Because of the pandemic this year instead of going out for John’s birthday we cooked his requested favorite meal. He chose popcorn before-sies, sushi appetizer, and fried scallops with collards and corn for the main.

Fried scallops with tartar sauce and collard greens with corn

We bought the sushi at Safeway and I do not think I would get theirs again. As it turned out all the interiors were like a California roll and what differentiated this combo pack was a very thin slice of tuna or eel on top. I want the fish inside!

I made the collards and corn. I started out by cooking onions and sliced garlic and then removed them from the pan. Next I steamed the cut up stems. At the end I put everything back in the pan with a little butter, sugar, and salt and tossed the chiffonaded leaves with the rest. It was pretty yummy.

John dredged the scallops and coated with them with seasoned panko breadcrumbs. Then he deep fried them in our electric wok. He does this outside on the patio so the house is not filled with aerosolized grease. I made some tartar sauce to go along with the scallops.

With all that we had eaten and drunk (a very nice bottle of Chardonnay) we had no need for dessert. It was a very fine birthday celebration.