Thursday, February 12, 2004

By Arlene Burnett, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

When Pat Horn of Eighty Four, Washington County, requested a recipe for Coquilles St. Jacques, we knew it would be a perfect entree for a home-cooked Valentine's Day dinner.

Coquilles St. Jacques is a rich, succulent dish made of scallops, butter, wine and cream. Here's the best part -- it's easy.

We received two responses to Pat's request.

The first came from Nancy Miller of Franklin Park: "This is one of my family's favorite seafood recipes, although we prefer to use sea scallops cut into small pieces instead of bay scallops. And I use Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Shells cooked according to package directions instead of scallop shells or dishes. This recipe is from 'The Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant Seafood Cookbook.' "

There are two types of scallops. Bay scallops are small -- about 1/2 inch in diameter -- and are usually sweeter than the larger sea scallops. Sea scallops average about 1 1/2 inches round and are slightly chewier than the bay scallops. Use scallops within two days of purchase. Look for a sweet smell and moist sheen. And stay away from those with a strong sulfur odor.

The second recipe, Ernie's Famous Hot Coquille, sent by Helen Stratigos of White Oak, is delectable mix of scallops, shrimp and crab, as well as mushrooms, onions and, of course, butter and cream. The dish is from the now-closed Ernie's Esquire Restaurant on Route 19 in the South Hills.

It serves 10 to 12 people, so you may have leftovers. Ours were put to good use by one of our dinner guests, Janis Atkins. She reheated the coquille and poured it over fettuccine noodles, added a little freshly grated parmesan cheese, tossed and served.

	If you want to answer a recipe request from a reader or are looking for a recipe yourself, please write to Kitchen Mailbox, c/o Arlene Burnett, 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh 15222, or send e-mail to aburnett@post-gazette.com . Please include a name, neighborhood/city/borough/township and state and a daytime phone number on all correspondence.

Both entrees were served with hot buttered rice, tossed salad, rolls and French bread and white wine.

COQUILLES ST. JACQUES

• 1 pound bay scallops
  
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
  
• 1 small onion, finely diced
  
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, thin- ly sliced
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon uice
  
• 1/2 cup water
  
• 2 tablespoons butter
  
• 2 tablespoons flour
  
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
  
• Salt to taste
  
• Bread crumbs
  
• Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat broiler for about 10 minutes. Saute scallops in a skillet with wine and onion about 5 minutes. Drain and reserve liquid. Set scallops aside. Cook mushrooms in lemon juice and water about 10 minutes. Drain and reserve the liquid. Set mushrooms aside.

Melt butter in large heavy skillet and slowly stir in flour over low heat until thickened. Slowly blend in cream. Add liquids from scallops and mushrooms and continue stirring over low heat until mixture is creamy and smooth. Add scallops and mushrooms and mix lightly. Season with salt. Spoon mixture into large scallop shells or shell-shaped oven-proof individual dishes.

Sprinkle bread crumbs, then parmesan cheese over scallops. Place under the broiler for a few minutes until lightly browned on top.

Serves about 6.

Note: We used individual oven-proof plates.

ERNIE'S FAMOUS HOT COQUILLE

10 tablespoons butter, divided