Cajun Seafood At Almost Heaven South

Title photo added for Lea Ann over at Mangos, Chili and Z :-)

We had some scallops in the freezer we wanted to use and I wanted to try them blackened. I added the butter and Zatarains Blackening Seasoning to a hot cast iron skillet and cooked the scallops for a couple of minutes per side then put them in the oven for about 10 minutes to finish cooking. The scallops were perfectly done, but I’m not getting the crust I’m looking for – I think I’m a little hesitant to get the pan as hot as it needs to be.

I wanted to serve them with some of the grits I’d made up the other day, so I cut them into about 3/8” slices and sautéed in olive oil to a golden brown.

Bev had bought several mangos the other day and we had a slice of fresh pineapple in the fridge, so I decided we should have a mango pineapple salsa as a topper. Bev made it from the diced fruits, finely chopped Vidalia onion, chopped cilantro, a smidgen of Kens Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette and lime juice. It was delicious.

Alex has decided she likes shrimp dusted with a little Cajun spice and sautéed in lemon butter, so we made some of those for her and tossed a few of the shrimp in the blackening skillet after the scallops were removed. I liked hers better than the blackened.

To plate, I laid down the grits, added the seafood and topped with the salsa.


I liked each of the components a lot, but the combo was just okay – I wouldn’t serve it in my restaurant unless it was in individual piles. While they were good, we also decided we prefer scallops prepared other ways. In summary – good effort, decent photo - and great strawberry pie for dessert.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Larry