Scallops with Cheese Sauce

I mentioned a while back that I was working on putting a book together, well…I asked all of my family what recipes they wanted to be sure made it in the book. The recipes this week were both must haves. The recipe today I have been making for many years. When our kids were little we had a travel trailer we would travel in the summer and vacation all over New England and we were always somewhere near water. Spending time near the ocean meant a seafood dish! This scallop dish made a showing on almost every trip and no matter who we were camping with this was a favorite dinner for all. I usually serve this with a salad and sometimes garlic bread or both!

NOTE-you can pan sear the scallops in a little bit of butter if you want a little more texture OR toast up some crumbled ritz crackers with some melted butter and add on top of the dish when completed and zest some lemon over the top of the crackers!

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds sea scallops
1 stick of butter
Chopped garlic to taste
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup Asiago cheese
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
3/4 package of pasta, I use Rao’s spaghetti. Fettuccine would be fine too

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When the water is boiling add your pasta and cook until al dante.
Meanwhile in a large Large saucepan, (I use my enamel pot for this) melt butter over medium heat, add garlic and cook until the garlic is soft then lower the heat just a touch and add cream, cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir until combined.

When your pasta is done add it into the sauce mixture using tongs but DO NOT drain the boiling water!
Add the scallops to the pasta water and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the scallops turn a milky white. Remove the scallops from the water and add into the pasta and sauce.
Serve warm.

Enjoy!