Fancy French scallop dish that's really, really easy

Any dish that requires me to speak in a foreign accent scares me. So when Ina Garten (ie: The Barefoot Contessa) said she was going to be making scallops provencal on her Food Network show, I almost changed the channel. But that would have required me to remove my butt from the couch and fetch the remote during my vegetation period (ie: the 30-45 minutes when the girls are both napping at the same time); thus I decided to just lie still and watch it. And I'm so glad I did.

After watching her make this elegant scallop dish in a matter of minutes, without any complicated techniques or ingredients, I thought "Heck, I could do that!" And that I did...in fact, it was so easy & good, I made it twice in two weeks.

The thing that appealed to me about this recipe was that it uses really simple ingredients, most of which I already had on hand: scallops, butter, white wine, shallots, garlic, flour, a lemon, and some fresh parsley.

And the only kitchen gadgets required were a pan and some tongs. See - I told you it was easy! You can find the recipe by clicking here.

The more I learn about cooking, the more I discover that truly good food can be really, really simple. I've also learned that you can never go wrong mixing butter, white wine, garlic and lemon...so many great seafood dishes start with these basic ingredients!

P.S. For a side dish I made parmesan smashed potatoes, which are also extremely easy. You boil some red-skinned potatoes until they're soft. Then smash them with a fork (keep the skins on) and add some extra-virgin olive oil, parmesan cheese, and salt. Just keep smashing and tasting until it seems right.

It would also taste amazing over pasta!