Prepare the seafood 

1. Heat a large skillet or saute pan on medium heat.  Add 1 tbsp of butter.  Once the butter has melted, pat dry the scallops and cook them in the butter until opaque, about 3-4 minutes, stirring every so often - remove them from the heat and place them in a small bowl

Saute the Holy Trinity 

1. In the same skillet or saute pan that cooked the scallops, add the remaining 1 tbsp of butter. Once melted, add the celery, onion, and red pepper. Cook until the vegetables soften, about 5-7 minutes. Once softened, stir in the garlic, 1 teaspoon of thyme, salt, cayenne, and pepper, and cook until you can smell the spices, about 30 seconds.

Make the Cream Sauce 

1. Turn the burner down to low and add the cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, and soy sauce. Stir constantly until the cream cheese has melted and the ingredients are all combined. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese, and half of the cheddar cheese and continue to stir until the cheese has melted.

Prepare the Dip 

1. Once all the cheese has melted and the ingredients have been well combined, taste the dip and add any additional salt, pepper, or cayenne pepper to taste.  Next, fold in the cooked bay scallops into the skillet mixture and then carefully spread the mixture into an 8-10-inch cast-iron skillet (or any other 2-quart oven-safe dish). Sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese over the dip, followed by the paprika.

Broil the Dip 

1. Place the oven-safe dish on an oven rack that is about 8-inches from the broiler element. Turn the broiler on "hi" and broil the dip until the cheese is well browned about 3-5 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle the dip with remaining thyme. Let the dip cool for about 5 minutes before serving.