epic decided to abandon ship.  After spending $40,000 they dropped Brian.  He hadn’t even finished half the CD.I didn’t see Brian much after the Epic disaster. I went back into the studio by myself and started writing again.  I wasn’t writing for anybody but me this time.  I just wrote whatever came to mind.  After a few months, I put all of these songs together and decided to do a CD of my own.I needed a CD cover, so a friend arranged for a photographer to shoot some photos of my donkey face.  I sat at the piano and he took pictures.  After the photo shoot, I made dinner.As we were having dinner, I asked the photographer what kind of stuff he liked to photograph.  He told me he was a forensic photographer for the police department.So…The guy who shot the front cover of the very first Slim Man CD took photos of dead bodies for a living.  Come to think of it, the front cover for End of the Rainbow does look a little morose.  But even that didn’t stop it from being one of the Top Ten Jazz CDs for the whole year.One door closes, another one opens.SEARED SCALLOPSI have a great friend named Clubby Clubb who lives in Ocean City, Maryland – he was also good friends with Brian. Clubby Clubb has the most incredible wine store and deli a block from the beach.  He lives a charmed life.  He only works six months a year, April to September.  The rest of the year?Mostly, he goes fishing. He plays with his kids.One day when I told him I wanted some fresh scallops, he told me about a bayside fish store where the boats bring everything in fresh each morning, to service the resort restaurants.I went there one morning and they had these incredible scallops.  I love scallops and I created a way of searing them that is so quick, so simple and so delicious that you are going to send me a million dollars after you try these.Make all checks out to Mr. Man.Scallops are expensive—I’ve seen them as high as $36 a pound. I found them for $20 a pound recently, and bought a pound. There were 10 big scallops, which I seared. They were delizioso!One last note - make sure you buy dry scallops.  This is very important.  Your fish guy should know. Wet scallops are injected with chemicals and crap and are impossible to sear.Buy dry scallops, and gently rinse them. Then gently pat them dry with paper towels. Keep patting them dry until the paper towels are no longer damp. Even dry scallops retain a bit of water. Water ain’t good for the searing process! Capisce?And finally, if you don’t like prosciutto, just leave it out. You can still pierce the scallops with the rosemary—without the prosciutto.INGREDIENTS10 dry sea scallops, about one pound10 slices of prosciutto, sliced thin, fat trimmed off10 thin rosemary sprigs, each at least 4 inches longA little brown sugar or turbinado sugar (you can use regular sugar in a pinch)Salt (I use kosher salt)Fresh cracked black pepper1 tablespoon butter1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oilHere we go...Rinse off the scallops and pat dry with paper towels.  Remove the small side muscle from each scallop, and discard - the muscle, not the scallop!  Place the scallops on a plate.Take a slice of prosciutto, and trim it so it’s about the same size as the scallop. Remove some of the fat if you like, and wrap it around the sides of the scallop.  I wrap the prosciutto around once, and slice off the remaining prosciutto.Then, take a sprig of rosemary, about 4 inches long, and strip off about an inch of the leaves from the bottom of the sprig.  Take the bottom end of the rosemary sprig, and pierce it through the side of the scallop, to hold the prosciutto in place.The end without the leaves should be poking out of one side of the scallop, and the other end – the top of the sprig – should be poking out of the other side of the scallop.Do this with all 10 scallops.Add a sprinkle of brown sugar, salt and pepper to the top of all 10 scallops.Put a large sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  When the butter starts to bubble and turn brown, place the scallops in the pan, salted/peppered/sugared side down.Cook for 90 seconds, 2 minutes maximum. As they cook, add a LITTLE salt, pepper, and brown sugar on top of each scallop.Use some tongs to turn each scallop over.  Before you set each scallop back in the pan, swirl the butter and olive oil around in the pan, so you’re not placing the scallop in a dry pan. Cook for 90 seconds, 2 minutes maximum on the other side.Remove the scallops with some tongs.  Make sure the scallops are done.  Cooking times can vary according to the heat of your stove and the thickness of the scallops.Dish it up! You can serve these over some wild greens, with some tomatoes on the side. Or eat them all by themselves.MANGIAMO!!!!!!!