Coquille St. Jaques

[woodburner]

I think this is going to turn out rather pretty. The scallops will be in white LeCreuset small gratins set on a large white porcelain plate with the roasted asparagus on the side. I may finely dice some red bell pepper for garnish on the asparagus. I have to think about the flavor, though. I haven't decided. I just seem to want a touch of red. Maybe I will just garnish the rim of the plates. *still thinking*

Thanks for the great post.

I also like a little red mixed in with scallops. What I devised this past summer was a perfect smoked scallop.

I grow round red hot cherry peppers in our garden. When ripe, I remove a few peppers from the pant, cut the top/stem off and de-seed and devein, after washing the pepper under cold water, they are cut into half inch slices.

A normal size sea scallop fits very nicely into the the center of the red pepper slice, and then I hotsmoke them for about 45 minutes.

They have a very nice presention when plated.

woodburner

[Bux]

I also like a little red mixed in with scallops. What I devised this past summer was a perfect smoked scallop.

I grow round red hot cherry peppers in our garden. When ripe, I remove a few peppers from the pant, cut the top/stem off and de-seed and devein, after washing the pepper under cold water, they are cut into half inch slices.

A normal size sea scallop fits very nicely into the the center of the red pepper slice, and then I hotsmoke them for about 45 minutes.

They have a very nice presention when plated.

I would think so. (Nice presentation, that is.) The idea of a smoked scallop is intriguing. I don't know much about smoking fish and have never had a smoked scallop, but I wonder what 45 minutes of hot smoking would do in terms of texture. Most hot smoked fish I've had has seemed pretty well done. I have not idea how long it's smoked and I've never had seafood that's smoked--well maybe canned clams.

The red you mention reminds me that in a good restaurant in France, you'd be likely to get the coral with the scallop. From time to time I've seem fresh scallops still in the shell with the coral. The coral is the best part, but it deteriorates quickly and most commercial fishermen just toss it overboard with no expectation of getting back to shore in time. I didn't even think to mention the coral.

Fifi -- It sounds as if they were perfect. In the old days, I never objected to more cream. Boiling down lots of cream was one way to thicken a sauce without using too much roux. Our problem was that people were turning down our dinner invitations because we used so much cream. Theoretically, it may be possible to over reduce the sauce and get too much intensity, but I don't ever recall that happening.

[project]

  QUOTE:

 

  Posted by: fifi Nov 8 2003, 11:26 PM

 

  OK guys... the scallops were an absolute hit. I did the

  sauce without the egg yolks but with a little extra

  cream. I used fresh muchrooms. There were some really

  nice button mushrooms so I used fresh. I sprinkled the

  top of the gratins with a little gruyere cheese, not a

  lot.

 

  That was the best St. Jacques I have ever had, anywhere.

  The rest of the party said the same thing.

 

  Many thanks, project.

 

  Glad you, and they, liked it!

 

  Two of my favorite mathematicians are J. Doob and J. von

  Neumann. Doob had a student, P. Halmos, who was an assistant

  to von Neumann at the Institute for Advanced Study in

  Princeton. Halmos, another favorite, wrote a book long

  popular in some areas of mathematics and mathematical physics

  and gave the Hamilton-Cayley theorem. His version was less

  general than possible, so I wrote him a letter. He wrote

  back: "It warms the heart of an author to be read and actually

  understood."

 

  As usual, Halmos was right! And you clearly understood my

  notes very well! Glad it worked!

 

  Digression: There is a famous theorem, the Radon-Nikodym,

  that says, given partial information, we can 'smooth' the full

  possible story to a description in terms of the partial

  information we do have, and the result is in powerful ways the

  best we can do. Well, von Neumann has an elegant proof of

  this theorem -- a masterstroke. Doob uses this theorem for

  the Martingale convergence theorem which can say that the

  stock market either (1) goes to 0, runs off to infinity, or

  stops changing or (2) has a predictable part. Since we don't

  believe (1), we could hope to make money with (2). Amazing.

 

  QUOTE:

 

  Posted by: fifi Nov 9 2003, 12:30 AM

 

  Actually, the little white gratins did look lovely! I

  thought about taking a picture but I don't have any way

  to post pictures, so I didn't. The green asparagus off to

  the side of the gratins set vertically on the big white

  porcelain plate made for a nice composition, spare and

  sort of contemporary. Quite artistic, if I do say so

  myself.

 

  My nephew (smooth talking attorney that he is) came to

  the table and said... "Holy shit!" Then he took a bite of

  the scallops and said... "Holy Shit! umm... This is

  serious stuff."

 

  I think what took the recipe over the top was the

  reduction of the poaching liquid. The shallots, mushrooms

  and wine did not over-power the scallop. It just made the

  sauce more scallopy (new word), I mean it screamed

  SCALLOP. Luckily, these were very nice scallops. The

  acidity of the wine was a perfect foil to the richness of

  the sauce, especially after balancing it at the end with

  a couple of squeezes of lemon. The sprinkling of the

  gruyere was just enough. You wouldn't want gobs of cheese

  on this, IMHO.

 

  Yes, white porcelain dishes are good for 'presenting' this

  dish. I have some, inexpensive, possibly from Pier One, that

  I used at times. Now the kitty cat gets her canned food in

  them!

 

  Of course, the traditional 'dish' is (half of) a scallop

  shell. The Time-Life book I listed has a nice full page

  picture. At times there have been wicker 'holders' to place

  under the shell to steady it -- now we're getting specialized!

 

  Your sense of taste and analysis of the reduction and acid are

  good. I did neglect to mention that one reason to use Macon

  Blanc is for its acid. Your approach to the cheese was good

  and what I should have said in the recipe -- the amount I

  listed in the recipe was likely too much.

 

  Yes, leaving out the egg yolks is an option. Then, with the

  cream, get a nice rich veloute, which should also be more

  'stable' (less likely to have the fat separate out). If at

  some time you do include the egg yolks, then you may conclude

  that the sauce 'texture', now a 'hot custard', is interesting.

  Also the pale yellow might make a nice contrast with the white

  dishes.

 

  It was for a reaction like your nephew's that I wanted to

  suggest, if only in jest, some appropriately dramatic music.

  So, while you are bringing a tray of new white Creuset dishes

  with 'Coquille St. Jacques Parisienne' from the kitchen to the

  dining room, could play 'The Great Gate of Kiev' or 'The

  Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla'. Parts of 'The 1812

  Overture' could work, say, time the entrance so that the

  cannon shots go off while you open a bottle of (usually

  relatively dry French) Champagne -- which should be able to

  accompany this dish!

 

  Yes, that sauce, with a nephew with temporarily moderated

  decorum, could pass the KFC test!

 

  The French, Child, et al., were on to something with this

  dish.

 

  Thanks for the report!

 

  Chalk up another step forward for civilization from

  electronics and eGullet!

[fifi]

I am not a music freak, except for the 1812 overture. I play that at maximum volume on the Bose every July 4th.

I am contemplating doing this dish for the daughter and son, both scallop freaks, when they are here for Christmas. I will consider the 1812 overture presentation.

[snowangel]

This has been one of the most delightful threads. Info, delightful exchanges, results -- exactly why I like eGullet!

[fifi]

yeah... I was faced with making something I had never made before to fulfill a friend's craving. I came here, started a thread, got wonderful results. Who can ask for more than that. eGullet rocks!

I forgot to add... I was a little dubious of dumping the hot reduction directly into the hot roux but I did what project said and dumped and just kept stirring with my wooden spatula. I was amazed. It became the smoothest sauce I had ever seen. It was absolutely silky.

[MichaelB]

I am not a music freak, except for the 1812 overture. I play that at maximum volume on the Bose every July 4th.

I am contemplating doing this dish for the daughter and son, both scallop freaks, when they are here for Christmas. I will consider the 1812 overture presentation.

There is just something wrong about serving a quintessentially French dish accompanied by music celebrating the Russian army's beating the snot out of the French.

[fifi]

No there is not. I think it would be divine justice.

edit to add: beating the snot out of the French is a fun thing, perpetuated in the 1812 Overture.

Edited November 11, 2003 by fifi (log)

[MichaelB]

No there is not. I think it would be divine justice.    

edit to add: beating the snot out of the French is a fun thing, perpetuated in the 1812 Overture.

OK. OK, but serve the food appropriate to the music. For the 1812, maybe caviar, blinis and borscht.

Get it?

Edited November 11, 2003 by MichaelB (log)

[fifi]

Yeah... I get it. But there is somethng perverse about serving a French classic to the 1812. I love perverse.

[MichaelB]

I love perverse.

I'll try to remember that.

[jayhay]

I'm having a "ladies" lunch to celebrate a birthday next week, & have been thinking of this as the main course. Does anyone have a recipe they'd care to share? I thought it would be an easy do-ahead dish, along with a green salad (any dressing ideas here?) & an orange chiffon cake for dessert.

[TarteTatin]

One of my favorite foods in the world is Coquille avec Roe!

For some reason, you can't get the roe attached in the States.

Whenever I ask anyone, they say its because it doesn't sell, that people don't like it.

Well, every time we go to Canada or France, I can't wait!

Does anyone have any inside info on this?

[snowangel]

One of my favorite foods in the world is Coquille avec Roe!

For some reason, you can't get the roe attached in the States.

Whenever I ask anyone, they say its because it doesn't sell, that people don't like it.

Well, every time we go to Canada or France, I can't wait!

Does anyone have any inside info on this?

←

I think it has to do with regulations.

[project]

I'm having a "ladies" lunch to celebrate a birthday next week, & have been thinking of this as the main course.  Does anyone have a recipe they'd care to share?  I thought it would be an easy do-ahead dish, along with a green salad (any dressing  ideas here?) & an orange chiffon cake for dessert.

←

For a <i>recipe,</i> can see my earlier posts in this thread. The laterposts do have some additional details and correctionsthat should be included in a polished recipe.

[fifi]

I have now made project's recipe several times. I am under orders, with extreme penalties for disobedience, to not "mess" with the recipe.

[jayhay]

For a recipe, can see my earlier posts in this thread. 

←

I look pretty silly, don't I, with your recipe printed right here? My post was merged from another thread.

Thanks, project, I think I'll give it a try!

[fifi]

. . .

I look pretty silly, don't I, with your recipe printed right here? My post was merged from another thread.

. . .

←

Not at all. Merges sneak up on you. You will look silly if you don't try that recipe. I just talked to my son and we discussed this very topic since this thread being bumped up reminded me of the scallops. He said that he has had the dish at several really good restaurants in Chicago and DC. He said that Mom's (actually project's) is still the best. I take that seriously. He can be a tough critic.

[chefjack]

I don't know if everyone has covered a more modern way to do Coquille St. Jacques beside the whip cream method, but heres my opinion on the matter. Prepare a cream clam stock and shallot reduction to a nappe (coat the spoon) consistency, season with pinches of cayenne salt white pepper and nutmeg (I add pinches of those spices to all my cream sauces (not too much just a hint.))

Now if you are lucky to get scallops in the shell or buy scallops and buy the shells seperately, use the liquor from the scallops to the above sauce. Make sure you clean the shells and the scallop muscle. Make some pipe-able potato puree (this is where I add Gruyere chesse to (makes a tasty mash!) also flavored with pinches of nutmeg, white pepper and salt to taste. Chop finely some shallots and mushrooms (I like chanterelles when in season but oysters would work (I don't like buttons .) and saute them lightly in butter s&p and deglaze with white wine.

I like to quick sear the scallops (ok if you got really good scallops all you need is salt and pepper if you don't make sure they are dry and sprinkle them with a little sugar with s&p) and quick sear them on high heat. Split them in half if they are biq scallops if not leave them whole.

OK - Scallop shells ----->in go the scallops, topped with sauteed shallot mushroom mixture, now if you want some color in this you could add some tomato concasse (peeled seeded finely diced tomato,) pipe your mash around the shell making a circle (not too close to the edge, but close enough to make the shell closed when baked.) Then finally the cream clam juice reduction, some fresh herbs of choice (chives, tarragon (easy on that one if you are going to use it,) or chervil would be great) and close the shell making a tight little package. Bake for about 10 -15 minutes (depending on shell size and scallop size (you can always pop one open and look then re-seal it with some left over potato puree,) until scallops are just cooked and steamy. Place the shells on a neatly folded linen towel.

Serve tableside, opening the shells in front of your guests and look at the responses. A nice Alsacian white would be great something with acidity to cut through the fattiness.

Now if you don't have scallop shells invest in some nice gratin dishes and follow the same process however bake them and then broil them (gratineeing them) And serve as above.

Cheers! Bon Appetite!!