I tried a locally-made Scorpion sauce that was
supposed to weigh in at about a half-million
units. The small sample nearly took the top of
my head off and lasted on my palate for at least
10 minutes, keeping me amused if in pain until
the food came out.

That sounds like the stuff I sampled on our visit to Avery Island (which
is not really an island, but a salt dome). I had a small sample on the

It might have been an island at one point ...
and almost certainly will be in the future.

end of a pretzel and it took about 20 minutes for the burn to go away.

With something that hot, the only sensible
use is as a drop-by-drop ingredient, in
which case one might as well use Joan
Macdiarmid's pure capsaicin.

Title: BAY SCALLOP SEVICHE

One good thing about this recipe is the
use of orange juice to cut the lime.
Seviche tends to be too sour - the
origin of course is in hot humid
climates where the acid might be a
welcome refreshment as well as a
prophylactic against bacteria, but in
modern life, we don't need that so much.
It's similar to well-done meat, which
was necessary in olden days, but the
luxury of living here and how is that
we don't have to deal with some of the
hygienic issues of ancient times and
more backward places.

2 lb Bay scallops
1 1/2 ts Ground cumin

I love cumin but am not sure it would go
well here, as scallops, if they're any
good, are delicate, and the flavor would
overwhelm. I admit that good bay scallops
are hard to come by, and it might be in a
restaurant's best interest to disguise
fishiness or, worse, tastelessness.

1 Hot red chili pepper *

The same comment - there are relatively
few places I'd turn down hot pepper, but
here's one of them.

1/4 c Red onion, finely chopped
3 Ripe plum tomatoes **
1 Red pepper; seeded & chopped
3 Scallions; chopped

A bit too much, I'd say. Problem with
places with names like American Bistro is
that they mess around to the degree that
the virtue of the original ingredients is
obscured. In this kind of dish, the
vegetables should be an occasional accent
and not something present in every bite.

This one is even more unbalanced.

--mm
SEA SCALLOP CEVICHE
categories: starter, shellfish, New York
serves: 6

1 lb sea scallops, preferably diver
3 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 ts sea salt
1/3 c minced red onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced, or to taste
1 sm red bell pepper, seeded, deveined
- and finely chopped
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c fresh lime juice
1/4 c chopped chives
2 Tb minced cilantro leaves
s&p

Slice scallops horizontally 1/2" thick. Cover and
refrigerate. In a small bowl, sprinkle tomatoes
with salt and refrigerate. Combine next 6 ingredients
in a bowl. Refrigerate.

About 1 hr before serving, drain liquid off tomatoes
and add tomatoes to onion mixture. Fold in chives and
cilantro. Add scallops and toss. Salt and pepper to
taste. Marinate about 30 min, then serve.

Adapted from the Lenox Room; NY Times 9/1/99
---
* Origin: Fido Since 1991 | QWK by Web | BBS.DOCSPLACE.ORG (1:123/140)