Agree completely and the Buford Highway Farmers Market always has scallops and my favorite fish - POMPANO! Tony Bourdain agrees with me on this choice. I too am a world traveler and call myself a foodie but Tony was also but a true world class gentleman.
BTW know any place else that has Jack Fruit. Yes it smells like old poop but has a custard like taste - delicious - had it in Costa Rica! WOW what a great place - the guy that owned the place had a running plot of daily temps over the past 3 years and the temps never got below 73F and above 78F. When I first moved to Atlanta many years ago from NYC I was amazed to see French Semi Soft Cheese that was less than 60 days old. Had it on a ski trip to Chamonix - WOW great food and OK skiing. Heli Skiing with Hans Gmoser in BC CA is fantastic!
Best restaurant in the world is Karim's in old Delhi. When I decided on going on an Everest trek, asked a work associate, Ajit Dalvi if he had friends in Delhi. Yes he told me and most are senior officers in the Indian Army. Found out that Scotch Whiskey is highly desirable, so I took 2 bottles of Johnny Walker Red and hid it in my massive duffle bag. When I arrived in Delhi, saw the smoke from people cooking their meals over charcoal. Later went to this Indian Army officer's home for the scotch and an incredible collection of nuts. Did not know when I would make it back to Delhi but called from airport and was taken directly to Karim's and W/O reservations was seated.
Costco’s large, frozen, wild scallops are sweet and delicious as well as incredibly convenient. Give them a try!
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We live near New Bedford, MA, a key U.S. scallop seaport and buy fresh scallops that are sweet and tasty. Covering them with peppercorns is a great way to bury their natural flavor. Bad idea.
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First off; we can't get non frozen dry pack fresh scallops in flyover country. Second, nice use of suribachi and surikogi. Always photogenic. I suspect this type of mortar and pestle will soon become all the rage. The next big thing.
@ Robert Billings
Ah, if your are advocating or predicting the use of Japanese utensils, one should not forget to partake of one's food only with hashi (chopsticks), to slurp the contents of the bowl, and perhaps occasionally to help oneself with the samurai's short, 12-inch-blade knife tanto.
Whole Foods sells fresh, large, dry pack scallops, and they're on sale this week -- but still expensive.
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@MichaelAnd delicious. Just don't hide their taste with more than the butter in which they're sautéed!!
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@mk
I added a touch of lemon juice Sunday night.
Great, but fresh deep sea scallops cost a fortune as do lobsters and fresh salmon. For now, it's $4.99 Costco rotisserie chickens for those of us on social security.
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Warning- Scallops are not Kosher.
This last summer, vacationed in Nova Scotia and in Digby, home of the Digby Bay scallop, had the best and freshest scallops ever.
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There is fish market on Ninth Avenue & 40th Street that sells these fresh gigantic dry sea scallops. They are amazing when cooked and I will never go back to frozen scallops that taste like rubber.
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@Peter I've been going to this fish market for years. All of their seafood is nice and fresh. Right next door to it is an amazing Greek/Mediterranean grocery store that sells ,amongst other delights, various spices and olive oils that one could use with these recipes.
If the package smells like Ocean then proceed to cook lightly swimming in California organic GHEE. Maybe lightly sprinkled w/ P Prudomne seafood blend seasoning ..... Searing, altho tasty tends to contribute to bad health mojo
Everything leads to bad health and death. Enjoy the seared scallops like everything else: in moderation.
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Frozen scallops may "weep" in the pan, but it is easy to crumple a paper towel and mop up the extra water, after which the scallops brown easily (do not overcook them, though).
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The comment about frozen scallops is not accurate. What matters is how the scallops are treated before freezing. I buy scallops from a local fishmonger, and the scallops are harvested, hand shucked & rinsed in sea water within an hour of being caught. Then they're vacuum packed & flash frozen on the boat. Most important, they are not rinsed or soaked in sodium tripolyphosphate. These scallops are by far the best I've had in my area.
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@Susanne
fiserman at Menemsha, MA (Martha's Vinyard) are now
harvesting and selling scallops that are not treated with
sodium tripolyphosphate - they are VERY good.
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When you cook scallops, smell them before and during cooking, and after you cut into them. If you get a hint of an ammonia smell they have started to decompose and should not be eaten. Sometimes you can tell before cooking, but sometimes unfortunately you can't until they are done and you are taking the first bite. Do this if you order them at a restaurant as well and send them back immediately if you smell ammonia.
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@Pat- good advice. However I am in the minority of people who hate scallops, ammonia or not, fresh or not.
They taste like rotten fish and make me sick, even the smell.
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Dude, you havent had fresh scallops. I live in Maine and get day boat scallops from a friend, who is a scallop fisherman. Fresh off the boat, unfrozen and unprocessed...best eaten raw or minimally cooked, but cooked in the way Mr. Tanis suggests is probably also fantastic.
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I love all the recipe ideas I get from the Times, but I wish you’d suggest side dish pairings for them. I never know what goes well with something like this.
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@Lars E orzo with fennel, onions or mushrooms is a nice side to seared scallops. This and a green salad.
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Creamed spinach with rice or small boiled potatoes. If serving Italian style, either risi e bisi or spaghetti or other pasta with a marinara sauce before the scallops, which will shine by themselves on the plate.
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@Lars E
I make a spaghetti of melange spiraled veggies that are quickly steamed and seared, with mostly Italian spices. Of course I don't spiral onions or garlic, but I do slice the onions appropriately. By the way red and purple onions are a no-no because they change the colors of other veggies. They are often used as a dye medium, after all. It is a quick side dish and quite tasty. I also add thinly julienne sliced veggies to mix, if I have them. It is more of 'Oh, I have some green beans, that small sweet potato, and a turnip about to go bad.' What I'm saying is I look in the pantry and frig to see how the veggies and fruits are holding up, then I decide what I will serve with them. I know the main dish is the protein but if the side dish is lead-in no person at your table is ever going to complain. Recently, I had 6 Brussels Sprouts about 5 days old, a fresh carrot, a very small piece of drying sweet potato, and some pretty sad herbs. I shredded, spiraled, and added some spring onions, a small thinnly sliced garlic clove, and sauteed them with a small bit of Aceto Vinegar and olive oil. Perfect for Scallops! Who Knew?!
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Delicious! And thank you for the warning about the frozen scallops. There are also French recipes of seared, fried or grilled scallops served under black caviar -- this probably jacks the price of the meal several-fold, but food and money are ephemeral.
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