Okay, I tend not to buy Merlot very often. Not because of "Sideways," but because I got genuinely tired of it in the 90s. That aside, I can't say that I don't like it. A good Merlot is a damned fine wine--dry, rich in flavor and smooth as it finishes in your throat.
One of the wineries we visited last August was Seavey. Though they are better known for their Cabernet Sauvignon, we bought a couple bottles of the Merlot. Since then we'd see it mixed in with the other bottles and wonder why we'd bought it... we're bad about taking notes on these things.
We spent the weekend in Vermont visiting my daughter at Bennington. Emotionally it was a lovely weekend-- Nora has changed a lot in the last six weeks. She is so much more confident. So clearly happy to be where she is. Gustatorily it was a bit blah... college food being provided. By the time we got ourselves onto the car for the drive home I was day-dreaming about real food. Bacon-wrapped scallops insinuated themselves into my head. The urge was strong enough to make a stop at the grocery store to buy the fixings.
While I was prepping them I asked Jack to open a bottle of something red and soft. And that is the thing about a good Merlot. It's soft. It isn't forceful. It's compatible.
I served, and we alternated between sips of wine and juggling piping hot bacon-wrapped scallops. The enticing nose of mulberry, coffee and mocha and the taste of plum, black cherry and cedar played off the saltiness of the bacon and the sweet nuttiness of the scallops to perfection.
Yum.
(Oh, and I am pleased to say that I got the texture and done-ness of the scallops exactly right. The secret there is in partially pre-cooking the bacon.)
Bacon-wrapped Scallops
Buy some sea scallops.
Partially cook half as many slices of bacon as you have scallops (so if you have 20 scallops, you need 10 slices of bacon).
Cut each partially cooked (should be flexible and no where near crispy) slice of bacon in half.
Wrap each scallop in a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. The bacon should overlap a little-- if the scallops are too big, you can cut them in half (you'll need to prep more bacon).
Broil the bacon-wrapped scallops, turning once, until the bacon is crisy and the scallops are opaque.
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