Seared Scallops on Sweet Potato Chips

Wednesday night I was on my own for dinner. My husband had an impromptu work event, which he informed me of at the last minute. As usual. When I don't have to feed him, it's a free pass to cook whatever I want for myself. Unfortunately, my groceries arrived very late - it never fails that when you're depending on the delivery, it doesn't show up. Every other time, it's early. So despite my big dreams for the boxes filled with foods, I was starving, and had to come up with something that took almost no time to cook (I'm kind of always starving). I looked through my barren fridge while I waited, and found a lone sweet potato at the bottom. I heated the oven, started to slice, and made a plan to rip into the boxes as soon as they arrived. Lucky I ordered scallops, since they take about 5 minutes to cook.

Seared Scallops on Sweet Potato Chips
1 Medium sweet potato, thinly sliced
Olive oil
Seasoning: Kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder, or seasoning salt

1/2 lb Sea Scallops, patted dry
1-2 Tbsp unsalted butter
Salt & Pepper
Toasted Pistachios

Preheat oven to 450F. Drizzle oil on a large baking sheet and lay the potatoes in a single layer. Drizzle tops with oil and season. Bake for about 20 minutes total, flipping each slice after 10 minutes. Toast the pistachios in the oven for about 3 minutes.

When potatoes are almost done, heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Season the scallops with salt & pepper. Melt butter in the skillet and when it starts to bubble, add the scallops flat side down - working largest to smallest scallop. When they start to turn opaque, flip each one. Remove small ones as soon as they are totally opaque and browned on each side, as not to overcook.

Serve as an appetizer, with scallops set onto the potato slices and garnished with pistachios. Serve with a green salad with citrus vinaigrette for a meal, and toss the extra potato slices into the salad.