Knights of the Corner Table: 2 Courses on a Monday Night

Coquilles St. Jacques
Scallops
White wine
onions
breadcrumbs
butter

I've recently found a rekindled passion for uber-classical French cuisine, and the way it interfaces with local produce. After taking a book called "Cuisine du Terroir" from the library, I was immediately struck by a recipe I'd heard of, but never actually eaten or cooked. Or seen. But from the looks of the recipe, this must be a shining example of what French cuisine is all about: simplicity and technique.
I knew I had to celebrate this discovery with a perfect wine pairing, and though the book recommended Muscadet-sur-lie as a regional complement, I had a craving for Cremant d'Alsace (bright acidity and toasty autolytic character is a no-brainer with this beautiful, light seafood dish) and found a beautiful bottle by Sumac Ridge -- the Steller's Jay Brut. Not only has this bottle been aged en tirage (in contact with the spent yeast from bottle fermentation) for three whole years, this primarily Pinot Blanc brut is actually riddled and disgorged by hand - a painstaking process that is usually done by computer-controlled gyropalettes nowadays. At $26, I doubt you can get a bottle made with this much love in too many other places.
I will have to make this dish a few more times to get my ideas straight. I've looked into a few different versions since, and there seems to be many takes on it -- some with cream, some with bechamel, some with mushrooms and parmesan... Chambar even has one with pork cheek, pickled green beans, and horseradish. I'm not sure if that captures the simple spirit of the dish. Creative and delicious, I'm sure, but it seems to me that les coquilles st. jacques must be about scallops and only scallops. In our search for new, exciting, and marketable dishes, we have lost the spirit of la belle cuisine. I aim to reclaim.

Course 2: The Risotto

Now, les coquilles is not a dish to fill up the belly, though perhaps the soul. So I made a fat batch of risotto. I have a bag in my freezer I think of as my "stock bag" which includes broccoli and onion scraps, chicken bones, etc, so I just made a quick stock out of that with which to hydrate the risotto. Here are a couple of pictures of the risotto process to give you an idea of my risotto philosophy -- dry during cooking, wet only during finishing. You will not achieve risotto by covering the rice with water (until the final stage) -- you must let it steam until it is finished. I added sundried tomatoes and artichokes to this one. Enjoyed with a bottle of 2007 Menguante Carinena DO old vines garnacha ($10.50 @ BCL). Raisinated fruit flavors, white pepper, medium body and tannin, beautiful pair with the sundried tomatoes and white pepper I chose in the risotto to echo the character of the garnacha. Make risotto and try this... please.