Ever heard of Squam Scallop Pie? First time I made it, I was in my 20's. I don't remember where I got the recipe but it was always a huge success when I entertained a friend of the male persuasion.
Nowadays it's Engagement Chicken, for me it was this pie.
Cooked in a Pyrex pie plate I actually bought a scallop-shaped dish (just like the Shell gas logo). Although there is one recipe called squam scallop pie floating around the blogoshere, it is not exactly the same recipe. Mine used piped mashed potatoes around the edge of a scallop dish with the scallop mixture in the middle, almost like a pie, but not.
I liked my version and decided I needed to revisit this recipe again. I know there is a Squam Lake in New Hampshire and I imagine someone vacationing up there had the dish at a local restaurant or B&B and created a rendition. Wherever it's origins are, it's a tasty and filling dish for those fall bay scallops that come around once a year.
You will need one recipe favorite mashed potatoes and a piping bag or storage bag with a hole cut out of one corner.
This dish will take all of thirty minutes if you already have leftover mashies in the fridge (which I do).
Squam Scallop Pie
makes 4 servings
* 1 teaspoon butter
* 1/2 c. chopped onions
* 1 pound scallops
* 1/4 c. white wine
* 2 T flour
* 1 c. fat-free evaporated milk
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
* 2 tablespoons melted butter
* 2 cups mashed potatoes
* 2 egg yolks
* Parsley garnish
Directions
1. Mix yolks into mashed potatoes and pipe around edge of round gratin dishes. Brush with 2 tablespoons butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
2. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Melt 1/4 butter in a saute pan and cook onion till translucent, 5 min. Add in scallops, cook stirring 2-3 min. Add in wine, cook 3 min. Remove scallops with slotted spoon and reserve.
4. Whisk flour into pan, whisk in half & half.
5. Reduce heat, cook stirring constantly till thick and smooth, about 2 min. Add in salt and pepper. Place scallops into middle of ramekins and pour over sauce.
6. Bake 15 min, turn oven to broil, and broil until potatoes start to brown, about 2 minutes. Watch them carefully. Garnish with parsley.
Cost of this dish: $5.97
Scallops - $4.19
Onion - $.25
Milk - $.99
Yolks - $.54
Running total for 25 days: $91.00 ($3.64 per day)
I promise I will stop the daily totals after the first month is over.