Never let the food outshine what really matters at the table.

A story of France—plus a recipe for the soup I serve every year on Christmas Eve. Remember it for any winter night you want to bring added warmth to the meal.

My recipe for French Scallops Chowder was inspired by my stay with a French family on a high-school exchange trip to Burgundy. And of course, it’s always about more than just the food—read on!

By the way—if you’re looking for a Christmas gift for the French-food enthusiast on your list, you can still order my cookbook, Everyday French Cooking in time for Christmas from Amazon.

Coquilles Saint-Jacques in Burgundy, 1977

Dining with the Lavignes in Burgundy. That’s me, second from left.

On the last night of my stay with a French family on a high-school exchange trip to Burgundy, my hosts, the Lavignes, took me to an upscale restaurant. By this time, I had enjoyed night after night of beautiful meals with the Lavigne family, and with the wide-eyed fascination of a kid from Iowa traveling to France for the first time, I truly relished everything they had served me at their table (except, perhaps, some veal kidneys). So, when the server asked me for my order, I said, “What she’s having,” and pointed to Annie, the elder daughter.

For our first course, we were served a classic flat seashell filled with a mixture of scallops and mushrooms in a creamy wine-laced sauce, topped with bread crumbs and run under a broiler.

Hailing from land-locked Iowa, I had never had anything from the sea that was as sweet and opulent as a sea scallop, and with its rich sauce and nubbly topping, I had to know: What was this thing? I asked Annie to write down the name of the dish.

A few years later—in my twenties—I came across the same dish in the United States. I was dining with a young man at a private club, and to my delight, Coquilles Saint-Jacques was on the menu. I don’t remember if it tasted great or not, because what sticks with me most in my memory is this: at one point, while we were both eating, my friend completely tuned out the conversation and dug into his dish in a manner that went beyond gusto. He finally looked up, realized that I had asked him a question, and said, “Oh—sorry, but nothing comes between me and my Coquilles Saint-Jacques.”

That particular Coquilles Saint-Jacques could well have been as good as the one I tasted in Burgundy, yet I don’t remember it being so. Something much greater was missing: a spirit of connectedness that the Lavignes possessed every time they sat down at the table. No matter how good the food was when we ate together, nothing would outshine our attention and affection towards each other.

French Scallop Chowder with Fines Herbes

French Scallops Chowder

It’s true that the French generally feast on Christmas Eve, with a grand, multi-course feast called le Réveillon de Noël. But if your Christmas Eve is more humble in nature, you can still enjoy a great French dish—this luscious scallop chowder. Enjoy it at the holidays, or any time you want to bring a little warmth and French finesse to your table. This recipe is from my book, “Everyday French Cooking: Modern French Cuisine Made Simple.”

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 medium-size leeks (white and pale green parts only), halved lengthwise, rinsed, and
sliced crosswise (about 1 cup)
1 large shallot, finely chopped (about 1⁄4 cup)
1 garlic clove, minced
1⁄2 cup dry white wine
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup fish stock or bottled clam juice
1 pound red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half if 1 inch in diameter or
smaller, in quarters if larger than 1 inch
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon snipped fresh fines herbes or 1 teaspoon dried fines herbes, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1⁄2 cup heavy cream
1 pound sea scallops, quartered, or bay scallops
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and shallot and cook, stirring, until the leeks are tender but not brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the broth and the clam juice. Add the potatoes, bay leaf, dried fines herbes (if using), and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pan, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf.

2. Add the cream and fresh fines herbs (if using) to the pot and bring to a simmer. Add the scallops, return to a gentle simmer, and cook the scallops until they are opaque throughout, 2 to 4 minutes. Take care not to overcook them.

3. Remove the pan from the heat; season the soup with additional salt and pepper if needed. To serve, ladle the soup into shallow bowls and sprinkle each serving with snipped fresh parsley. Makes four main-dish servings.