This is sort of the dinner that John requested for his birthday. He actually asked for asparagus but all the ones in the store were those very thin pencil-ly type. So I substituted Brussels sprouts. (As an aside I looked up Brussels sprouts and found out that the B in Brussels sprouts is always capitalized. They were named after the capital of Belgium where they were first cultivated.)

Even though it was his birthday John generously cooked the scallops since he knew if I did the cooking I would probably screw it up. It is much wiser just to leave the vegetables to me.

I cooked the sprouts in a little water, butter, dry sherry, sugar, and salt. Once the water evaporates the sprouts fry in the remaining butter getting nice and brown on the cut side. Yum!

The potatoes were simply steamed and I added a little butter since it was a special occasion. I also made tartar sauce and our daughter made a zucchini cake for dessert.