Sasha's Kitchen: Food & Wine Pairing: Ad Hoc's Caramelized Scallops with Cakebread Cellars Reserve Chardonnay

I have very quickly become a fan of Thomas Keller's cookbook, Ad Hoc At Home.  My husband professes to dislike scallops.  Yet, every time I have made them lately, he seems to enjoy them.  My last two scallop recipes, scallops in a lemongrass coconut broth with mushrooms and scallops with a blood orange vinaigrette, were both my recipes, and were fairly complex in the ingredients that accompanied the scallops.  This time, however, I decided to prepare Thomas Keller's classic caramelized scallops and pair them with one of my favorite wines - Reserve Chardonnay from Cakebread Cellars.  This recipe is more challenging than it looks to get the scallops with the right caramelized texture, but it is also quite rewarding and showcases the quality of the ingredients used.

About a year and a half ago, my husband and I had the pleasure of visiting Cakebread Cellars and tasting many of their wines when we visited Napa Valley. Cakebread, of course, is well known as a legendary Napa winery that makes some of the best Chardonnay on the planet.  I paired the scallops with a bottle of Reserve Chardonnay that I received so kindly from Cakebread back in December that I have been saving for the perfect meal - and in my mind seafood and Chardonnay pair nicely together.  I feel that the Cakebread reserve Chardonnay is truly a special wine, and because it is my favorite Chardonnay of all time, it's sad to see the last drop all gone.  But surely it was enjoyed.  And this time, we have enough leftover for accompanying the next night's meal (saffron mushroom risotto, so stay tuned!)

I paired the Ad Hoc scallops (from one of Napa's many wonderful restaurants) with this smooth, well balanced Reserve Carneros Chardonnay for an all-California treat on the east coast.  This Chardonnay is a nicely oaked Chardonnay that has a smooth, balanced flavor.  There are hints of lemon, along with tropical flavors, pears and a bit of spice.  This wine is just the closest thing to perfection in a Chardonnay that I know and tastes lovely with seafood.  I think it would also pair nicely with my Asian/Pacific Rim Marinated Chilean Sea Bass with Papaya Salsa, given the tropical fruit undertones in the wine.  I love the way the oak in the wine (they age the wine in French oaks, as I recall) balances out with these tropical flavors and the pear aroma.

The scallops, simple but elegant, are quintessentially Keller -  showcase of fresh, ingredients prepared in an uncomplicated way that showcases the scallop, pure and simple, rather than blending its flavor with other complicated ingredients (which, in my opinion is often nice, as well).  Because of the simple elegancy of this meal, it paired so well with the Chardonnay because it allows the taster to focus on the flavors of the scallop and the wine.  Plus, I love just about anything caramelized, so a caramelized scallop is just genius in my eyes.

Ad Hoc's Caramelized Scallops  
2 cups Kosher salt (plus more to taste)
2 cups hot water
8 cups cold water
12 U7 sea scallops (or about 1 3/4 lbs of local fresh scallops)
2 T clarified butter
1/2 lemon

I will note that i used regular scallops rather than U7 scallops because they were a fresh catch at my local fishmonger.  They were good but they absorbed the salt a bit faster than the larger U7 scallops so it was just a tad saltier than I might have preferred, due to the brine.  Next time, I will purchase U7 scallops like Keller suggests, but cut the recipe in half if I am only making it for two people again.

First, combine the salt with the hot water to prepare a brine.  Stir to dissolve the salt.  Add the cold water next.  Add the scallops to the brine and let stand for 10 minutes (and only 10 minutes so the scallops do not become too salty).  I might have suggested five minutes if you are using smaller scallops than U7.

Heat the clarified butter in a large frying pan over medium heat until it begins to smoke.  Season the scallops lightly with salt (and if you are like me, a bit of pepper).  Add the scallops to the pan, making sure they do not touch each other.  Cook without moving the scallops until golden brown for about 3 and a half minutes on each side.  Serve them simply with a bit of lemon juice on each scallop.

Scallops

Sasha's Kitchen: Food & Wine Pairing: Ad Hoc's Caramelized Scallops with Cakebread Cellars Reserve Chardonnay

Sasha's Kitchen: Napa Valley Salmon

About a year ago, my husband and I took a wonderful two week trip to California. We started in San Francisco, and travelled to Sausalito, Sonoma County, Napa Valley, Fresno and Yosemite National Park. This was as much a culinary adventure as it was an immersion in beautiful natural surroundings. We went to Napa and Sonoma during crush, the wine harvest, which was an amazing experience in and of itself. Although we did not make it to the world-famous French Laundry, we did eat at some of the best restaurants I've ever been to using wonderful local California produce. In addition, we visited 10 wineries, which were as remarkable for their wines as for their natural beauty and abundance of fresh organic vegetables and fruits.

Many of these wineries have websites that showcase both their wines and foods that pair nicely with the wines. In addition, many even have recipes that they suggest for with the wines. Three wineries that we visited which have great recipes on their websites are Cakebread Cellars (Napa), St. Francis Vineyards (Sonoma) and Round Pond Estate (Napa), which also produces delicious olive oils that I use in my cooking.

The recipe I made tonight can be found on the Cakebread Cellars website, and pairs nicely, in my opinion, with either a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. Cakebread's Reserve Chardonnay is heavenly and personally one of my favorite wines we tasted on that trip.

The recipe is very simple, fresh, and herbal and incorporates the fresh flavor of cucumbers:

The recipe is found on Cakebread Cellar's website (www.cakebread.com)

However, here's how I make it, with my own variations:

2 cucumbers - diced
1 tsp salt (the original recipe suggests 2, but I always prefer to cook with less salt)
2 T rice vinegar (their recipe suggests using 1 T but I prefer more)
1 tsp horseradish
1/2 cup creme fraiche
1 T dill, diced
1 T chives, diced
1 tsp tarragon
1 tsp thyme (my addition, instead of the parsley)
1 tomato diced

I mix this and then put on top of 2 pieces of cooked salmon

In addition, I like to add a bit of fresh lemon or lemon juice when serving. I absolutely love the creamy flavor of the creme fraiche with the freshness of the cucumbers, the herbal medley and the tartness of the lemon.

Enjoy with a glass of white wine.

Subjects from upcoming posts by me to look forward to: Apple and blueberry pies, rainbow cookies, dinner souffles, ice cream, and southwestern chicken.

Sasha's Kitchen: Napa Valley Salmon