William and Alistair humor each other:

me: what wine goes with eggs?

William: what is going in the eggs?

i don’t know that a wine is that terrific with just eggs, i’d say a very dry white, or a mild, not sweet red without too much body

like a merlot in the US… maybe a cote du rhone in France?

me: wow you took this very seriously

I would say a dry white myself

what wine goes with waffles?

William: if you are making spicy eggs or something, you could go with a shiraz or i’m-blanking-on-the-name

oh, for waffles, i know this

i’d either go with a geurtizammer (or something like that, i’m way off on the spelling) or a Sauternes

Gewürztraminer!

me: is it the same for pancakes?

William: man, i was kinda close, i had a lot of the same letters

sangria would be good too

but that’s wine + other stuff

and yeah, pancakes & waffles are close enough

are you making some lady pancakes this weekend?

me: yeah maybe

no I dont know

there was a song by the Intelligence called what wine goes with eggs

that is what started it

William: haha

i should post this on my blog

As I have been traveling a lot recently, I have not been able to update the blog with recipes I have been making. Kyle has stepped up so far and served us a few posts in my absence. I did sneak one post in about one of the restaurants I went to in Montreal, but I do feel that I need to post a recipe. So to get around this problem of not having a kitchen and still wanting to post a recipe, I decided to let a guest author post one of her recipes. We may have a few guests pop up from time to time and I feel it’s a good way to cover something Kyle and I may not have normally done.

For this post, I asked a good friend, Erica, to step up and deliver something for us. She was more than happy to oblige. I have known Erica for some time now and admire her fearlessness in the kitchen. She eagerly tackles any style of dish and has a knack for putting together creations of her own. In the past, Erica and I have hosted back-to-back dinners on different night for the same group of friends; each night one of us would make the entire meal. Those evenings were always a treat. I always got new ideas, had a fantastic dinner and got to share it with good friends. We live in different places now, so this post will have fill that role until the next time we meet. Erica and I have also had to share a kitchen at the same time… not an easy task when you are both alpha cooks. We were able to do it seamlessly though; it was a real treat cooking with her.

Anyway, I’ll let Erica speak for herself now:

Scallops in Orange Butter
(Scallops au beurre a l’orange)

Fish, considered in general, is an inexhaustible source of reflection to the philosopher.
-Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Scallops in Orange Butter

People may think the good chefs are ones technically trained in the fine artistry of classic French techniques only to produce foods by the steps they have been told to do. A real chef is one who takes those traditions and explores his artistic side to create a whole new method of cooking. My hero of cooking, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, was one amongst those who took the idea of cooking and dove deep into its vast and endless possibilities. He was actually no chef at all, but a philosopher and scientist who studied how food creates atmospheres, feelings, and opportunities. I also like to think about my food and use flavors to put a spin on traditional favorites. So without further ado, the dish:

I know, technically scallops are not fishes. They are mollusks. The reason I did not present a fish recipe is because most of the time I like to keep things very simple with fish.  It’s in scallops that I find the blank canvas I love to use in my cooking, and demonstrates some of Brillat-Savarin’s doctrines. In this dish, these principles play into my cuisine by creating a memory based on the smells, atmosphere and people. France is my inspiration when I think of my favorite ways, means, and places to cook. Coquilles Saint Jacques is responsible for some of my fondest memories I have of France: cooking a special meal for my boyfriend or partaking in a late night snack with his family in the summertime. It is not only a comfort food, an easy dish, but also a dish that can be served for one or for entertaining many (especially appropriate for the fall/winter season!) And hopefully you’ll develop some lovely memories of this beautiful bivalve too. One of my favorite sauces to serve with scallops is beurre d’orange and I’d love to share with you my version.

Scallops in Orange Butter

To help keep things organized; this recipe is presented in sections. The different parts of the dish are combined only at the last moment on the plate.

Serves: 2 for dinner or 6 for starter

Parsnips:
5 parsnips (washed and cubed)
sea salt
olive oil
¼ cup water
2 Tbsps olive oil

Beurre a l’orange:
Juice of 5 medium oranges
touch of honey
½ cup water
1 tsp ground white pepper
2 Tbsps butter

Scalopes:
6 large diver scallops- U/15- (see Choosing Scallops)
salt and pepper
fresh tarragon (as garnish)

Parsnips and orange-butter sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 450F.
2. Toss the washed, cubed parsnips on cookie sheet with olive oil and sprinkle sea salt. Roast in 450F oven for 20 minutes or until tender.
3. While parsnips are roasting, begin the beurre a l’orange sauce by adding the juice of the 5 oranges, one half cup of water, and a small amount of honey into a small sauce pan (honey is messy to measure, so just give the honey bear a small squeeze).
4. Stir to combine and cook on medium heat until reduced by half, about 7 minutes. There are a couple reasons to do this: one, to thicken the sauce and two, to concentrate the orange flavor. (I don’t generally like to use the orange zest in this particular application because I like a smooth looking sauce.) Here is how it will look in beginning and end. Notice the color change.
5. Stir 1 tsp white pepper and 2 tbsps butter into the sauce.
6. Once parsnips are done, transfer to a food processor (I used a blender since that’s all I have here) and add one quarter cup of water and 2 tbsps olive oil. Blend together until smooth, if desired consistency has not been reached, add water in small amounts and pulse. Set aside.

Scallops

Preparation

Before you are about to cook you want to remove the touch adductor muscle on the side of the scallop. It will be a little darker and have a rougher texture than the rest of the scallop. Just gently remove this part and it should come off very easily. Pat dry with paper towels to remove as much moisture as you can from the scallop. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Searing Scallops

Searing scallops seems to be hard to master for many of my friends. I will spend some time here in an attempt to simplify this technique so that no more will you fear searing these to perfection.

1. The first important thing to do with your prepared scallop is to pat it dry, as dry as you can get it.
2. Make sure your pan is hot, on medium high heat, with a thin layer of oil in the pan. Scallops have a natural milk that dissipates when the heat is too low, from my experiences, so it is important that your pan be hot enough to not let this happen. If you do end up with some milk in your pan, just wipe it out with every new addition of scallops.
3. Place lightly seasoned scallops in pan, 2 at a time opposite of each other. Cook for 2 minutes and do not move!!
4. Flip each scallop over in the other pair of empty spaces on the pan. Cook for another 2 minutes on this side and remove from heat. I do this to ensure that each side of the scallop gets the same amount of heat and a fresh coating of oil. If you flip it in the same position, there is heat loss that occurs from the first side and less oil means less golden seared surface.

Now it’s time to plate! (Plating is something we haven’t really covered on The Food Spot yet, so it’s nice that Erica is giving this some attention. -William)

Place ½ of parsnip puree on a plate for dinner or 1/6 of puree for appetizer. Divide 3 scallops among plates for dinner or 1 on each appetizer plate. Evenly distribute the sauce over the top of the scallops. Tear off fresh tarragon leaves from the stem and place on top. Serve immediately.

Deciphering scallop labels

I must say Alton Brown’s Good Eats episode Crustacean Nation does a fine job explaining what all those funny numbers are when choosing shrimp, you know, you’ve seen them like 50/60, 15/20, et cetera. These numbers apply to other shellfish as well. To sum it all up, a 20/30 means that there are about 20-30 scallops per pound. U-sizes like U/15 (U stands for “Under”) indicate that there are under 15 scallops to make up a pound, a pretty large size. U/15 may seem very large, but for many cases this is what is needed. The largest I believe is up to a U/10, which is again, 10 or less to make up a pound.

What a scallop should look like

Key points to keep in mind when choosing scallops:

• The color should be off-whitish-beige, even a little gray to pink but not white.
• Look out for scallops that look like they are in water, this can ruin their flavors.
• In some places (like France :) ) the adductor muscle that is orange is still attached. It is a little firmer and has more of a distinct fish taste than the body of the scallop. It’s a matter of personal taste, but I wouldn’t discard this-I think it’s a nice treat.
• Scallops should be firm and their shape should be uniform, not uneven or lopsided.

Actually, where I am in southern Louisiana, I could not find any fresh scallops unless I drove an hour away to the nearest Whole Foods. Therefore I used frozen sea scallops which came out beautifully. Again apply the same number measurements with frozen scallops to choose your correct sizes.

(Unless you live near the coast, I recommend buying most of your shrimp and other shellfish frozen and defrosting it yourself. This is one of the few cases where frozen is normally better. Commercially bought shrimp is frozen on the boat and then shipped frozen. The “fresh” shrimp your normally see in the supermarket is normally the same ones that are sold frozen. -William)