I cannot even handle how great Monday nights episode of The Bachelor was. I kind of want to watch it again. And I just might. Thank the lawd the producers threw in some wrenches because things were feeling quite boring and slow week after week. Probably because Nick is the Bachelor. Ugh. The episode started off with Taylor throwing herself under the bus a second time by coming back from the swamps where she was left behind to talk to Nick and expose Corinne. But Nick is smart and he knows he should’t be with someone as boring as him. So he booted her, again. Pretty lame start. So you know what producers did? They decided that the rose ceremony would include NO cocktail hour and the women are obviously pissed. No 8 hour night of drinking and sitting in some sort of cold barn? DAMN YOU, ABC! They should honestly be thanking the producers for giving them a night off from uncomfortable dresses and high heels.
Let’s just talk about one thing here: What is Danielle L’s obsession with plunging necklines. Every single outfit of hers needs boob tape and nipple petals. And believe me, I get it, we should dress to show off our best attributes. But Danielle is beautiful and not just beautiful on the skin between her boobs. Her dress was awesome, but it was the 47th plunging dress she owns. We get it, you exfoliate daily.
Nick gets rid of 3 ladies, who all seem like upstanding citizens. Getting rid of Alexis (shark girl) was the worst decision of his life. I wish producers would have forced him to keep her for a while longer and then she could end up being The Bachelorette. We need a funny one to match up to Kaitlyn. I can’t handle someone as boring as Nick in female form, aka Danielle M. She seems like a kind human but she talks like she’s high on vicodin and xanax. Maybe that’s how she keeps herself entertained during this sh*t show. She’s a genius.
Ok, back to the point. After Nick rids himself of 3 females, they finally go somewhere worth traveling to: St Thomas. Totes jelly. So Nick decides to start his trip off with Kristina, the tiny doll human with a Russian accent. I honestly don’t remember anything that they did on the date, truly. But what I do remember is when she became the ultimate front runner, telling her story about becoming an orphan in Russian and being adopted by a family in America at age 12. F*cking badass story that had Nick, me and my dog all crying. She’s adorbs and I want to pick her up and put her in my pocket. Who doesn’t want her to win it now? Or at least become the next Bachelorette. I mean, COME ON!
Then…the group date. What a hot, sticky, drunken mess. Remind me that if a guy I’m dating (aka my husband) ever asks me to play sports with other women, while intoxicated, in a bikini…to shoot him. No one looks hot playing volleyball in bikinis unless you are in the olympics. Just plain fact. Especially when your makeup is smearing and bikinis are slipping. Not good. Corinne gets wasted and it’s the best. I like her. But after enough volleyball to make any person despise all ball sports completely, they all split off and all begin to cry to themselves. I find it extremely unrealistic that absolutely no one is hanging out with each other while they weep on the beach. Drunk sad b*tches flock together. Aka my college years.
By the end of the night the warm weather, volleyball and shots of tequila brings out frizzy hair and true colors. Jasmine, the dancer of some sports team that I don’t care about, begins to go down the rabbit hole of psychosis. Too bad Taylor was already gone because she probably could have pulled out some mental health. Or at least smacked her. But instead, Jasmine cried her face off until she exploded. And her explosion landed in the form of her saying she would choke Nick…to Nick. She probably said choke 60 times to him. Choke you. The chokey. Want me to choke you. No girls ever choked you? I can choke you later. This poor girl just couldn’t hold back the true psycho inside her. She really needs to take a kickboxing class. Or get laid. It’s safe to say that Nick wasn’t turned on and she got the boot. Raven had it right when she said, “If Jasmine was a vegetable, she would be a turnip, because she is turned all the way up.” Hell yeah, Raven, she is turned up and has been now turned down. I love Raven. RIP Jasmine.
Last but not least: the two on one date between Danielle L and Whitney. First of all, who the hell is Whitney? Did they just pull some Victoria Secret model on the show or something? I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen her. Whatever. They go on a 2-on-1 date and Nick quickly figures out that Whitney had accidentally walked into the wrong casting call, so he let her go by flying away in a helicopter. ABC’s signature move. Later on that night, Danielle L, who is still bursting out a few of her awkward laughs, decides to take things to the next level with Nick by professing her love for him. And how does he reciprocate? By looking like he’s constipated and sending her home, too. Savage.
The end of the episode is just the weirdest part. Nick comes into the hotel room with all the un-makeup’d ladies and begins to cry and say that he doesn’t know what he’s doing. And then leaves abruptly. It’s pretty much a smack to the face of all the women who quit their jobs to embarrass themselves on national TV while playing volleyball in bikinis. You don’t know why you’re here, Nick?! You’ve had 3 years and 3 slots of primetime television to think it over. GET YOUR LIFE TOGETHER!
And that’s all she wrote. Hopefully your love story is going a little bit smoother than this one. If it isn’t, call up Jasmine, I’m sure she can help you sort through your relationship ups and downs. But until then, make these scallops for yourself, your honey, or the person you hope to choke. Bad joke, guys, bad joke.
Valentine’s Day Seared Scallops Dinner for Two
- Yield: 2 1x
Ingredients
For the marinated tomatoes
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- pinch of salt and pepper (I used pink peppercorns)
For the chipotle cream sauce
- 1 (14 ounce) can of coconut milk
- 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce + 2 tablespoons of the adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- salt, to taste
For the cauliflower puree
- 4 cups cauliflower florets (I use defrosted frozen cauliflower because it steams faster)
- hefty pinch of salt, to taste
- pinch of black pepper, to taste
For the scallops
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 6–8 sea scallops
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Place all ingredients for the marinated tomatoes in a bowl and toss to coat completely. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate.
- Place ingredients for the chipotle cream sauce in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour mixture into a large sauté pan over medium heat and let come to a low boil and reduce by at least 1/3. The sauce will thicken and darken a bit and this should take about 10-15 minutes. Once reduced, taste to see if you like it sweeter or if it needs more salt. Remember that the scallops are sweet so you don’t want the sauce to be too sweet.
- While the sauce is cooking, steam the cauliflower. Once fork tender, place in a high speed blender with salt and pepper, and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides when needed. If you use a high speed blender, you’ll be able to get this super smooth consistency. Taste to see if it needs salt or pepper. Set aside.
- Lastly, place another sauté pan over medium heat and add ghee. Wash scallops and pat dry then sprinkle salt on top of all of them. Once ghee is melted and pan is very hot, add scallops without crowding the pan. Once you place the scallops in the pan, use tongs to move each scallop around in a swirling motion. I do this to keep them from sticking in the pan. Once you swirl them once, you should not need to do this again. Let cook on both sides for about 3 minutes until browned.
- To serve, place a large plop of the cauliflower on a plate, place your spoon in the middle of the plop then slide the spoon down the plate. Serve 3-4 scallops at one end and some of the marinated tomatoes at the other end, then pour some of the cream sauce on top.*
Notes
*You will have lots of leftover cream sauce so use it on chicken or fish or as a hollandaise on top of eggs!
___________
More Valentine’s Dinner Date Ideas:
Lemon Basil Seared Scallop Pasta
Crispy Skin Salmon with Béarnaise Sauce
______________
Click Here To Get All My PaleOMG Recipes Into Your Meal Planner With Real Plans!
I may be compensated through my affiliate links in this post, but all opinions are my own. This compensation helps with expenses to keep this blog up and running! Thank you for your support with PaleOMG!
Just made this for my husband for Valentine’s Day. It was amazing. Better than amazing, it was one of the best meals I’ve ever made. Omg. Juli, you’ve done it again… this is unreal 10/10 thank you!!!!!!
yayyyyyy!! that’s so awesome!!
I made this for V-day and we LOVED it! I’m such a huge fan and you could tell me to make a chocolate pie (see”The Help”) and I probably would. Every recipe I have tried from you is nothing short of awesome!
OMG Juli, the Chipotle Cream Sauce! To die for!!!! So amazingly good. Had it last night with chicken, sautéed mushrooms and the left over cauliflower puree. In fact, having the sauce with my breakfast right now…sausage, kale and sauce. Boom!
Thanks for all the great recipes!
awwwww that’s so awesome!! glad you loved it!!
So I made this for V-Day dinner and it was fantastic!! The only down fall was that my chipotle cream sauce did not seem to get as thick as I was hoping. BUT it was all delicious and my husband loved it. I have made several of your recipes and have enjoyed them all. Love your posts and the food inspiration. Have an amazing day!
if it wasn’t quite thick enough, that just means it needs to cook down a little longer and it will definitely thicken up!
Seriously I wish we could watch the bachelor together bc we are the same page! I was wondering the same thing about “DLo”s dresses. They are pretty and she definitely has the bod to rock them, but I would be scared of nip slip. Leave some mystery for the real relationship.
I am so sad that Christina or Alexis are not the next Bachelorette. I was laughing out loud on the first episode where she insisted she was a dolphin – my husband just gave me a disappointed look. He does not usually approve of my TV choices when it involves reality tv, but I establish living room dominance first so he has to go somewhere else if he doesn’t want to watch.
Also the Whitney comment – so true – I think that is the most screen time she has had so far.
I am sure the producers know that alcohol brings out emotions so they just provide the drink and hope for the drama. Cant wait to read your next recap.
This sauce! I am a condiment queen. I had all the stuff for the sauce & wanted something to dunk my pork chop in last night so, why not? I put my portion in a ramekin & I may or may not have drank what was left. Now I want to dunk all the things! So easy & delicious!!!
Incredibly easy recipe, with an insane amount of flavor! My Fiancee loves scallops, and I’m generally not a seafood person. I made these for an early valentines day dinner and I was absolutely blown away. This may be one of the best meals I’ve ever cooked for her, and it was so easy to do. Definitely adding this one to the repeat list!
PS: we added some butter and garlic powder to the cauliflower puree, it was like fine dining mash potatoes… So good!!