bay scallop gratin

I was obviously an oblivious nineteen year old when I got married, thinking Valentines Day was so perfect for our wedding. I must admit I was warned by my mother-in-law that it will be more expensive and things will be harder to book and if you’re worried he will forget your anniversary, don’t be; he is super thoughtful (which, yes I have found to be correct as I stood among 26 dozen — yes, dozen — roses and flickering candle light when he proposed — I caught a good one didn’t I? ). But in my engaged, soon to be marital bliss I somehow heard nothing. Are you talking common sense? Have you seen the state I am in? Love, roses, engagement, Josh, chapel, guests, hotel, honeymoon, exotic destinations — that’s all I can think about.

And so we did. And we lived happily ever after, until every year we have to celebrate our anniversary and get ubber annoyed that what?! Our restaurant that we were going to celebrate our two wonderful years together is booked?! How dare they…they, they, monsters. All of them monsters. Now what are we going to do? And we go through this week of panic and dilemma focused discussion on what we are going to do and where we are going to go. This year, after going through this very process, we finally decided on a small French cafe, which got high reviews from our friends, but was a total disappointment as we left, feeling very unromantic — I mean it’s Valentine’s Day after all people — and quite unsatisfied in the fancied-up named food, that lacked everything resembling flavor.

Not to sound picky or snobby here, but we walked out with regret, wishing that our celebration could have been better spent. I even had the fleeting thought of doing the dishes after preparing our own anniversary dinner, but like I said, it was fleeting; there are so many more important things to be doing after dinner than dishes for two, and well the dishes you cooked in, and you prepared in, and everything else. So the following night, deciding we were just going to have to celebrate a day longer, I prepared a simple dinner though somewhat fancier than your every night routine and ohmygahhh people, we were floored (not to mention the 6 dishes that needed to be cleaned, 8 if you count stemware, which really isn’t so bad). The scallops were submerged in a buttery booze and broiled under a blanket of herby garlic pancetta bread crumbs until toasted and crunchy. And of course the warm crusty bread dipped in the sauce made us almost flip out that we got measly spaghetti with shrimp or salmon with (gasp! frozen!) hollindaise sauce the night before.

Bay Scallop Gratin
From Ina Garten

Serves 6

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium shallots, minced
2 ounces prosciutto di Parma, minced
4 ounces fresh minced parsley, plus extra for garnish
2 tablespoons lemon juice
8 tablespoons white wine, divided
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
6 tablespoons dry white wine
2 pounds fresh bay scallops
Lemon wedges for garnish

Preheat the oven to 425º F. Place 6 6-inch round gratin dishes on a sheet pan. (I used one shallow medium-sized bowl instead of individual gratin dishes.)

Make Topping: Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add softened butter then turn mixer on low speed. (You can also use a hand mixer.) Add the garlic, shallot, prosciutto, parsley, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons white wine, salt and pepper. Mix until combined. With the mixer still on low speed, add the olive oil slowly until combined. Fold in the panko crumbs and set aside.

Assemble: Place remaining 6 tablespoons white wine in a large gratin dish or if using individual gratin dishes as 1 tablespoon of white wine in the bottom of each. Using a sharp knife remove the white muscle and membrane from each scallop and discard. Pat the scallops dry with paper towels then distribute them among the gratin dishes. Spoon the topping evenly over the top of the scallops. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the topping is golden and sizzling and the scallops are barely done. If you want the top crisper, place the dish under the broiler for 2 minutes or until browned. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

Serve immediately with a fresh salad and crusty French bread.