If you can barely toast bread, we’ve learned how you can trick your friends into thinking that you’re a gourmet chef like Chef Mike McMullen.

"It’s very simple," said the Jack's Place executive chef. "And you’ll see, if you blink, it’s going to be over!”

His Caramelized Day Boat Scallops is a two-pan meal with a dash of elegance and exoticness, thanks in part to the red coconut red curry sauce.

"These scallops are shucked from the shell, put in a container, and sent right to me," Chef McMullen said. "There’s no brine. There’s no salt solution ... The red curry can be a little bit spicy; so if you like spicy, put more."

Chef reminded us not to overcook the big guys, because there's no goin' back. Cook them until you think they're just about done, as they'll continue to cook from the heat of the pan.

"In Jack’s Place, we serve this with a Bourbon-maple mashed sweet potato," Chef showed us. "We’re serving it with heirloom carrots and heirloom tomatoes. And then our, literally, our 20-second sauce goes over (it).

Yep, he said it. Twenty-seconds to make the sauce, if you have your ingredients out before you start.

Let's cook!

Caramelized Day Boat Scallops

Jack’s Place
Rosen Plaza Hotel

Ingredients:

  • Crispy fennel, heirloom baby carrots
  • Bourbon maple sweet potato mash
  • Coconut red curry sauce
  • 5 each U-10 scallops (per person)
  • ½ oz. shaved fresh fennel (per person)
  • 4 oz. maple bourbon sweet potato mash (per person)
  • 2 blanched heirloom carrots per person

Sauce: for 6

  • 2 tablespoon cream of coconut, garlic, shallots
  • 3 teaspoon red curry paste
  • 5 oz. heavy cream
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

  1. Season scallops and cook, a few minutes on both sides, until golden brown
  2. For the sauce, get some chopped shallots and garlic going in a hot, oiled pan. Add slightly sweetened coconut milk, red curry paste, and heavy cream. Reduce and thicken.
  3. Plate scallops around mash and smother with sauce. Enjoy!