Seafood Bisque

When I first visited North Carolina (particularly the town of Beaufort, near the sea) I was with my mother. We were taken out to lunch - I don't remember who took us to lunch, but I do remember what I ordered: Seafood bisque. It was the best soup I have ever eaten. When, in the years to come, it was my happy fortune to visit this area of North Carolina again with Heather, Michael, Dylan and Katie, we started a tradition of treating ourselves to Clawson's seafood bisque.

I suppose a sudden urge overtook me yesterday to try and approximate this wonderful dish. And tonight I tried it. I cooked up scallops and shrimp with some mushrooms and onions - in quite a lot of butter. Then I added cream, white wine, and a few tablespoons of canned diced tomatoes. For seasoning I used salt, pepper, garlic and a bit of coriander (the powdered stuff - not cilantro). Oh, yes. And some Parmesan cheese too.

Of course, any poor culinary attempts of mine could not compare to the splendour of Clawson's seafood bisque, but - if I do say so myself - my soup was quite nice.