Tuesday’s dinner was supposed to be salmon with a mustard sauce. I ask John to take out a couple of pieces of salmon to defrost. He cannot find it. John is notorious for not being able to find things in the refrigerator and freezer so I am not concerned. I will find the salmon myself I think. No such luck! A quick pivot to sea scallops saves the day!

His job is to cook the scallops. My job is to cut up and cook the broccoli, prepare the mashed potatoes, and make the beurre blanc. I call unfair division of labor! John reconsiders and takes over the potatoes.

Costco is not carrying the scallops that we have used forever. Our previous ones were U-12s, big and luscious. These new ones are a bit smaller but at least are not packed in preservative. John cooks them for a smidge too long but they still come out pretty tasty.

I am scrambling to get the broccoli in the pan and figure out how to make a beurre blanc. The sauce needs some oversight or else it will split. It is basically an emulsion of white wine and white wine vinegar and butter with some minced shallot and a tablespoon of milk or cream as a stabilizer. The butter needs to stay cold and is whisked into the liquid off heat. There are a lot of recipes for beurre blanc on line. It turns out that it is pretty easy to make and mine does not break.

Our dinner turns out really tasty and we are happy with it. But we are still hoping that Costco will bring back the large bags of scallops!