Cravings

For the past several weeks I've had an unexplainable craving for scallops, so Saturday while I was out I stopped by the Fresh Market and pick some up along with a couple of other items. I opted for bay scallops instead of sea scallops strictly because of price. I paid $8.99/lb whereas the sea scallops were $15.99/lb and since I was only cooking for myself I went the cheaper route.

Scallops in Vermouth Cream
1 pound sea scallops
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup dry vermouth or other white wine
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Toss scallops with flour. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add scallops. Cook 4-5 min or until lightly browned on both sides, turning occasionally. Remove scallops from skillet.
Add vermouth to skillet, stirring to loosen bits from bottom of skillet; bring to a boil. Cook 2 min or until vermouth is reduced by half. Stir in whipping cream, salt, and pepper; reduce heat to low. Add scallops; cook just until thoroughly heated.

I also made some brown rice to go with the vermouth and scallops.
While at the Fresh Market I picked up some snow peas and sauteed them in olive oil along with one shallot. I also happened to find a beer that I'd not yet had so that made it's way onto the table as well.

I've also had a realization that has turned into a sort of craving. While at home in Statesboro GA over Thanksgiving and Christmas I was able to go to the Sugar Magnolia Bakery several times. This got me thinking, and I realized I haven't even looked for a bakery here in the Charlotte NC area! So, Saturday morning I visited a couple that were both very good but a good bit different. I first went to "Amelie's" which is a french style bakery focusing more on pastries and sweets although they do have bread and sandwiches too.
I had to make a decision about what to buy and it took me a few minutes but I decided on a Vanilla Eclair and a Chocolate Croissant. Both were excellent!

The second bakery I went to was closer to downtown Charlotte and focused more on the bread side of things. "Nova*s" was a very beautiful bakery and I bought a loaf of country sourdough and a loaf of pumpernickel. Click on the link above and read their history, it's very interesting and their website is really nice!