Happy Valentines Valentines Day – Coquille St. Jacques Part 3, The Entree and Wine
Coquille St Jacques
I don’t know what made me think of this dish, it was one of my favorites years ago. It’s been a very long time since I have had it and have never made it myself. After searching the internet to find recipes, I decided to make this one from Epicurious, actually I combined several different techniques when I made it. This dish is really very simple to make and is an elegant and delicious meal. It is a scallop gratin, and was very popular in the 1950’s but had fallen from popularity and has been replaced by lighter fare. It is often served in the shell of the scallop but if you don’t happen to have the shells a gratin dish works just as well. I serve with a crisp salad of belgian endive, microgreens, mandarin orange segements and toasted pecans.The wine I chose is a 2011 Pouilly Fuisse, fresh and assertive and bold enough to pair nicely with a rich cream sauce. It’s a lovely dinner for two and no one has to know how simple it is to make.
The Salad:
Belgian Endive
Mandarin Orange segments
pecans toasted and chopped
Micro greens
Vinaigrette
Good Olive Oil
Champagne Vinegar
Squeeze of fresh Orange Juice
Drizzle of honey
Herbes de provence
dijon mustard
sea salt and pepper
Coquille St. Jacque -Loosely Adapted From Epicurious
Serves 2
1 cup white wine
1 large shallot chopped
Bouquet Garni (I used parsley, thyme, bay leaf, tarragon)
Pinch of herbes de provence (Optional)
1 lb fresh dry scallops
8 oz mushrooms
4 tbs butter divided
2 tbs flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
bread crumbs
grated gruyere cheese
1. Saute the shallot in 2 tbs butter, when translucent add the mushroom and continue to saute until soft. Pour in the wine and add the bouquet garni, optional herbes de provence and simmer on medium heat until liquid is reduced by about half.
2. Add the scallops and simmer for 2-4 minutes, careful not to over cook, remove with slotted spoon and set aside. Remove the bouquet garni.
3. Add the remaining 2 tbs of butter to the liquid and whisk in the flour, cook until thichened, pour in the cream and continue cooking until it’s thickened to the consistency of heavy cream . Remove from heat and add the scallops.
4. Fill 6 scallop shells or shallow 6-inch ramekins almost to the top with the scallop mixture. Dust the top lightly with bread crumbs and sprinkle with the grated cheese. (If you’re not ready to serve the scallops, cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
5. Preheat the broiler. Broil the gratin until the mixture bubbles and the cheese melts and turns golden brown.
Belgian Endive, orange, pecan, micro greens
Pouilly Fuisse
apuginthekitchen 
oh how lovely this looks, like the pouilly fuisse suggestion too, if I hadn’t already bought some fish for tonight I’d go right back out to find scallops : ) another day then
Thank you, I think the Pouilly Fuisse is a good choice, truth be told I made everything this morning and will have it later on for dinner. Happy Valentines Day!
Happy valentines day to you too! I am still deliberating on my exact menu – Italian, Moroccan or maybe lebanese. A nice crisp white though will be a must. !
I am a fan of Morroccan and Lebanese, it will be delicious I am sure and yes a nice crisp white is perfect.
This looks delicious- love the flavours and taste of Coquille St. Jacque. Definitely a recipe to try! 🙂 Happy Valentine’s Day, Suzanne!
Thanks so much, this dish was one of my favorites and it’s been many years since I have had it. Can’t wait to eat tonight, Happy Valentines Day!
Looks soooo delicious! Great Valentine’s Day dinner! And I like you choice of wine : )
Thanks so much Anatoli, I am so happy you like my choice of wine!! Happy Valentines Day!
Happy valentine’s day
Thank you Aryana and Happy Valentines Day to you also!
Happy Valentine’s Day to you! Hope you’re not snowed in. I just got back from a conference in the LA area and got to visit Chris and his 4 kitties. Had a blast.
Love to all!
Maria
Oh thats great! We have a lot of snow on the ground. It’s been one heck of a winter here. Love to you all also!
what a lovely meal! You have outdone yourself, Suzanne, and that is saying something 🙂
You are so sweet Liz, thank you and Happy Valentines Day to you!
You have excelled yourself, Suzanne! Thanks for such an inviting dish and divine presentation! Happy Valentine´s Day!
Thank you so much Viviana, you are too kind! Happy Valentines Day!
What a totally amazing dinner you have in store. All my favourite things, especially coquilles st Jacques and the Pouilly Fuissé. I wish you were my valentine – I’d happily come and eat that 😉 as it is I have a husband who’s watching a football match! Romantic? I don’t think so….
Thank you, the dinner is for me and I will be dining with the pugs tonight but nothing this rich for them. So sounds like you and I will be enjoying our Valentines meals on our own, Hugo will be more than happy to share with you I’m sure!
This looks delicious and I love your idea of serving it with a glass of Pouilly Fuisse – have a good weekend. 😉
Thank you, I have always liked pouilly fuisse and thought this would be just the right dish to have it with. Thanks so much and happy Valentines Day!
For such an elegant dish, Coquille St Jacques really is surprisingly simple! I’m sure you’ll have a tough time fending off the pugs when they get a whiff of this delicacy!
Thank you the pugs wanted some but with the diabetes they couldn’t but I gave them some valentines steamed chicken and dry roasted beef (second helping). Coquille St Jacques is so simple it’s almost silly but really is a delicious and elegant meal,
Beautiful flavours at work here Suzanne! I would so love to sit down to your three course dinner… absolutely luxurious and indulgent! Very much a special occasion meal. Thank you for sharing! The pugs sound like they’re in for a treat too. 🙂
Thank you so much, It was a wonderful dinner. Everything went nicely together. If you are ever in NYC come on by!!
I don’t know this dish, but what I read in the ingredients makes it a decadent one.
Oh, your endive salad is a’ma~zing! It is the kind of salad offered in a 5 star restaurants. Time to take a cruise. Yum!
Thank you Fae, I loved the salad, so simple but lovely flavors and it was really nice with the scallop dish.
Oh my gosh, this both looks and sounds divine Suzanne! Yum! Love the salad accompaniment… I am a bit obsessed with endive and orange at present. Your entire meal sounds incredible… I think I’ll have to get my act together and try this for Aaron one day soon. Thanks for the recipe, yum! xx
It’s really delicious Laura, I recommend it. I had never made this dish before and it’s really wonderful. Me too re the endive and orange, Love it, the endive is so crunchy and has that ever so slight bittlerness So good! Thank you so much.
Oooh, now this looks YUMMY! Too late for Valentine’s Day but one of those dishes that makes any day a happy day. Decadent indeed!
Thanks Azita, it was a very simple meal to make; It appears to be one of those laborious dishes but it;s not at all. Decadent, most definitely.
WOW. Delicious! HAppy Valentines Day!
Thank you so much!
What a beautiful meal. And I love meals that look laborious but aren’t!!! Happy belated Valentine’s Day. ♥
Yes me too, just the name makes it sound difficult and laborious and it’s the total opposite. Thank you!
I’m nearly certain I used to serve this in an hotel I worked at whilst at catering college. Having said that, I’ve never eaten it! I do remember serving it in shells. But I also remember piped mashed potatoes around the edges. Hmm, perhaps something similar. it’s too long ago to remember! Sounds delicious, though. It’s a bit like prawn cocktail for me – don’t care if it goes out of fashion. Still love it.
It’s been as long time since I’ve had it but it is good. I can’t remember if it was served with potato but it does sound good. Thanks Johnny!
What a perfect meal for a romantic day– so rich and luscious. I’ve never made anything so elegant, but want to give it a try… thanks again Suzanne!
It is a really nice meal for a romatic evening, the fact that it’s so simple makes it even better. You can make in advance and refrigerate and then pop in the broiler or whip it up right before you serve. Thanks so much.
I’m a little late piping in Suzanne but I couldn’t “just” like it by clicking the like button! I love it! What a wonderful elegant dinner. I can’t get over your micro greens salad. The presentation is fabulous.
Thank you so much, it was a lovely dinner and the salad was really good. Simple and fresh. Thank you again.
Somehow I missed this post! This looks beautiful Suzanne. I love all the flavors, it looks so hearty and filling. Love the pinch of herbs de Provence too… Nice elegant touch! Mmmmm. I can just smell it 🙂
It’s a really nice dish, thanks so much Brandi.
Suzanne, This looks INCREDIBLE!!! Wow! I am definitely putting this on the short list of things to make for my husband and I the next special occasion that comes around — hmmm, perhaps his birthday in March! Thanks for such a great recipe!
Jessica
Thanks Jessica, it is a special dish and a definite change from the typical seared scallops (which I do love).
Looks totally delicious!!! Thx !! 🙂
Thank you so much and thank you for the follow, just checked out your blog, love it and look forward to more from you.
A very romantic and so delicious menu Suzanne! I am sure whoever tried it would have been very satisfied and happy!
Thanks Katerina, it was a delicious meal, everything went together nicely.
Wow…it all looks fabulous! The salad in the endive shells looks just perfect…I must pin the idea. Thank you for sharing a spectacular meal.
Thank you so much, actually I really liked everything but the salad was my favorite. Very fresh and clean.
Love Coquilles St. Jacques. I haven’t had this dish since the ’80s… I’m dating myself, aren’t I? Absolutely beautiful Suzanne!
I’ll date myself also, I haven’t had since the 80’s either. Thanks so much.
It looks veeeery special, and that’s even better if it’s easy to make! It’s nice to rediscover old recipes, I do it myself with my grandma’s cookbooks 🙂
Thank you so much, I do love re discovering recipes. vintage recipes are so wonderful.
It’s also fashionable right now, not that any of us are concerned about that… 🙂
Well, food fads elude me for the most part but i do find the subject fascinating, especially foods from the 50’s and 60’s. When I go back and look at some of the foods It’s kind of mind blowing that they were “fashionable” back in the day. Thank you so much.
I’m late on Valentine’s Day, but the hugs still come 6 days later! This dish looks great and oh so rich…
Thanks so much, never too late for a Valentines hug.
What a beautiful feast you prepared Suzanne! We both love Coquille St. Jacque and yours looks absolutely delicious. Great choice to pair with Pouilly Fuisse 🙂
Cheers,
J+C
Thank you so much, the dinner was great and I really loved the PF with the meal. It has been so long since I’ve had this it was such a nice change from seared scallops.
This looks so delicious!! And healthy!! YUM!!
Thank you so much!
Yummy! Love the new look Suzanne. 🙂
Than you so much!
ciao! an exquisite valentine’s dinner, just the aim… i am making a ‘celebration’ dinner in a few days and this is just the inspiration i needed. beautifully presented we share appetites 🙂
thebestdressup
I love love LOVE the little salad presentation, it looks immaculate! Everything here sounds absolutely delightful. Ps I’m missing seeing your posts pop up in my reader, hope you’re coming back to WordPress, refreshed and well soon 🙂
Thank you so much, that salad was delicious, really simple but so good and refreshing. I have not really been posting much, still battling the finger, seeing a specialist tomorrow will know if I need surgery. Thank you for your concern.
i am little late here but just wanted to say how much i love this dish! we love scallops!
Thank you so much!
Oh wow! I love scallops but barely ever have them, and certainly never like this though I’ve seen it often enough in France. And that salad looks so delicious – I love the little boats of endive, and the idea of orange and pecans in there is sooo tempting 🙂 DElicous!
Thank you, I too love scallops and this is a really nice way to prepare them when you don’t want a plain sear. The salad is wonderful, thanks again.
I love every ingredient you use here – what a wonderful dinner down to every last detail of the microgreens. This is the perfect special dinner menu!
Thank you so much, it was really nice and have to say that salad was my favorite!
A great dish, Suzanne, and a great wine pairing choice! Awesome!
Thank you so much, I am so glad that you liked my choice of wine. It was very nice with the dish.
Merci beaucoup!
ciao! an exquisite valentine’s dinner, just the aim… i am making a ‘celebration’ dinner in a few days and this is just the inspiration i needed. beautifully presented we share appetites
thebestdressup