Yet more citrus: scallops with navel oranges

Now this dish is typical of what goes on in this household. Sort of a cross between a situation comedy, random chaos, and a science lab.
Maybe that's not all that odd a combination as I think of it. Ok, here's the story.
To start, last week, I got a huge box of citrus from the Reedey gang. I immediately tried to fit it all in the fridge and ... no good.
This is not a problem when it's 20 degrees out and we're wearing sweaters in the house, but this week, it's 90, the humidity is ridiculous, blinking is making me sweat, and those untreated oranges are going to go bad. I have to think of ways to use them.

Ok, that's factoid one. Now, here comes factoid 2. I was planning a menu for friends tomorrow. The first course, after many forays into the three above mentioned areas, became pappa al pomodoro (you want that one?), the wonderful tomato soup, thickened with bread, with sauteed scallops.

Then the phone call came. One of the guys doesn't eat shellfish. In fact, he is allergic to it. "But don't worry. He'll be fine without them."

Yeah, but Annalena won't be. So, she immediately came up with another idea (duck rilettes. Don't you hate her?), and the scallops were earmarked for Sunday lunch.

My approach to cooking scallops is very simple and somewhat traditional. I put them in a bag with seasoned flour , shake to coat, and then dump them in a colander to get rid of the extra flour. Then I cook them in a nonstick pan with half olive oil, half butter, until they get a nice dark sear on both sides. I then finish the dish by taking out the scallops and adding some wine to loosen up the goodies, and pour it over the scallops.

Sounds good, huh? Well, now let's make it better.

Yup, navel oranges. This was inspired by a dish that I saw on a menu, where red grapefruit slices were added to fish. Sure looked pretty. And since I'm getting better at supreming (NOT imitating the group. I have that down pat), what the hell.

So, follow the recipe above, and before you start sauteeing, peel and slice two navel oranges. Supreme em if you know what that is and you can do it without an enormous amount of hassle. If you can't, don't worry, and just make slices , either vertical or horizontal. When you get to the point where you would add the wine, add the oranges first, and stir them through the goodies. Then add the wine.

The oranges will carmelize just a bit, and they add a lovely little "tang" against the sweet scallops.

Want more tang? Add some orange peel at the end, or use some lemon juice, or something like that. But use em. Use them as much as you can, before they're gone.

Make your own substitutions too. Betcha red grapefruit would look pretty here too.