Yum. Maybe the fish guy will have some tomorrow at the farmer's market. Amazingly very fresh fish is making it all the way to the Skowhegan FM this winter. Hope it lasts!

Oh, wow. Please send some to me!!!!

agmss15,

I have always had good luck in Rangeley with fresh seafood and that's a tad farther away from the sea than Skowhegan. :-) I still get my chowder fish there at the IGA when I'm up that way. They sell a beautiful variety of trimmings that make the best chowder!

There used to be a lady who owned a fish market and picked up seafood in Belfast and sold out of her refridgerated truck on Saturdays in Rangeley. I bought the best halibut steak ever from her. Sadly she sold out and the new owners tried it for a while and then gave up the practice.

I always thought bay scallops were inferior to the big ones, but they're are so succulent.

I hope we start to see them along the E. coast.

These are Gulf of Maine sea scallops. This batch ran small in size but the taste and texture is perfect, sweet, succulent and tender! Now if they would only open fishing for the tiny Maine shrimp, I'd be a happy woman! There has been a moratorium on fishing them since 2013. I'd rather we save the stock for future generations but I can dream!

Moosemac - Love those tiny Maine shrimp!!! Love fresh scallops.

There is now a fish store in Madison and Skowhegan AND a fish guy at the Skowhegan Farmer's Market. The world has changed from my childhood. Or at least this little part.

Those
are very good looking sea scallops. The different colors show they are dry and not
wet scallops. The colors also indicate kind of, scallop's confusing sexes and
sex life.

If you have a good relationship
with your supplier, ask if they can get you scallops with coral still attached.

dcarch

dcarch,

How would I prepare them with the coral? I'm sure if they have them I can get them.

When I was in Paris, I remember I cooked them with the scallops together in the same recipe.

I think red corals are female, white corals are male.

dcarch

Very cool that you can get them from the boat!

Especially sweet for me since I am from NH.

Yum, did not know that you are getting them so soon! Looking forward to having fresh from the dock.

Those look delicious, I love scallops but like LindaC, can only wish. I'm in Michigan, so we have The Lake and perch and salmon, but no scallops or lobster. There is that guy in Lansing raising fresh water shrimp, but it's just not the same.

Enjoy them, as I'm sure you will.

Annie

A niceway to prepare the coral is to eith pan fry a couple of minutes or simmer in white wine. Season. Add cream and blend.

When I was a kid, living in New jersey, scallops were dirt cheap. Always the cheapest thing on the menu, and I loved them,,,big fat diver's scallops, breaded and fried and served with tartar sauce or perhaps another sauce depending on what sort of restaurant you were visiting.
I remember when I was about 16, a date was taking me to The Meadowbrook, for any of you who know the area. That was a pretty extravagant date for someone who just called and not a serious boyfriend....and as I was getting dressed, my mother said "now don't just order scallops!"....which of course I did!

There are many ways to enjoy fresh scallops.

Scallop sushi is WOW!

and Scallop Ceviche

dcarch

I love scallops, whether bay or sea scallops. And yes, here near the coast you can often get them of quality for sushi... Yum, too!

I also miss the Maine shrimp, but if this means their numbers can rebound, fine. I do find Rhode Island red shrimp at one place that has an in with local shrimp fishermen. They are, like the Maine shrimp, delicate and can't be over-cooked. They're bigger, and actually red even before cooking.

I think the small ama ebi shrimp you see at sushi restaurants are very much related to Maine shrimp, but come from the west coast.

Unfortunately, Moosemac, I'm not quite close enough to the coast to go and meet my fishermen personally at the docks! Nice!

What is your favorite cooking method?. I usually sear in a cast iron however i'm serving. And usually just one side. Rest on top a chowder, or a simple reduced mignonette a-la beure blanc. Whisk in a dollop of cream. A bit of paprika. I suppose that would be a puddle of bisque as a sauce to sit on.

I did, for a couple years, put a diver scallop in the middle of my crab cakes. Not hiding it...exposed on at least one side to get part of the sear and so it would not be a texture surprise...that was good. DH vetoed that...make crab cake, sear scallop, side-by-side, not together, lol.

The simplest the better.

When i have an abundance every summer when the divers are out...usually just a dozen have permits and only go out a couple times off our dock, i get fresh raw shucked...and always invite them in for coffee, tea, a snack, and a warm place to dry off, (wink). A hearty bunch full of stories. We sear a dozen immediately and, traditionally, they give us a bag.

sleevendog,

My favorite method is to quick sear them on both sides in very hot cast iron pan with a little ghee. My second favorite is to wrap them in my homemade bacon sliced paper thin (think translucent) and grill them. This is tricky so as not to overcook the scallops.

Now then, Sleeve, you're baiting me! You've been on the martinis!

Sauce mignonette is a cold dressing made of red wine vinegar, pepper and shallots and served with oysters.

Butter is masculin. Au beurre. LOL

i like them lightly fried, put back in their shells and covered in a sauce made from Roquefort cheese melted into crème fraiche and grilled for a couple of minutes.

Another way is to make a fondant of leeks and carrots and garlic sweated in butter with white wine and a little cream and serve them as a cassoulette de Saint Jacques.

I would be on cloud 9! I had a lovely seared scallop dinner (butternut squash puree, kale salad) at a local "farm sourced" restaurant on Friday with a friend who is originally from New Bedford, MA. The chalkboard said the scallops were from "New Bedford, CT". My friend was not amused... ;-)

One of the best scallop dishes I have ever had was at a little bistro near the Eiffel Tower, it was quenelle St. Jacques. OK, I'm going to have to pick up some scallops on Sunday for dinner.

Bait taken, ; ), though not intentional. A warm mignonette is very common. I take a bit out in another small dish when warmed and not fully reduced, and add some finely minced celery with some leaves and parsley, lemon....then further reduce the shallots and champagne vinegar, strain and whisk in some cold butter off the heat.

So, a beurre blanc, (two 'r's', eye roll), with seared scallops and/or shrimp, topped with a warm mignonette. Also a super lobster roll recipe. And not my recipe. Just some famous French guys recipe.

My favorite recipe for cod cheeks also. Or any mild fish fillet. Baked. Though i add some fine diced red pepper for color and a bit of mild sweet flavor.

Sounds delicious whatever it's called!!!