I can’t stop thinking about how good dinner was on Monday night.

After this post, I promise to stop talking about it.

(Maybe).

I owe you guys two recipes!  Here are the two new grilled dishes that Tim made me, courtesy of his Bobby Flay’s Grill It book.

Grilled Sea Scallops with Green Onion Relish and Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces bacon, cut into small dice
• 2 green onions, white and green parts, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 2 shallots, finely diced
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Grilled Sea Scallops

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat.  Add the bacon and cook until golden brown and crisp, 8-10 minutes.  Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.  Transfer the bacon to a small bowl, stir in the green onions, and set aside.  Reserve the bacon fat in the pan.
2. Increase the heat under the pan to high, add the shallots, and cook until soft, about 2 minutes.  Add the vinegar and sugar, bring to a boil, and cook until the sugar is dissolved.  Remove from the heat, stir in the mustard and thyme, and season with salt and pepper.
3. Transfer the scallops to a platter, drizzle with the warm bacon vinaigrette, and top each scallop with some of the green onion relish.

Don’t know how to grill scallops?  For 1 pound of sea scallops, heat the grill to high.  Brush the scallops on both sides with 1/4 cup olive or canola oil, making sure that they are well coasted, and season with salt and pepper.  Place the scallops on the grill and grill until golden brown and slightly charred, about 3 minutes.  Turn over and continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes longer until just cooked through.

Grilled Eggplant and Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

• 3 medium Japanese eggplants, halved lengthwise
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 large yellow bell pepper
• 6 tablespoons canola oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 can (15.5 ounce) chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and drained again
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped —> The Greek doesn’t like olives so no go on these
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

1. Heat grill to high.
2. Brush the eggplants and bell peppers with the canola oil on all sides and season with salt and pepper.  Grill the eggplants for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until lightly golden brown and slightly charred.  Grill the bell peppers until charred on all sides and soft, 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove the eggplant from the grill and cut each half crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices.  Put the peppers in a bowl, wrap and let sit for 10 minutes.  Peel, seed, and thinly slice both peppers.
3. Combine the eggplant, red and yellow peppers, chickpeas, onion, and olives in a large bowl.  Add the lemon juice, olive oil, chile flakes, mint, and cilantro and stir to combine.  Cover and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving or refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 2 days before serving.  Serve cold or at room temperature.  (We did not wait this long). 

Wanna see the finished product?!

Definitely adding these to my Recipes page.

I can’t decide which dish I liked more.  I mean, who doesn’t love scallops and bacon right?  And this version was unreal –  the bacon vinaigrette gave the scallops so much extra flavor and the relish topping gave it the perfect crunch.  But the eggplant and chickpea salad had really good flavor too – maybe from the cilantro?  And clearly I really liked that since I ate the leftovers for both lunch and dinner yesterday.  I guess I don’t really have to decide.

My boyfriend’s a keeper.

Question:  What’s the best meal a significant other has made for you?

Enjoy today.