A SCALLOP DISH FOR THE SUMMER

SEA SCALLOPS with TOMATO CORN RELISH

I am a fan of scallops.

The problem is getting good scallops, and a reason for this is "wet" scallops versus "dry" scallops.

There is a difference between wet scallops and dry scallops. The difference is how they are preserved. Wet scallops which are what we most often find in American stores, are commonly treated with phosphates which are a preservative.  Besides having an effect on the taste, scallops soaked in this manner absorb water which, of course, is released when cooked making them harder to brown and smaller. Dry scallops are not treated with any chemicals.  They are harvested directly from the ocean, then immediately frozen. They are harder to find than wet scallops and are more expensive but are definitely worth the effort.

Served along with whole wheat orzo and fresh spinach, this meal is both easy and healthy. It is simple enough for a weeknight and (I think) elegant enough for company. My wife liked it not only because of the taste but she said it looked good on the plate!

First, the relish:

Two tablespoons of unsalted butter
Two ears of fresh, sweet corn (cut from the kolb)
Two cups of quartered cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup of fresh basil (chopped)
One tablespoon of cidar vinegar
One teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Do this a couple of hours ahead of time if you can to allow the flavors to meld.

Melt the butter in a saute pan and cook the corn over medium heat until cooked and slightly brown (about 5 minutes). Add the tomatoes and saute for another two minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a glass bowl to cool. Once room temperature, I stirred in the basil, vinegar, sugar and salt. I covered the bowl and put it in the refrigerator. (By the way....this relish is also good with grilled chicken).

For the orzo, I used whole wheat orzo and cooked it by the directions on the container. When it was almost done, I add a bag of baby spinach and a pinch of garlic salt and let the spinach cook down as the rice was finishing cooking. Cover to keep warm.

Now for the scallops. This was not difficult as I threaded the scallops on skewers and cooked them on the grill. One trick I've learned is when grilling scallops either use a grill pan to "saute" the scallops on the grill or to thread two skewers through each scallop. This makes it much easier to turn the scallops on the grill.

Heat the grill to around 400 degrees. Dip a thick wad of paper towels in a bowl with cooking oil in it and liberally grease the grill to prevent the scallops from sticking.

Place the skewered scallops on the grill and baste with a simple mixture of melted butter and salt and pepper. Nothing fancy. Close the top, cook for about five minutes. Turn the scallops, baste again and cook for another five minutes. The scallops should be lightly browned and firm.

Plate the scallops and spoon the relish over them or on the side. Add the orzo and you have dinner!

What am I drinking with this?

Through my good friend at Aleph Wines, Jean Pierre Chambas, I have been enjoying several white burgundies produced by Maison Champy in the Cote de Beaune.

This Pernand-Vergelesses is produced in the commune of the same name and is notable for it's better known and much more expensive neighbors: Corton, Corton-Charlemagne and Charlemagne. It is a reasonable priced wine from the 2009 vintage that does nicely on its own but pairs beautifully with food.

So there you have it!!!

A summertime meal easy enough for a weeknight but elegant enough for weekend guests.

Beef Daube....to "glacée or not to glacée"

Think of a cold winter night with a roaring fire and the idea of a hearty beef daube over rice with crusty french bread to sop up the gravy brings a smile to my face.

Daube is a french word that, according to one dictionary definition is: "a stew of braised meat, vegetables, herbs, and spices."

Daube de Boeuf is a classic french dish. The beef is braised then slowly cooked in a heady concoction of vegetables, rich stock, wine and herbs.

The problem is, it's the middle of summer and the heat index is over 100 degrees and the idea of sitting down to a big ole bowl of beef stew is NOT that appealing. So......how to enjoy that wonderful flavor in a summer version?

Answer: Daube Glacée (pronounced Dobe Glah Say)

Often served in New Orleans as an hors d’oeuvres, Daube Glacée  is simply leftover daube that was cooked with spices and a stock which included veal bones and pigs feet. These are high in natural glycerin which when mixed with the daube and poured into a terrine, formed a solid jelly-like mass. This was either sliced and served as a cold meal or in smaller pieces as hors d’oeuvres.

I remember as a child my Aunt Louise would give a loaf of Daube Glacée to friends and family at Christmas. I can still picture my father sitting at the kitchen table, quite content, with a thick slide of Daube, a spoonful of mayonnaise and a pile of saltines.

A number of the older recipes for this dish include the pigs feet and so on but as a practical matter, unflavored gelatin does the trick.

The recipe I use comes from Chef John Besh of Restaurant August in New Orleans. His cookbook: My New Orleans, the cookbook should be a "must have" for any chef who loves New Orleans. More information can be found at www.chefjohnbesh.com


I'm not going to type the recipe here as it has a lot of ingredients but you can find it on Google and here is the link: http://books.google.com/books?id=L-PBWXgTTjsC&pg=PA344&lpg=PA344&dq=john+besh+beef+daube+glace&source=bl&ots=qNXE5mIFcc&sig=9c9zW_ALq6n3vxpudRbSTxkEqzM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=SDocUKOFDcfb0QHmpIHwAw&ved=0CGIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=john%20besh%20beef%20daube%20glace&f=false

I followed the directions pretty closely. The dried mushrooms I used were chanterelle mushrooms. I keep a number of different dried mushrooms and I felt the chanterelle mushroom imparted a pleasant flavor without overpowering the dish. Incidentally, I buy all my dried mushrooms from Olive Nation. They have wonderful products besides the mushrooms. Here is a link: http://www.olivenation.com/Mushrooms-C52.aspx

The big hurdle with this recipe is the veal stock. Where I live, it is impossible to find in a grocery store. So I either have to order it, make it or fake it. My preference is to make it but try finding veal bones. A reasonable alternative is to use store bought demi-glace. The demi-glace is made with veal and when added to a combination of water and beef broth, it comes close. Candidly, I would simply suggest using beef broth. Some will argue with me but I think, especially for this recipe, it adds boldness to the dish.

Something else I take care with is the wine I use. I've written here before that the first rule about cooking with wine is if you wouldn't drink the wine, don't cook with it. This rule applies for any bottle you might already have open. Don't think "well I don't want to waste it so I'll stick it in the stew". If the wine has turned, and you don't enjoy drinking it, don't cook with it. However, all is NOT lost. Don't throw out this wine, save it in a ceramic vat for fabulous red wine vinegar.

I think this recipe calls for a big wine and that makes me gravitate to the Southern Rhone wines. I used a Cotes du Rhone (Guigal Cotes du Rhone 2007).

Something else that I did different was the cooking time. I started this around 5:30 one evening and around 8:00 that night, I let it cool and put it in the refrigerator. I took it out at lunch time the next day and let it simmer on very low heat until around 6:00 that night, stirring it periodically and adjusting seasoning.

Since I hadn't forgotten about those cold winter nights, I didn't make Daube Glacée out of all of it. I put a fair amount in the freezer for the winter.

That reminds me......here is another idea for this recipe: Beef and Barley soup. Somebody remind me later and I'll tell you how I use this as a basis for a great winter soup.

I took the rest of the daube and added the gelatin, let it cool and put it in the refrigerator.

So.....here it is!!!

A nice cold way to eat beef stew on a hot summer night.

How did I serve it? We had a slice of daube accompanied by cooked and chilled haricot verts along with a large dollop of homemade mayonnaise. Not bad.

And....guess what??? Don't like it cold? Hell....heat it up and it is Daube de Boeuf again!!

What did I pour with it??

This is clearly a red wine meal. So I picked one of the great wines from the Languedoc region of France: Mas de Gassac vintage 2000. The wine is a blend of Rhone and Bordeaux grapes and is outstanding.