Scallops with Tomatoes, Shiitakes, and Olives

The idea for last night's dinner was inspired by a dish, "Day Boat Halibut, pan seared, with chardonnay, nicoise olives, shiitake mushrooms, grape tomatoes, and fresh basil", served at a local restaurant in Point Pleasant Beach (Daniel's Bistro).  Well, unable to get halibut from the seafood market, I decided to buy scallops.  I have raved about our local scallops before - they are so fresh and delicious! 

I seared the scallops in a pan with a little olive oil and butter.  Once the scallops were cooked, I removed them to a plate.  I added the shiitake mushrooms followed by Nature Sweet tomatoes (the ones in the net bag) cut in half.  I deglazed the pan with some chardonnay and let some of the wine cook off.  Next, I added some olives - the wrong olives!  I could not find Nicoise in any of my local markets and instead used what I had, which was black olives.  Not the best idea - I should have substituted maybe Kalamata or Gaeta because the black olives didn't quite work.  Lastly, I swirled in a pat of butter, some fresh basil, and added back the scallops. 

Even with the slight olive debacle, the dish was just delicious.  My husband pushed the olives to the side and thoroughly enjoyed the scallops.  I would not hesitate to make this again but with different olives. 

I definitely need a Whole Foods or Wegmans closer to home! 

Happy Mother's Day!!!