The recipe prepared for this week's
Whisk Wednesdays' assignment is from Class 23, Part 2:
Coquilles Saint Jacques Dieppoise (
Scallops with Mussels and Shrimp in Cream Sauce). It can be found in the cookbook
Le Cordon Bleu at Home on pages 78-79.
This week's recipe is similar to ones that I already have in my repertoire/arsenal/old standbys, but this recipe incorporated various techniques and combinations that I had not made use of prior to today, so I was eager to try them and see if they really would make that much difference to do it this fancy French Le Cordon Bleu way.
Oh, YES...definitely worth it to do it this way. While my variations are good, and they are, this one was incredibly even more flavorful. More depth of flavor. It's that "how many pans can we possibly use in preparing one meal" deal the French seem to have a penchant for on any given day. I used seven today, and that did not count the pasta pot for the linguine I made to serve with the sauce. (The photo at the right is the sauce itself before being spooned over the linguine.)
It is truly amazing how they cook everything separately, with all their little seasonings and techniques and go-withs, and then bring it together at the end for one very lovely and memorable dish. This is my favorite thing about this class...I am learning all sorts of new techniques for bringing out more true flavors. It is immensely satisfying to be able to do that...and I am a rookie, so imagine what all those fancy French chefs can really do with a dish!
This week we took mussels, scallops, shrimp, mushrooms, shallots, parsley, salt and pepper, wine, and creme fraiche and transformed them into a wonderful sauce, which I served over linguine as my guys really like pasta. It goes together fairly quickly as seafood never takes long to cook, even when you are doing it all separately.
And the reviews? "Excellent, very good, wonderful..."
It's definitely a repeat recipe and definitely easy and quick enough for a weeknight.
Buy the book...this recipe alone is worth the price.
The final photo shows three very satisfied and happy diners: Mark, Alex, and Matt...Coquilles Saint Jacques Dieppoise was a big hit.
If you would like to see how the other
Whisk Wednesday members fared in this class,
click here, and then on the Whisk Wednesdays connect to individual bloggers, or better yet, come and join us! Shari has the ingredients posted on her site at the click, so while we can't post the recipe instructions, you can at least look at the ingredients, and I bet you can figure out a lot of it from there.
Next Week's Assignment:
• Class 23, Part 3:
Bouchées aux Crevettes (Puff Pastry Shells Filled with Shrimp and Mushrooms) pages 467-468