Seared Scallops with Tarragon Sauce

Hello everybody! How ya been? I've been kinda busy lately and the times when I wasn't busy, well... I just didn't feel like being in front of the computer! Ever feel like that? I mean, I really wanted to post to this blog, but I thought to myself, "I'd rather poke my own eyes out than come home from work and get right back in front of the computer!" So, to save my sanity (and eyesight), I decided to take a little vacation from the PC.

Today, however, I got back in the mood and the first thing I wanted to do was re-vamp the look of FOODIE. It needed a little umph so I sat down with my Olympus Master software and got crackin' at a new logo. Whatcha think? I figure I'll switch it up with different beautiful seasonal food pictures as the seasons change or something.

Anyway, let's talk about these scallops, shall we? Now THIS is the way to prepare scallops. Yum! This sauce is a winner, I promise you. It's perfect for a nice light dinner on a hot summer day, or any day for that matter. It has a tangy flavor that's addicting. I will definitely make this sauce again.

I found the recipe on Epicurious.com and decided to try it because it got rave reviews. Over 90 people reviewed this recipe and most really liked it. That's usually a pretty good sign. Of course, you always have a few really horrible reviews mixed in there, but the comments always crack me up. They're usually coming from a person that barely knows how to cook and you can tell by the comment they make.

Now, when you check out the recipe at the end of this post, you'll notice that mashed potatoes are part of it. I decided to just make the scallops and use the sauce to ladle over top of them. I did end up making mashed potatoes, but served them on the side and made them my own way with some roasted garlic. I steamed up some green beans and we had ourselves a great little dinner.

Here's how the scallops and sauce are made:

This literally is one of the easiest and fastest things to make, so feel free to put this on your "dinners during the week" list because it's no sweat at all. The garlic mashed potatoes I made with them took much longer than the main dish part. So if you're short on time, you could just make these babies and serve a salad on the side and be done with it! Saving on calories, too!

Ok, so start by searing your scallops. You want to do this first because you need the reserved juices from the pan to make your lovely tarragon sauce.

So, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the scallops with salt and pepper. Add the scallops and sear on both sides until golden brown. Transfer them to a plate and tent with foil. Reserve the juices in the skillet.


Now, make the sauce. Place wine and shallots in a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat until reduced to glaze, about 3 minutes.


Next, stir in the cream and simmer 1 minute.


Then gradually whisk in 1/4 cup butter and stir in the reserved pan juices from your scallops. Finally, stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons tarragon and season with to taste with salt and pepper. Mmmm, doesn't that look purdy? You can actually SEE how yummy this sauce is.


That's it! Just plate your scallops and ladle the tarragon sauce over them. As I mentioned before, I served mine with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. Delicious! I don't make much more than once, but I'll make this dish again.







Scallops with Mashed Potatoes with Tarragon Sauce
Bon Appétit January 2002

Servings: Makes 4 servings.



Ingredients
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
2/3 cup (or more) whole milk
12 sea scallops, side muscles trimmed

1/3 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped shallot
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1 1/2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon

Preparation
Place potatoes in large pot. Cover with cold water. Add 1 teaspoon salt and bring to boil over high heat. Boil until potatoes are tender when pierced with skewer, about 8minutes. Drain. Return to pot. Using potato masher, mash potatoes. Mash in 1/4 cup butter. Stir in 2/3 cup milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 hour ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Before serving, stir over medium heat until heated through, adding more milk by tablespoonfuls if dry.)

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper. Add scallops; sauté until just opaque in center, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to plate; tent with foil. Reserve juices in skillet.

Place wine and shallots in small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until reduced to glaze, about 3 minutes. Stir in cream; simmer 1 minute. Gradually whisk in remaining 1/4 cup butter. Stir in reserved pan juices. Stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons tarragon. Season tarragon sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Stir remaining 1/4 cup tarragon into warm mashed potatoes. Divide potatoes among 4 shallow bowls. Place scallops atop mashed potatoes. Drizzle with tarragon sauce and serve.