Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.
Issue link: https://loumag.epubxp.com/i/642573
LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 3.16 93 FOOD& DRINK By Mary Welp / Illustration by Carrie Neumayer Do you remember Dreamsicles? No one else does, either. Tey'll say, "You mean Creamsicle." Nope. I swear, I mean Dreamsicle, the summertime childhood treat that never tasted better than just after you'd emerged from three hours of hard jumpin' in the chlorinated pool. Whereas the Creamsicle is a hunk of fakety-fake vanilla ice cream coated in any of several soda-poppy favors, a Dreamsicle was made with vanilla ice milk and came strictly inside an orange coating much creamier than the outside of its lesser rival. Both, of course, were mounted on glori- fed tongue depressors. My brother is the only one of my kith and kin who remembers the Dreamsicle. All others will insist, "You're just remem- bering the name wrong." Tis is why Karl Ove Knausgaard wrote six volumes of his life story and called it fction instead of memoir. But a deep probe on the Inter- webz shows that Dreamsicle did once exist not only as a line of kitschy collectible cherub statues (do not Google unless you want to feel trapped in a Twilight Zone epi- sode) but also as an ice cream bar that now inspires terrible, terrible cake and cookie recipes in addition to an even more terrible line of products from Yankee Candle. Which brings us to the follow-up response I often get: "Why do you, Mary Welp, care about a damn ice cream bar? It seems like you'd want to ban them." Tis is true. If a Dreamsicle were to materialize before me now, I'd likely not even feed it to my dogs. Nostalgia is nostalgia, which means that it's completely untrustworthy. However, the recipe I came up with during the January snowfall, the recipe that put me in mind of the Dream- sicle, is trustworthy. Because our son had moved into his The essence of Dreamsicles — cream and oranges — sweetens this scallop dish. Dream Weaver own apartment only a day or two before the snow few, and because I had given him most of the staples from our pantry and fridge, I decided it would be a great idea to work through the remainder of the staples before doing a complete grocery re-stock. Plus, ever since the winter of 2009, I pretty much expect any snowstorm to turn into a power outage. "Use up the food, don't lose it" has become part of my zero-wastage stance. So there I was on day three of what I like to call Our Unplowed Streets in the Highlands While the Rest of the Town Is Back in Business. At the very bottom of the bottom freezer drawer, I found a package of humongous sea scallops that I had bought early last summer. Tey looked a little frosted over, but I thought I'd give them a go after they'd thawed. A quick glance around to see what other ingredi- ents might work with them turned up: butter, cream, parsley and — this being the height of citrus season — oranges galore. Several varieties, in fact. I picked up an iDevice to see what Martha Stewart and Ina Garten had been up to lately with scallops. Both ladies, as ever, had lots of stuf going on with butter and cream or butter and oranges but nothing that I could fnd that covered all three along with scallops. Deciding that it might be more of a cookbook kind of day anyway, I picked up an old favorite called A Seafood Celebration (by Sheryl and Mel London) that has the cutest fsh illustra- tions ever (by Kathleen M. Skelly). While I still did not fnd in its 400- plus pages exactly what I was looking for, I found again and again one general principle at work: Take whatever acidic ingredient you are starting with — be it citrus, wine or vinegar — and reduce the daylights out of it before adding cream and/or whisking in butter. Tis is what makes for perfect emulsifcation, not to mention intensity of favor. Te other trick not called for in most recipes is to sear the seafood, without cooking it through, before adding it to the fnished cream sauce. Te recipe below ended up being my favorite home-cooked dish of the season, not least because I served it with my other new food love: black rice! Unlike with the Dreamsicle, this is not just nostalgia talking. Sea Scallops in Orange Cream Sauce 12 jumbo sea scallops 1 ½ cups fresh orange juice ¼ cup heavy cream or half-and-half 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 garlic clove, minced 2 oranges (peel and white pith removed), cut into segments ¼ to ½ bunch fresh parsley (stems discarded), fnely chopped Salt and freshly ground black pepper Simmer the orange juice in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat for about 25 minutes or until it is reduced to ⅓ cup. Add the cream to the orange juice reduc- tion and return the mixture to a gentle simmer. Remove it from the heat. Add the butter to the orange juice reduction a few pieces at a time, constantly whisking to blend it. Once all the butter is incorporated, season the sauce with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set the sauce aside in a warm spot. Place a heavy large sauté pan over high heat for two minutes. Season the scallops with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle the olive oil into the hot pan and add the scallops. Sear the scallops about two minutes on each side, or until they are just opaque in the center and golden brown on both sides. Add the garlic after you have turned the scallops, so as not to burn it. Drizzle the orange sauce over the scal- lops, and as the sauce warms through, gen- tly stir in the parsley. Garnish each plate or bowl you serve with the orange segments. Serves three to four.