Vive la France!

Not "Viva." That is a paper towel.

So it's Bastille Day! The day the citizens of France stormed the Bastille prison, kicking off that knitting circle we like to call the French Revolution. It was a rocking and (head) rolling time. And Kip has the same shirt that I had. Well, mine was a sweatshirt, but it's the same print. And, back then, we had the same hair. I don't have the shirt anymore. But I do still have that poster.

OK! Back to today! Bastille Day! I wanted to cook a special French dish, and, well, Martha is not much with the French food. So I turned to two of my favorite ladies. My dear friend Paige, who is a lover of the French, as shown here on her fabulous blog. and Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. Paige gave me a recipe for an asparagus and baby leeks side dish, while from Ina, or rather the Food Network website, I got Scallops Provencal. And of course, a nice cold bottle of FRENCH Champagne.



Don't get me wrong. I am not above enjoying a cava or other sparkling domestic wine. Hell, I've even been (well) known to enjoy Andre. Pink.



But not today.

On to the food. While I was using one of Ina's recipes, I do not have her gang of magical, merry boys ready to do my bidding and run my errands, so I had to go to the store myself. I have seen the scallops available at Publix, and it's as sad as the selection of pretty much every fish. So I took the trip up to the Whole Foods to see if they had a better selection (Oh yes they did!!!).

And then there was the produce department. As I have stated in this blog numerous times, I like to be able to touch my vegetables and pick them out myself. At Publix, they are already wrapped in plastic and Styrofoam. Not at Whole Foods. There was everything out in the open. Ready to be examined and touched and inspected. It was, in a word, awesome. Except for one thing. No baby leeks. Paige's recipe calls for 8 baby leeks. Hmmm.. well, I'll just get two regular leeks and quarter them. NEXT! I was practically giddy as I filled my basket.

(As an aside, there was a man at Whole Foods in a spaghetti strap tank top and skirt. He was slender, but he was a man. He had slight facial and chest hair. Ah, shopping with the organic hippies...)

Prep time!! Just look how pretty asparagus can be when you get to pick it out yourself.



So, I set about chopping two shallots, a clove of garlic and fresh parsley for the scallops, and getting the leeks and asparagus ready. I cut the leeks and halved them before soaking them to get the rest of the grit out. After that, I quartered them and simmered them in 2 cups of chicken stock until they were tender. Here they are after their chicken stock Jacuzzi.



Then I boiled the asparagus for just a couple minutes before dunking them in ice water. (This is literally water with lots of ice, as there is no such thing as cold tap water in Florida.)



I got smaller bay scallops, as opposed to sea scallops. I tossed them with sea salt and black pepper, and then I was supposed to dredge them in all-purpose flour. Which I didn't have. BUT, I did have Bisquik. Same/same.



This picture will prove that Paula Deen should have created both of these recipes. That is butter. Melting in two pans. Unsweetened, unsalted, beautiful butter.



So then I had to put the scallops in one pan, and the leeks and asparagus in the other. Here is where my cooking expertise came into play, working two things at once. Thank GOD I am such a good prepper.

Scallops browning:


Leeks and asparagus doing their thing in butter:


OK, then I had to sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese (again, thank you Whole Foods!) on top of the veggies (cheese? Yes please!), and add the shallot, garlic, parsley mix to the scallops, in addition to 1/3 a cup of dry white wine. (DO NOT use the Champagne! An unexciting Sauvignon Blanc can be used for that. You're just cooking with it!)



And so here it all is. The addition of the wine with the flour (Bisquik) dredged scallops makes a nice thick, almost goopie (but in the best way!) sauce. YUM!!! And the veggies are nice and tender with a good flavor and texture.


I guess Paige and Ina can keep their heads!

(A note on the coarse sea salt I used in these recipes. This is PERFECT to clean your cast iron skillet. As is Kosher salt. Just do a healthy sprinkle around your pan and scrub the sticky bits off with the salt, then rinse. If you are using any kind of soap to clean a cast iron skillet, you are ruining its fabulousity.)

Here is the Bastille Day playlist. It started out with an "About you" theme.. it was a bit weird...

Song About Wendy and Lisa (Song about Prince. "The pain of my spirit and the pain of my heart, don't ever tell me to let it all go")
Till Death do us Part Madonna (Song about Sean Penn. "We never laugh.. not like before.")
Warwick Avenue Duffy (Song about an ex-boyfriend. "Don't think we're OK just because I'm here. You hurt me bad, but I won't shed a tear.")
Much Too Late for Goodbyes Julian Lennon (Song about his father, John. "Ever since you've been leavin' me, I've been wanting to cry.")
Purple Rain Prince and the Revolution (In the movie, it was a song about Appolonia. In reality, it is arguably the best Prince song of all time. All the lyrics are awesome. I can't pick just one.)
Paper Doll PM Dawn (OK, the theme is over now. But this song is awesome, and this was one of my favorite CDs freshman year of college.)
Even the Nights are Better Air Supply (Again, not embarrassed one bit by having the greatest hits of Air Supply on my iPod.)
Quality Barenaked Ladies ("Life of the party, like Billy Barty, but regular size.")
The Wrong Man Was Convicted Barenaked Ladies ("I thought that you would wait for me. Your wants I needn't heed.")
Lost Annie Lennox (I will go on record right now as saying that Annie Lennox has one of the most beautiful voices ever.)
The Name of the Game ABBA (This song was left out of the movie version of Mamma Mia. It's on the DVD in the extras.)
You May be Right Billy Joel ("But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for.")
Sound of Your Voice Barenaked Ladies ("I let you down, and fell right off of your good list.")
Where Do We Go From Here? Cast (From the "Once More With Feeling" episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Oh yeah. I have most of those songs on my iPod, too.)
Leather and Lace Stevie Nicks and Don Henley (This relationship gave birth to the song Sarah, which she wrote after ending her pregnancy by Mr. Henley. And you thought her relationship with Lindsey Buckingham was rough.)
I Need a Man Eurythmics (SING IT ANNIE!!!!)
Darling Nikki Prince and the Revolution (An interesting follow up to the previous song....)
When Tomorrow Comes Eurythmics
Suicide Blonde INXS (I think that was the color of my hair in high school.)
Trust The Cure (Way to bring down the room, Robert.)
Caught in my Shadow The Wonder Stuff
Slave to Love Bryan Ferry (Ah.. Mickey Rourke when he was hot and in 9 1/2 Weeks. And hot. Sigh...)
Tempted Duran Duran (I LOVE YOU SIMON!!!!)
Space Oddity David Bowie
Until the End of the World U2 (I LOVE YOU BONO!!!)
From Me to You The Beatles ("If there's anything that you need.. if there's anything I can do... ")
Vertigo U2 (I LOVE YOU BONO!!!)
Always in Love Graham Colton