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Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Favorite Childhood Foods & Oven Fried Scallops

I have very distinct childhood food memories from my youth and I completely remember going through stages of development based on my favorite foods of the time. And when I look back I recognize that my age group and the foods I enjoyed were reflective of my life events.




So here is my favorite food break downs based on my childhood:

Age 0-5 Understanding Food

  • Pizza Crust-this is what I broke my first tooth on
  • Bananas (mushed,frozen, whole)-my Mom fed me so many that I truly overdose on them and hate them more than life itself today
  • Pancakes-ahhh the sugar rush of carbs and sugar, a lesson I learned at a young age
Age 5-10 Food Experimentation-The Education Begins
  • Stuffed Clams-these were clam shells stuffed with a chopped clam and breadcrumb mixture and they were fun to look at and eat
  • Breaded and Fried Scallops-my Aunt would make these for me when she watched me and we would watch Dynasty together
  • Pumpkin Pie-for breakfast. My Mom would always make pumpkin pie for the holidays and it just instantly felt festive eating it the morning after
Age 10-15 Getting out of the Family Food Comfort Zone
  • Tater Tots w/Ketchup and Mustard-pure teenage after school food...but I do have to admit that tater tots are still one of my guilty pleasures
  • Pop Rocks-I am not even sure if that counts as a food...but I loved them in Junior High!
  • Nacho Cheese Dip and Fritos....yup again total adolescent food
Age 15-20 High School/College Days
  • Top Ramen-college did not happen if you did not sustain yourself on Top Ramen...and I hate to admit this, but I loved the noodles crunchy and uncooked out of the package...ugh
  • Beer-it has carbs, so it counts, right?
  • Baked Rigatoni-nothing better than coming home to Mom, where she would make you cheesy, saucy, pasta....pure comfort food
Age 20+ Food Passion
  • Sushi-love fresh fish and food that I can eat with my hands or fling across a restaurant as I attempt to learn how to use chopsticks
  • Tamales-I loved to eat tamales for breakfast with salsa and guacamole...ok I still do it today...but not as often
  • Soup-my obsession for soup...all types of soup...and the experimentation that comes with cooking different soups
Today Food Adventures-today I eat it all, try it all and love to experiment with new and different foods. However, for the moment, meaning for this Tuesday at 2041hrs, I love....
  • My Mom's Pizza-the ultimate comfort food and the one thing I crave especially during difficult times
  • Risotto-I love risotto for some reason right now, the creamy texture, the diverse flavors and the plethora of options that can be mixed in with it
  • Game Dishes-just super curious about the different flavors that come with eating different types of game...the ultimate dining safari (pun intended)
So to pay homage to one of my favorite foods from the 5-10 year age range I decided to try and make Oven Fried Scallops. This was not my Aunts recipe, this was a recipe that I found in Southern Living, and I am sorry but my Aunts scallops are just better. She did not cook them in the oven, I am pretty sure she sauteed aka. fried them in a pan, but other than that, this recipe seemed pretty right on. Unfortunately, the breading did not stick very well to the scallops and the minute I plated them, the scallops became half naked, with the bottom breading staying on the pan. They also just didn't get that crispy exterior in the oven, that they get in the pan. And finally, I just thought the oven made them a little bit chewy. However, maybe I just put the childhood version so high on a kid memory pedestal that everything will pale in comparison, but if you are interested in playing around with this recipe here it is.


Take 1lb scallops and marinate in 2T lemon juice and 2T vegetable oil for 30 minutes.

Remove the scallops from the marinate. Combine 1 egg and 2T water. 


Also combine 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and a dash of paprika in a separate bowl.


Dredge the scallops in the egg mixture and then coat in the bread crumbs.


Place on a pan and drizzle with 1/4 cup melted butter. 



Bake in a 450 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. 

I know you all were hoping for pics of me at each of those age groups, however I am just not quite brave enough to bust out those old photo albums yet...wait for it...and Cheers!

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