Baked Scallops
Last weekend I did the unthinkable. I got all caught up in Big Y’s Wacky Weekend sale and I actually bought too much seafood. I bought lobsters – $4.99 a pound, yeah baby! – and crabmeat – two one pound cans for $12, uh-huh – and fresh sea scallops. I bought two pounds of fresh, not-previously-frozen scallops because they were $6.99 a pound, how could I resist? We had lobster for dinner last Saturday night. I bought the scallops on Sunday morning. But then we went to a Christening on Sunday and to the lovely after-party at the Storrowton Tavern. We stuffed ourselves at the lovely buffet, which featured more seafood – lobster manicotti, yum yum! And by Sunday evening, we just weren’t hungry for a big, real dinner. I know – I could have saved the scallops for Monday night, but I had plans already to go out for dinner with friends on Monday night. What to do, what to do? Would they still be good on Tuesday? I just wasn’t feeling comfortable with that. I did some research and finally and begrudgingly, froze the scallops.
I know, I know! Frozen scallops – the texture is wrong, they are too wet, they just aren’t the same. But, I did it carefully. I dried them and placed them on tin pans and put them in the freezer to freeze individually first before placing them in a zippered freezer bag and squeezing out as much air as I could. I knew that sadly I would not be able to sear the scallops after I thawed them – they would just be too wet. But, they should be just fine in a casserole where extra moisture is not a problem.
I perused recipes and ended up making my own concoction a few days later. I didn’t want to leave them in the freezer very long at all. I thawed them and then dried them again, and placed them in the bottom of a casserole dish.
Meanwhile, I sauteed some onions and garlic in butter…
And added about a cup of swill!
That’s right, nothing but the finest white vino around here! I keep it in a bucket in the fridge. Heh. Actually, this stuff is pretty good. It is Black Box Sauvignon Blanc, but we brought it to New York in a cooler and never ended up taking it out and the box soaked through and was destroyed.
See? Nice classy Black Box – this one is the Cabernet, box intact.
But back to the scallops. I added a cup of white wine and a cup of light cream to the butter, garlic and onions and brought it to a simmer. I poured the mixture over the scallops…
…and then topped it with two kinds of bread crumbs; Italian style for flavor and Panko for crispiness.
I dotted it with a little butter and popped it in the oven at 400, keeping an eye on it for 10 minutes. I didn’t want to overcook the scallops, but I did want the top to brown. So, I switched to broil and in about 5 more minutes, I had this:
A golden, crispy crust atop scallops in a sort of creamy sauce. I say sort of, because the sauce separated a bit in the oven – the cream seemed to sort of coagulate a bit. But, it didn’t really matter. It still tasted great and the scallops were just fine, actually! They weren’t rubbery or fishy, just sweet and delicious. Success despite the odds! Yum.
Did you think of your scallop-loving sister at all as you ate these? Sounds delish. As you know I never cook seafood at home because I’m the only one in the house who really enjoys it and I really don’t like the smell of it in the house afterwards. Why does thawing frozen scallops make them un-searable? You said they’d be too wet, but aren’t they wet when you buy them fresh?
They are moist when you buy them fresh, but you can dry them off with a paper towel and they are fine. When you freeze them, they are downright watery.
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