SERVES:

INGREDIENTS:
8-12 large sea scallops (dry packed, no water added if possible)
salt and pepper
olive oil for sauteing scallops

2-3 Tbs butter
1 cup thinly chopped onion
8-10 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 large clove garlic, minced
2-3 Tbs fresh chopped parsley
2-3 Tbs fresh chopped tarragon

1 1/2 cups light cream (or heavy cream)
salt and pepper to taste

6 slices county bread, toasted and cut in half (1 1/2 slices per serving)

PROCEDURE:

You'll want to do all of the knife work involved before you start cooking anything and, once everything is good to go, saute the salt and pepper seasoned sea scallops on their flat sides in a large heavy bottomed pan, on medium high heat, in a little olive oil.

Stay with them, you want both flat sides to be nicely caramelized, but you don't want them cooked all the way or to your liking at this point in the recipe yet. Once the second side is nicely caramelized, take them out of the pan and let them rest on a clean plate.

At that point, add a couple of Tbs of butter to the pan and add 1 cup sliced onion and 8-10 ounces of thinly sliced mushrooms and cook those to soften.

After 4-5 minutes, add 1 large minced clove of garlic and 2-3 Tbs each of chopped parsley and fresh tarragon and add 1 - 1 1/2 cups of cream and let that cook down a bit.

While the cream is reducing toast the sliced country bread.

Once the cream has reduced by about half, season it with salt and pepper to taste, add the scallops back to the pan and let those warm through and it is time to eat!

Cut the slices of toast on a long bias and then arrange three of those to make a basket on your plate, and then spoon the scallops and mushrooms into the center of that.

HINTS:

If you are afraid of over cooking the scallops, you can cook the scallops last but you'll need to use a separate nonstick pan for that.