Julia's Scallops Gratinéed

The 100th anniversary of Julia's birth is fast approaching on the 15th! Many area restaurants are serving up some of Julia's classic dishes. I recently enjoyed an incredible sole meunière dish over at Clio.

Sole Meunière by Chef Douglas Rodrigues of Clio

Recipe number fourteen for the JC100 blogger event is Scallops Gratinéed with wine, herbs, and of course...butter (Coquilees St. Jasques a la Provencale)! Oh, and cheese, butter....and more butter! The minced onions, shallots, and garlic cooked with wine in this recipe makes for a very delicious sauce. Be sure to have a nice baguette or favorite bread with this dish for soaking it all up!

Ingredients

1/3 cup minced yellow onions

5 tablespoons butter (!!)

11/2 tablespoons minced shallot, or green onions

1 clove minced garlic

11/2 lbs. washed scallops

salt and pepper

1 cup flour

2/3 cup white wine, or 1/2 cup dry vermouth and 3 tablespoons water

1/2 bay leaf

1/8 teaspoon thyme

1/4 cup grated swiss cheese

Cook onions slowly in butter for 5 minutes or so, until tender and translucent, but not browned. Stir in the shallots or onions, and garlic, and cook slowly for 1 minute more. (Your kitchen will small incredible right about now). Dry scallops and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices. Just before cooking, sprinkle with salt and pepper, roll in flour, and shake off excess. Saute scallops quickly in very hot butter and oil for 2 minutes to brown them lightly. If you have people waiting to eat these, the aroma will make it very difficult for them to wait for this dish. I highly recommend serving them a cheese plate ahead of time to prevent someone from coming in the kitchen and burning their fingers in hot oil and butter when they try to steal a scallop! Next, pour the wine (or vermouth) and water, into the skillet with scallops. Add the herbs and cooked onion mixture. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Uncover, and if necessary, boil down the sauce rapidly for a minute until it is lightly thickened (I let it boil down for a few minutes). Spoon the shallots and sauce evenly into shells, or individual casserole dishes. Sprinkle with cheese and dot with butter (!). Run under moderately hot broiler for 3 to 4 minutes to heat through, and to brown the cheese lightly. Enjoy!!!

Did I mention that there was butter in this recipe?!

Bon Appétit!

 *Excerpted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Copyright © 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.