Summer BBQ Scallops

I have to admit, I always get really jealous when I see pictures of people having a barbeque. I have worked weekends for the longest time and always got stuck with days off in the week. It has its advantages, I have to admit, but I have never been invited to a barbeque in the middle of the week. Now that I did have the chance to join a friend to their friends house for a house warming summer barbeque, I was all over the idea. Since I am still cleaning out cabinets and getting rid of random little jars I decided to take some things to the party. I stuffed a jar of harissa and and a jar of mango butter in my purse and I was on my way.

The friend I was going with suggested we pick up something to throw on the grill so we went to the supermarket together and ended up buying a batch of scallops. I decided to make a "BBQ-Sauce" by mixing the harissa and the mango butter, marinated the scallops in the sauce and crusted the scallops in crushed peanuts, which were already available at the party. The host made a delicious Thai treat. I decided there and then that, since Thai cuisine is undiscovered territory for me, I must experiment more with these flavors.

The scallop skewers took only a couple of minutes on either side. I had to be careful not to burn the peanuts so I chose a place on the grill were the flame was tempered. In hindsight, I could also have grilled them just seasoned with salt and pepper and then served them with harissa-mango sauce and crushed peanuts. They were delicious though, and it was wonderful to see complete strangers munch at them. 

The afternoon went by too quickly with a never ending supply of chops, beer can-chicken, cabbage salad, potato salad, watermelon-vodka coolers, fireflies and eventually candle lit conversation. What a good way to forget about your troubles and meet new people.