Escargot Galore

We love a good escargot and, apparently, so do the people of Frankfurt. Perhaps it is because we have come across several French Bistros, but they can be found in traditional German restaurants as well. More correctly, you will find snails on the menus, whether it is French or German. We have been here for almost four weeks now and already have had snails at least four times. There is nothing like dipping bread into the garlic butter that the snails are usually cooked in, decadently delicious.

Escargot at a French Bistro
Cheese Covered Snails

Twice we had snails covered in cheese. One was covered with a mozzarella-like cheese and the cheese was gooey and sumptuous. The second was covered with a Gruyère type cheese, which also extremely good as well, but we are not sure that snails, oil, butter, and herbs really need to be enhanced by cheese. We suppose those that say cheese always make things better would probably disagree. Who knows, we will probably find deep-fried snails covered in cheese at some point, why stop with just cheese 😁.

Classic Escargot in Heidelberg
Gruyere Covered Snails

It is certainly not the healthiest of choices, but it is hard not to have escargot when we find them on the menu. Some people are turned off by the thought of snails, but we are firm believers in trying new and different foods. We had our children try escargot when they were young without telling them what they were eating and they all really enjoyed it. We even tried a local delicacy, that might roll some eyes, over the weekend, but we will save that for another post.

Seared Sea Scallops with Lemon Butter Sauce

We don’t have sea scallops very often as they are usually expensive to buy here in Colorado, but we decided to splurge and get some over the weekend. We wanted something lite and flavorful, so we did a lemon butter sauce with some garlic and capers. It made for a wonderful treat was satisfying, but wasn’t too heavy. We hope you’ll enjoy it as well.

Ingredients

  • 12 – 16 Sea Scallops – about 1 lb
  • 1/4 cup Flour
  • 1 tsp Paprika
  • 1 clove Fresh Garlic – minced
  • 1 Lemon
  • 1 pinch of Saffron
  • 1 tbsp Capers
  • 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 4 tbsp Butter
  • 8 oz Pasta (Angel Hair, Spaghetti, or linguine)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
Seared Scallops with Lemon Butter Sauce

Instructions

Combine the flour, paprika, salt, and pepper on a plate or shallow bowl.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt and the pasta, and cook according to the package directions.  In a large saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter with the olive oil over medium heat.  Dredge just the flat sides of the scallops in the flour and place them in the pan.  The flour will help to thicken the sauce as well as help to sear the scallops.  Cook the scallops, flipping half way through, until cooked through and golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the water from the pasta, then drain the pasta and put the pasta into a bowl stirring in 2 tablespoons of butter.  To make the sauce, add the remaining tablespoon of butter, the garlic, the zest of 1/4 of the lemon, the saffron, capers, and the juice of the lemon to the saucepan that the scallops were cooked in.  Be sure to deglaze the pan drippings into the sauce and simmer on medium-high heat until the garlic and capers are soft, about 3 minutes.  Put the scallops on the pasta and pour the sauce over the scallops.  Serves 4.

Seared Scallops
Lemon Butter Sauce

 

Pumpkin-Sage Shrimp

We made this as an appetizer for our Halloween party, but it would be just as good over a bed of linguine noodles.  The original recipe called for bay scallops, but we chose to use shrimp instead because we couldn’t get scallops.  Since we’re in Colorado, finding fresh seafood can sometimes be a challenge, but based on the way our guests gobbled them up, shrimp seemed to be a fine alternative.

Pumpkin-Sage Shrimp

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs Raw Shrimp – medium size, peeled and de-veined
  • 1 stick (8 tbsp) Softened Unsalted Butter
  • 1 1/2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
  • 1/4 cup Canned Pure Pumpkin
  • 1 tbsp Fresh Sage – chopped
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1 Lemon – cut in half

Instructions

In a bowl or food processor, combine the softened butter, pumpkin, sage, and salt.  Whisk or pulse until smooth.  Add a 1/2 tablespoon of butter to a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1/3 of the shrimp to the skillet, making sure that the shrimp aren’t crowded, and cook until pink, about 2 to 4 minutes.  Stir in 2 tablespoons of the pumpkin-sage butter and a squeeze of lemon juice.  Remove the shrimp from skillet and repeat the steps until all of the shrimp has been cooked.  Serve warm or at room temperature with picks.

Pumpkin-Sage Butter
Sauté Shrimp
Stir in Pumpkin-Sage Butter
Shrimp Sautéed in Pumpkin-Sage Butter
Name
Email
Website
Comment