Scallops with Grapefruit and Bacon

As you know, Carl and I moved to Portland, OR so I could start my doctoral program.  We've been here a few months now and have realized that seafood is much more prevalent here than it was back in Oklahoma.  I've never been a huge fan of seafood (probably because I grew up in land-locked Oklahoma!), but I've been trying to become more adventurous with it since the move.  And it's a good thing I did, because these scallops are the best thing I've eaten in a long time!  I got the recipe from here, and we made a couple minor changes but pretty much followed the recipe as is.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium grapefruit (the original recipe called for a large grapefruit, which we used, but we both felt like there was a lot of grapefruit in comparison to everything else, so I think a medium grapefruit would do fine
• 3 onces slab bacon, cut into 1-by- 1/4-inch matchsticks (we just used regular sliced bacon, which turned out to be about 4 slices, and we cooked them so that they were crispy and crumbed them instead of cutting them into matchsticks)
• 1.75 pounds sea scallops (about 20)
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup white wine (the original recipe called for Sauvignon Blanc, but we already had some Riesling so we used that instead)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Using a sharp knife, peel the grapefruit, removing all of the bitter white pith.  Working over a bowl, cut in between the membranes to release the sections.  Squeeze the juice from the membrane into another bowl; you should have about 3 tablespoons of juice.  In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp, about 3 minutes.  Once cooked transfer the bacon to a small plate.  Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat.  Season the scallops with salt and pepper.  Add the scallops to the skillet that has the bacon fat and cook over medium high heat until the scallops are browned, about 3 minutes. Turn the scallops and add the onion.  Cook over medium heat until the scallops are just cooked through, about 3 minutes longer.  Transfer the scallops to a plate.  Add the wine and grapefruit juice to the onions in the skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Cook scraping up any browned bits.  Strain the liquid into a heat proof cup then return the liquid to the skillet.  Add the butter and cook until the sauce is thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Return the scallops to the skillet and turn them to coat them with the sauce.  Add the grapefruit and bacon and serve right away.

I can't tell you enough how fabulous these scallops were!  They were so light and buttery!  Yum!  If scallops weren't so expensive, I would eat these every week.  I'm sorry the picture of this dish didn't turn out too well, but I was so hurried to eat them, that I didn't take the time to get a really good picture. I pity all those who are allergic to shellfish, because they won't get to try this fabulous recipe!