ISO Sea scallop recipe help

[Village Idiot]

I really like me some scallops and I wanted to try something but I don't know what I need to finish it off.

I was thinking about Sea Scallops wrapped in bacon with the bacon brushed with a maple syrup and brown sugar mix and then searing the whole thing.

I'm thinking I need a cherry on top, but I don't know what type of cherry.

It's going to have a sweet overall flavor, so would something contrasting work? What about a mix of something like fresh chopped cilantro with a balsamic vinagarette on top. Is there some kind of "sour" salsa I could make?

 

[JMediger]

You could try a slaw of fine cabbage, red onion, oil and vinegar, salt and pepper. It would give it a little crunch and off set the sweet you are doing with the maple syrup.

Sounds really good but I'm not sure about your searing idea. Are you going to quick sear then finish in the oven? How will the bacon get cooked? Just a thought ...

 

[Callisto in NC]

I keep looking at this because it sounds good until I get to the cherry. I would avoid the cherry, but that's just how I would enjoy it.

I agree a nice salad, spring greens maybe, would be a nice accompaniment to the scallops.

 

[kadesma]

I cook the bacon to almost done, wrap the scallops then put them in a smoking hot pan brown one side, turn then dress with a melted butter, white wine.garlic and parsley.
kadesma

 

[Village Idiot]

You could try a slaw of fine cabbage, red onion, oil and vinegar, salt and pepper. It would give it a little crunch and off set the sweet you are doing with the maple syrup.

Sounds really good but I'm not sure about your searing idea. Are you going to quick sear then finish in the oven? How will the bacon get cooked? Just a thought ...

I was thinking about precooking the bacon so it's about done and then wrapping the scallops and brushing the bacon then, then cook the scallops and finish the bacon with the remaining bacon grease in the pan.

 

[mike in brooklyn]

Only my opinion -

I think scallops have a very delicate subtle flavor and
when I cook them I do as little to them as possible.

Marinate for 20 min. or so in Olive oil, garlic and soy sauce.

Saute them a min or 2 on each side over high heat or
sometimes broil them.

As far as a side - how about mustard greens for a sourish
bitter flavor - or a salad using Arugula dressed with
more acid than oil?

 

[ChefJune]

I really like me some scallops and I wanted to try something but I don't know what I need to finish it off.

I was thinking about Sea Scallops wrapped in bacon with the bacon brushed with a maple syrup and brown sugar mix and then searing the whole thing.

I'm thinking I need a cherry on top, but I don't know what type of cherry.

It's going to have a sweet overall flavor, so would something contrasting work? What about a mix of something like fresh chopped cilantro with a balsamic vinagarette on top. Is there some kind of "sour" salsa I could make?

Scallops are my single favorite food in the world, but somehow a Scallop "Dessert" doesn't appeal to me very much. I would definitely omit the cherry, and use EITHER the brown sugar OR maple syrup, not both. For a contrasting salad, I would have a peppery salad (arugula, watercress) with a puckery lemon vinaigrette.

When I think of ingredients to sauce a protein with, I always try to think of how the sauce would taste over mashed potatoes. That brown sugar/maple syrup sauce wouldn't cut it, imho.

For my palate, cilantro and balsamic vinegar sound like they belong in another dish, not this one.

 

[Village Idiot]

Scallops are my single favorite food in the world, but somehow a Scallop "Dessert" doesn't appeal to me very much. I would definitely omit the cherry, and use EITHER the brown sugar OR maple syrup, not both. For a contrasting salad, I would have a peppery salad (arugula, watercress) with a puckery lemon vinaigrette.

When I think of ingredients to sauce a protein with, I always try to think of how the sauce would taste over mashed potatoes. That brown sugar/maple syrup sauce wouldn't cut it, imho.

For my palate, cilantro and balsamic vinegar sound like they belong in another dish, not this one.

Makes sense about the sugar and syrup.

What about a topping for presentation then? I like the idea of the red onion and cabbage that was suggested above. Shave thin strips of each to top with? Or something like parsley? I'm not good with picking what's supposed to compliment the taste as much as what looks good. But then again, I have very weird taste buds.

What would you use instead of lemon vinaigrette? I'm not a fan of lemon or lime in much else besides lemonaide, gin and tonics, or margaritas.

I'm always trying to cook new things so I can take pictures of them. Regardless of how it tastes, it has to look good.

 

[ChefJune]

You have that backwards, there, VI!

The food has to taste good first, and look good, second. Unless you are a food stylist, and then it doesn't matter one whit what the food tastes like.

You would get a pretty sour flavor profile with grapefruit for your vinaigrette, if you won't use lemon. but vinegars don't provide as much pucker as citrus, so imho, there is no vinegar sub here. As well, citrus harmonizes much better with wines than vinegar.

Why do you want a topping for your scallops? If they are seared properly, they are gorgeous all on their own. Fiddling with the food doesn't really add much. Julia Child used to say she could tell how many hands had touched her plate by how many frou-frous were on the plate. (and that was NOT a compliment!) As well, a proper sear adds another layer of the "sweet" that you are going for.

By the way, what is that white stuff on top the asparagus in the picture? If it's cheese, it looks awfully COLD. I'd take a blowtorch to it to melt and brown it, if only for appearance, but I think it would taste better, too.

 

[Village Idiot]

It wasn't cooked yet.

The finish product didn't look as good, but it tasted awesome.

Something like the scallops have to look good. Maybe I'll experiment since I'm cooking for myself and there will be leftovers. I'm fixing ribs in the next week or so and they're ribs. They're supposed to look like giant slabs of meat, so presentation isn't as much of an issue as with something like scallops.

I was actually going to shoot food for a friend's club and the main objective was to ruin some perfectly good food in the name of perfect pictures, but they had legal problems and closed before that happened.

 

[MexicoKaren]

I went out for dinner the other night to a beach/seafood restaurant and ordered scallops fried in butter and garlic. What I got was a surprise (it sometimes is), but it was a happy one. They had sliced the scallops horizontally until they were about a quarter inch thick and seared them very quickly in butter and lots of garlic. They were outstanding. Next time I buy scallops, I'll definitely cook them that way.

 

[JMediger]

...You would get a pretty sour flavor profile with grapefruit for your vinaigrette, if you won't use lemon. but vinegars don't provide as much pucker as citrus, so imho, there is no vinegar sub here. As well, citrus harmonizes much better with wines than vinegar...

Mmmm, grapefruit. That never crossed my mind when I suggested the vinegar / oil slaw. We really like the taste of orange with our scallops, grapefruit would be a good kick I think. Making a note in my mind for next time we cook up some scallops.