Grilled Scallops and Grilled Aspargus

Last Sunday I made grilled scallops and grilled asparagus for dinner.  I found the recipe from a Penzeys Spices catalog.  I love Penzeys, their spices have a much more fragrant smell and stronger taste than McCormick.  If there's a Penzeys close to where you live, I highly recommend buying spices from them.  The supermarket brands just don't have the same zing.

Anyway, here's the recipe.  Enjoy!

Grilled Scallops:
8 large sea scallops, rinsed well (You can probably use as many as twelve though.)
4 teaspoons sugar substitute or 2 teaspoons regular sugar (I used the regular sugar.)
2-3 fresh garlic cloves, minced or 1/2-3/4 teaspoons Penzeys Minced Garlic (I used the regular cloves)
2 green onions, minced
1 teaspoon Hungarian-Style Sweet Paprika (Penzeys)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4-1 teaspoon ground pepper to taste

Wash scallops and pat dry.  Brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Combine the sugar or sugar alternative, garlic, green onions, paprika, 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper.  Mix well.

Heat your grill or grill pan to high heat.

Carefully place the scallops on the grill for 3-5 minutes per side (or if you have a double sided grill like mine shown above, 3-5 minutes total), basting generously and frequently with the prepared sauce.  You want the scallops lightly browned on each side.  Be careful not to leave them on too long.  They should be firm but not overcooked, which can make them rubbery.

Grilled Asparagus:
1 lb. bunch asparagus
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon Sunny Spain or Florida Seasoned Pepper (both from Penzeys, I used Sunny Spain)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil

The asparagus should cook on the cooler side of your grill.  If you have a grill with a side burner, you should use that.  Place an open-holed vegetable pan on the grill to heat or be ready to chase the asparagus around the regular grill top as it tries to fall through!  Rinse asparagus and trim off the woody ends.  Combine the cheese and seasoning, set aside.  Spray or brush the asparagus with olive oil and lay in the pan or on the grill top in a single layer.  Char slightly, moving the pan around to cook evenly, or turning a few times with tongs.  Remove when done and place in a casserole dish.  While still hot, lightly sprinkle with the cheese mix so that the cheese melts onto the asparagus.  Cover with foil.  Lay another batch of asparagus on the grill and repeat the process.  Serve warm.





Since I don't have an outdoor grill and the scallop sauce made a mess on my little indoor grill I used a deep frying pan.  I put the 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan and let it warm.  I then put in the asparagus and cooked it until it was soft but not mushy.

Once finished, I put it in a casserole dish and tossed with seasoned cheese topping.

The whole meal came out great and I will definitely be making this again in the future.