Pan-Seared Scallops over Baby Spinach

Believe it or not I have never had scallops until last week.  My husband and I went to dinner and instead of ordering two main dishes we just ordered a bunch of appetizers.  I tend to get a little daring when trying appetizers and my hubby suggested we get the scallops, which he loves. Well, now I have a love affair with scallops.  I came home that night and started looking for scallop recipes.
I found this recipe from a cooking light magazine I had lying around.  Of course I changed some things because god forbid I leave a recipe the way it is.  So here is what I did.

What I used:
4 slices of bacon, 12 large Sea scallops, course salt, fresh ground pepper, 1 medium chopped onion,  1 chopped clove of elephant garlic, 1 bag of baby spinach, 1 lemon, 1 tsp lemon zest, 1/4 cup cooking sherry, 6 - 8 stalks of  chopped asparagus, fresh sliced Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

(okay, so I forgot to put the lemon, the cheese and the cooking sherry in the picture...oops)

Cook bacon in a hot skillet until crispy, chop bacon and put aside.  Take the scallops and pat them dry with a paper towel, sprinkle some course salt and fresh ground pepper over the scallops.
In the really hot pan which already has the bacon drippings in it place the scallops in.  Allow the scallops to sear for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side.  Once the scallops are done cooking place them aside and keep them warm.
Now throw in the chopped onion, garlic and asparagus.  Allow that to cook for a few minutes.  Once the onions are transparent and the asparagus is a bright green, add the cooking sherry, the juice of one lemon and the lemon zest.  Next add half of the spinach, allow the spinach to cook for 2 minutes.  You want the spinach to start to wilt.  Now add the other half of the spinach and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Put some of the spinach mixture onto a dinner plate.  Next, add a few of the scallops and some of the chopped bacon.  Shave some fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over the top and serve with a lemon wedge and a piece of crusty bread.  YUM!

My hubby said this was the best meal ever!!!

Guess what's on the menu tonight?   

Shrimp and Goat Cheese Risotto!