Soooooo French!!!!

And not just in the name, but in the history of the dish! What, you say? Why Coquilles St. Jacques, of course! I really, really hope this will be one of our new year's dishes while we're in Paris.....I can't imagine scallops not being available in January! Besides, it's really a very simple dish to make!
So...here we go! The first thing that I did was to sear my scallops in a few tablespoons of olive oil (careful...scallops are horrible if you boil them in olive oil, so you only need to barely coat the pan. This is a very quick process which requires total concentration, hence the reason there isn't a picture of this stage. Most recipes I read called for simmering the scallops in wine, but I prefer my scallops with a crisp sear on them, so I did that first and set them aside in individual ramekins.(don't cook them ALL the way through....maybe 3/4 if the way. They're finished off in the oven.).
After that I added some butter and my diced shallots, along with my mushrooms....I sauteed them just to soften, then added my wine and lemon juice. Once you add the wine, lower to the heat to a steady simmer and let the wine evaporate almost completely. Then add the cream and let simmer to thicken.
Put the scallops in the baking dish, pour over the creamy mushroom sauce, top with the buttery breadcrumb, sprinkle with Gruyere cheese
and bake until they are bubbly and browned. Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 lbs. scallops
1/4 to 1/2 cup diced shallots
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
3 tbsp. butter
1/2 lemon
1 c. dry white wine
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 c. cream
3/4 c. buttered bread crumbs
3/4 to 1 c. grated Gruyere cheese
Fresh grated parmesan cheese

Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil in heated saute' pan and sear the scallops until almost done. Set aside in individual ramekins.
Add 2 tablespoons butter into the saute' pan and cook mushrooms and shallots for 3 to 4 minutes over medium heat until golden brown. Squeeze the lemon over the mushrooms and add the wine and simmer until the wine has evaporated.
Add the cream and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and pour over the scallops.
Sprinkle with buttered crumbs. Top with Gruyere. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes until golden brown and bubbly and top with grated parmesan cheese.
It may seem like alot of steps, but this is truly an easy, easy dish to make....and quite impressive! I sure hope we can find beautiful scallops at the markets!