Curses, foiled again!

I love my kitchen so much -- black granite countertops, black French door fridge, cherry cabinetry -- and cooking in it is such a joy. The only thing to make that better is cooking for friends. Last week, Jessica's husband was out of town so it was a good time for her to come over and sample some Claire wares.

Many moons ago, my friend Kimi had passed on a recipe for a "super simple" dinner involving scallops and foil packets. I finally got the ingredients together (following trips to three different grocery stories before I found orzo at a Santa Ana Ralph's) and Jess and I chowed down while plowing through three bottles of white wine (Beringer Pinot Gris, Novella Synergy Blanc, and Naia Verdejo)...and watching the season finale of the Jersey Shore. Because we're klassy like that.

Scallops with Orzo in Foil

Makes 4 servings.

Time: 25 minutes, 40-ish if you need to cook the orzo

Ingredients
1 pound raw Alaskan scallops (I used frozen scallops, probably smaller than Alaskan, but they worked fine)

3 cups cooked orzo pasta

1 (13.75-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

2 cups cherry tomato halves (I used baby heirloom tomatoes from TJ's -- they were so cute!)

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 lemon, juiced (this is SO important. The combo of fresh lemon and fresh dill will be heaven in your mouth)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste

3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, or 1 tablespoon dried dill weed (I HIGHLY recommend fresh)

1 (4-ounce) package crumbled feta cheese (I used the lemon-herb flavor)

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 450°F or grill medium-high.
COMBINE scallops, orzo, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and dill.
CENTER one-fourth of mixture on each sheet of foil.
BRING up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Repeat to make four packets.
BAKE 14 to 18 minutes on a cookie sheet in oven OR
GRILL 9 to 11 minutes in covered grill.

Sprinkle with feta cheese before serving.

I only baked two of the packets, then took the others to work the following day to bake in the toaster oven for lunch. My co-workers were so jealous of the great smells coming from the kitchen!