Meet Me In Charleston

Scallops Charleston that is. This recipe by Paula Deen has been on my list to try for quite some time. Last week when family was over, I made it as an appetizer rather than the main dish it was intended to be in the recipe & it went over well. I love scallops so this was a nice treat & would also be perfect as an appetizer for Christmas.



1 1/4 lbs fresh sea scallops
Salt & pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Basil
Flour, for dusting
3/4 cup sherry or dry white wine
1 shallot, finely chopped
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup grated Gruyere

Season scallops with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika & basil. I didn't measure these but just made sure each scallop had seasoning. Dust scallops with flour. Saute in a pan that has been lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray & a small amount of olive oil. Cook scallops on both sides until browned. Remove scallops from pan. To the drippings in the pan, add sherry, shallots & mushrooms; cook for approximately 3 to 4 minutes.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium heat & add 3 tablespoons flour. Mix well & cook for 2 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly (may be too thick to even "stir" but just go with it), Pour shallots, mushrooms & liquid from scallops into flour mixture. Mix well. Stir scallops into sauce. (If too thick**, you can thin with clam juice or fish or chicken stock.)

Transfer to 4 individual baking dishes, top with cheese & broil for 1 minute, until browned. Serve with wild rice. Or as an appetizer, serve with slices of a fresh baguette.

My Thoughts:

The flour & butter mixture was definitely thick. I actually felt that it was too much flour for the butter so I increased the butter from 2 to 3 tblsp. And after stirring everything together I added some chicken stock & mixed it very well. Just roll with it & if once everything is combined it is too thick add some liquid. The process was a bit weird for a minute there but the result was worth it.

I also made this as one appetizer in a round casserole dish rather than individual dishes but either way would work. I use Gruyere, which is insanely expensive, but use Swiss if you'd like. And if you hate mushrooms you can easily omit them without taking away from the dish.

Click Here to Print Recipe

Hope everyone has a nice weekend. Ours will be a busy & festive one, already kicked off by Tristan's Christmas show last night. He was awesome as a Wiseman in what marked his 5th & final program at his school. Tonight we will watch our beautiful little town light up for the holidays & tomorrow is our church's annual Singing Christmas Trees Show (above) which has been going on for over 30 years. It is quite the event with two 40ft Christmas trees!

And to cap off the exciting weekend, we have our 6th year wedding anniversary on the 7th but in the morning Tristan will have his 1st ever official playdate with another boy at our house. We've had playdates with his girlfriends over the years but I never found a chemistry with both another boy & his mom until now. We plan to put up the bounce house, perfect for 2 boys, & share in some sangria once it hits noon. Or 11:50. Have a great weekend all!!!!!