Staying home on Valentine's Day is easy with these scallops
This Valentine's Day, take a pass on the expected.
Instead, stay home and show your love how much you care by assembling this simple - but impressive - baked scallop dinner. The beauty is that this recipe - which bathes scallops in a cream sauce and tops them with crispy panko breadcrumbs - is easily prepped up to 24 hours ahead, then refrigerated until you are ready to serve.
When you are ready for romance, just heat the oven to 400 F and pop the individual servings in for about 10 minutes. The result is impressive enough that you won't miss the restaurant experience even a little. Just add some crusty bread and a salad and you'll have a complete meal.
• Alison Ladman is a chef, food writer and recipe developer for The Associated Press. She also owns The Crust and Crumb Baking Company in Concord, New Hampshire.