Kelly Lester's Victorious Coquilles St. Jacques

KELLY LESTER’S VICTORIOUS COQUILLES ST. JACQUES

Here's a delicacy ripped straight from the headlines: The East Hampton Star just proclaimed "Lesters Found Not Guilty." In celebration we high-tailed it over to their roadside stand for a pound of just harvested, sweet bay scallops. Hence this sumptuous recipe for Coquilles St. Jacques created in Kelly Lester's honor.

In yet another blow for justice, Kelly and Paul Lester, sibling scions of one of the great Bonacker families of baymen, had charges against them dropped in early November. The State Department of Environmental Conservation had cited Kelly and Paul with violating fishing and fish-selling regulations, but East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana ruled it had failed to prove its case.

BTW, this is the same Judge Rana who officiated at our wedding in September. She was first elected a town justice in 2004 and just this November won another term. Yea Team Rana!

In July the DEC cooked up some cockamamie story about permits and porgies. Persecution and prosecution swiftly followed. And, finally, victorious vindication. A community rejoices; this neighbor was certainly in a celebratory mood. Her hand-crafted sign offered a clever jab at the charges of unlawful signs on their property.

Note: this is not Kelly Lester in the picture. Kelly politely demurred from having her picture taken; the strain of the trial was a big deal and not surprisingly, she's ready to step out of the limelight for a while.

For generations the Lester family has made their living off East Hampton's land and surrounding seas. This branch of the Lester clan has long sold their fresh catches on their property on Abrahams Path, on the border of EH and Amagansett. It doesn't get any fresher. Indeed, who can forget the scallopalooza feasts of last autumn's record catch?

Just like the court case, our Coquilles St. Jacques recipe has a few twists and turns of its own. Fennel bulb braised in wine and clam broth which in turn becomes the base of the thick, velvety cream sauce. A rasping of tonka bean in place of the more usual nutmeg – although nutmeg is fine if you haven't yet crossed over to the dark side of tonka. And mushrooms and butter and Gruyère and wavy scallops of whipped potatoes piped around the gratin dish.