The Italians call this dish linguine con vongole, which simply means linguine with clams.  The traditional preparation is often prepared with the option of a tomato based red sauce or a wine based white sauce.  In this preparation, we have combined the two, using wine and chicken stock as the base for the sauce, but including fresh tomatoes to add color and acidity.

I was introduced to this dish at an early age, as it is perhaps my mother’s most favorite dish to cook and eat.  I would find myself drawn to the kitchen with smells of garlic, wine, and fresh seafood at least twice a month.  Although it was such a staple in my household, I never tired of the dish, which I attribute to the fact that each “batch”, as my mother called it, varied in it’s outcome.  The best “batches”were always the ones made with the most fresh little neck or manila clams, and contained just the right balance of pork, which could include chorizo or linguisa sausage or bacon.

I like to served the dish in large shallow bowls with plenty of fresh sourdough to dip in the sauce.  A caeser salad makes a great accompaniment to this dish as well.  Do not be afraid to make more than necessary, as this dish is often even better the next day.  Just remove the shells from the clams and cover prior to refrigerating.  Here’s how we make it happen:

• 1/2 large sweet onion – diced
• 4 garlic cloves – roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup chopped Crimini mushrooms
• 1 cup fresh ripe tomatoes – roughly chopped
• 1 lb. Chorizo, Linguisa sausage or bacon
• 3/4 cup white wine
• 2 cups chicken broth, heated
• 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme
• 1 Tbsp. fresh oregano
• 3 Tbsp. butter

• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. good dry (or fresh) linguine pasta
• Salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

Set the pasta water to boil prior to beginning the sauce.  By the time your water is boiling and your pasta is cooked al dente, according to the directions on the box, your sauce will be done.

Heat a large, heavy bottomed pan over medium heat.  Add the butter and olive oil and wait until the butter bubbles.  Add the onion and cook it until it begins to soften, then add the sausage (removing any casing) and cook it until it browns.  Add salt and red pepper to taste, but take care to not over spice.  Next add the mushrooms, garlic, oregano, and thyme, and stir to combine.  Cook until all of the vegetables soften.

Add the tomatoes and wine, and allow the wine to reduce for about three minutes on high heat.  Add the heated chicken stock and allow the stock to reduce by half.  At this point, there should be enough liquid to cook the clams, but if there is not, freely add more chicken stock as necessary.

Add clams to the broth.  The clams should be soaked and scrubbed clean so they will not add sandy grit to your dish.  Cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low, and allow the clams enough time to open.  Check intermittently and stir.  Once all or almost all of the clams are open, add the cooked pasta directly to pan and stir into the sauce.  If one or two clams are not open, discard them as they are not safe to eat.  Finish the pasta with the fresh parsley and sprinkle with parmesan cheese (optional).  Serves four to six people.

What is it about the summer time that make seafood so appealing?  I suppose it’s the obvious hot weather and the light nature of seafood that combine to make a great harmony.  So I guess the recent seafood kick we’ve been on lately in the kitchen is justified with the newly welcomed sunny weather here in New England.  This rendition features perhaps my favorite New England seafood (behind lobster of course) – the crab.

Crabs in New England don’t have the proverbial girth of their west coast cousins like the Dungeness and King crabs you find in the pacific northwest and in Alaska (queue ‘Deadliest Catch’ music).  However, because they are cousins to those beauties, they do still come with that certain delicate crab texture and of course the extraordinary sweet flavor that I crave.

Here in New England the local crabs are abundant off of the coast and in the Gulf of Maine.  They are called Peekytoe or Rock crabs and Jonah crabs, the former is a bit smaller (though a closer cousin to the Dungeness) and therefore harder to pick.  The Jonah crabs tend to live in deeper waters, can be bigger and meatier too.

When seeing out to make this dish, I think the perfect combination is a mixture of the two types of crab.  Of course, if you’re in Maryland or the south, use the excellent local Blue crabs – or the Dungeness variety if you’re on the west coast and it’s crab season.  As a wiser man than me once said: ‘Use the crabs that are caught closest to your house.”

I set out to do crab cakes (who doesn’t love crab cakes?) with a salad for a perfectly simple summer dish.  I made a critical mistake in my recipe thinking for this and forgot to add an egg (or too few filler cracker crumbs).  So the cakes didn’t stay together in the pan.  No worries though, as the recipe quickly turned into crab melts on sprouted sourdough bread.  Here’s how they ended up:

• 8 oz. (1/2 lb.) crab meat – use local crab!
• 1/3 cup ground saltine crackers
• 3 Tbsp.  good mayonnaise (homemade or Hellman’s does the trick)
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. ground yellow mustard
• 1/4 cup parsley (more if you like)
• 1-2 scallions – finely diced
• 1 tsp. old bay seasoning (substitute this with 1/2 tsp. each cayenne pepper and lawrie salt)
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. fresh Thyme (lemon thyme is best here if you can find it) – chopped
• Salt and Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• A good splash of olive oil and a pad of butter

For the Sandwich melts, you’ll need:

• 2 slices of sourdough bread
• 2 thin slices of cheese – Havarti, Jack or Muenster
• Parsley for garnish (optional)

Basically to make the crab salad, you want to mix together all of the first listed ingredients.  Start by grinding up the crackers in a food processor or in a big bowl by hand.  Add them last to the mixture.  Start with the crab, herbs, spices and condiments and mix them all together gently.  Add in the crackers and put the mixture in the fridge to chill out for 30-60 minutes.  This is an important step, as it will let the flavors come together and develop.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Once the mixture has had a chance to rest in the fridge, you can make the cakes that will make your melts.  Start with a large non-stick pan over medium heat and add in the olive oil and the butter.  Once the butter starts to froth, form the crab mixture into 2 medium cakes and add them to the pan.  Once they’ve browned a bit on one side, flip them (if they fall apart a bit, put them back together with your spatula).  Once they’re browned on both sides (but not burned!) place each on a piece of bread and onto an oven safe sheet.

Top the melts with a slice of the cheese, some salt and freshly ground pepper and place them in the oven.  Bake until the cheese has melted, but hasn’t browned or burned – about 8 minutes.  The bottoms of the bread should be lightly toasted.  Top with some parsley and serve.

Man, I love crab.  Of course I badly miss the amazing Dungeness crab that you find in the Pacific Northwest.  The sweetness of the Dungeness is truly awesome, especially with some sourdough bread…classic SF (if you’re there go to Acme).  Here in New England, the best crab you can find that is fairly close to home comes from Maryland (though that’s not exactly local).  The local Jonas and Rock crab that you find along the Maine coast and in southern New England states is smaller and the meat doesn’t hold together as the amazing jumbo lump crab that comes from the blue crabs does.

Living in the Bay area, it was always a struggle to get Aimee interested in eating local crab any other way than with sourdough and a touch of mayo.  “Let’s incorporate it into a pasta,” I’d argue, but usually to no avail.  It was hard to argue though, this way of eating crab is divine.

So last night, since I was buying, I set out to produce a dish that contrasted flavors using crab and creating a larger dish – incorporating it into a pasta.  I knew the flavor combinations I was looking for: spicy (lots of crushed red pepper), savory (crab and garlic) and a bit of sweetness (caramelized onion).  There was even some bitterness from the radicchio.  The result was something that tasted very Italian and worked well with dry linguine, as opposed to fresh.

The basis of this recipe comes from Mario Batali’s awesomely simple cookbook Molto Italiano – which I’ve been way into since reading Bill Buford’s book Heat.  Molto Italiano focuses on delicious recipe combinations typically using only a few ingredients.  What’s great about these recipes is that it makes traditional Italian dishes like Arancini and fresh pasta seem accessible to the home cook – which they should be.  I basically followed this pretty close, but the caramelized onions were my addition.  Here’s how it went down:

• 3/4 lb. crab meat – blue, dungeness or Alaska king crab recommended
• 1 lb. dry Linguine
• 1 small head or 1/2 a large head of radicchio – shredded thin
• 1 large yellow onion – sliced into fairly thick (1/2″) half moons (for caramelizing)
• 5 cloves garlic – diced
• 4 scallions – chopped on the bias
• 1-2 Tbsp. crushed red pepper – adjust depending on your spice tolerance
• 3 shallots – sliced fairly thin, but not diced
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil – 1/4 cup for the onions and 1/4 cup for the overall dish
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1.5 cups dry white wine
• Salt to taste
• Squeeze of lemon juice on top

Start by doing caramelized onions – and prep the rest of your ingredients while your onions are going.

In a heavy pan or pot over low-medium heat, add 1/4 cup of the olive oil, onions and a pinch of salt, and brown them slowly, stirring every once in a while as to keep them from burning.  This should take 20-25 minutes and will result in a deep brown, super sweet onion.  Once they’re good to go, remove them from the heat and set aside.

Next, start the water for the pasta: in a large pot, add water and a solid 1-2 Tbsp. of salt and bring to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook until JUST al dente – don’t overcook!

While that’s going, put together the rest of the dish: Heat a fairly large pan over medium high heat and add the oil – it should be almost to the smoking point.  Add the shallots, garlic and red pepper and sautee until the shallots and garlic become golden brown, about 3 minutes.  Add in the wine and bring to a boil, this will happen fairly quickly.  Let the wine cook off for about a minute and then add the butter.  Stir in the butter as it’s melting and lower the heat on the pan to low.  At some point when the pasta is done, drain it but be sure to reserve a little bit of the pasta water.

Add in the pasta, crab, shallots, carmelized onions and scallions to the wine mixture and toss to combine, adding in a little bit (1Tbsp. or so) of the pasta water.  Finish with a splash of lemon juice and serve – top with a little lemon zest if you want too.  Enjoy!

Serves 6 (or 8 as a first course)

This dish is a re-creation of seafood from two parts of the US.  Belgian inspired and incorporating two places that have been huge influences in my life culinarily: New England and the SF Bay Area.  Really, it’s two restaurants and my love of dish re-creation that brought this dish to my table last night.  The Ramp in Cape Porpoise, ME – a hole in the wall spot at the end of the road near Kennebunkport.  The shellfish they serve usually they get ordered ‘provencal’, with tomato and garlic broth.  The toasted bread accompaniment with herb aioli id their idea – though an original recipe.

The other spot is the San Francisco restaurant Frjtz – a Beligan fries and mussels joint in the heart of the Mission.  The lemongrass broth and spice come from their menu, as does the sourdough bread – totally SF.  Being in the Boston area, the mussels are from New England (naturally) and were delicious.  Another A+ for our local fish market here: “New Deal” in Cambridge.

When I was growing up living in Maine the mussels would naturally grow in huge beds just outside the steps of the house.  Typically we couldn’t pick them because of the red tide algae, but when the red tide isn’t around, there’s nothing like picking the mussels out of their beds, cleaning the mud off of them and rinsing them to cook.

Oddly though, cooking these shellfish in the winter has brought a whole new spin on the mussel experience.  Because of the broth and warm bread to dip in it, the dish basically turns into soup, and a damn good one at that.  Totally comforting on a cold day and totally recommended.  I went the spicier Thai route, but you could also do a more French interpretation by adding garlic and tomato instead of lemongrass and coconut milk.  I don’t know, I just really have discovered that I adore Lemongrass.  Here’s how my take went down:

For the Lemongrass broth:

• 3-4 cups fish stock – if you have your own great, but who has their own fish stock? store bought works, and a typical container of store bought stock is ~4 cups.  Use it all, I did.
• 1/2 medium white onion – diced (you can dice the whole onion, you’ll use the rest later)
• 1 large stalk of lemongrass – halved lengthwise and roughly chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 Tbsp. lime zest (approx.)
• 1 tsp. lime juice
• 1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• A few whole peppercorns
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• Pinch of salt

To make the broth, simply add the stock in a heavy pot along with the rest of the ingredients.  Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat and then turn the heat down a bit (to medium) and let the broth reduce from around 3-4 cups to about 1.5 cups.  If you want to let it go a little longer be my guest, but you’ll have a more lemongrass forward broth and less ‘soup’ in the final dish.  You want at least a cup of the stuff.

Once it’s reduced, remove the pot from the heat and strain through a fine wire mesh strainer catching the liquid in a separate bowl or container.

For the Mussels

• Around 2 pounds of mussels
• 1 cup of lemongrass broth (see above)
• ~1 cup coconut milk (i used the light coconut milk, which is fine too)
• 1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes
• 2 medium shallots or 1/2 an onion – roughly diced
• 2-3 cloves garlic – diced
• 2-3 scallions – green parts only and diced
• Small chiffonade of basil
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil – if you don’t have any just use the olive oil

Rinse the mussels well in a colander. Heat the oil in a pan or pot (one with a good fitting lid) until very hot, almost smoking.  Take the onion, garlic, scallion and red pepper and add them, stirring – and cook for a few seconds literally!  Don’t want to let them burn.  Once you see them starting to color, add the mussels!  Stir the mussels around to coat with the rest of the ingredients.

After about a minute, add in the lemongrass broth and cover the pan with your lid.  Cook for around 2 minutes, then remove the lid.  The mussels should all be opened up and ready to go!  Simply add in the coconut milk and just heat through for a minute.

Top with the basic chiffonade and serve the mussels with a healthy portion of broth and some toasted baguette with basil aioli (recipe below) alongside.  Enjoy!

Basil Aioli

• 10-15 fresh basil leaves
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. lime or lemon juice (lime works better with the mussels)
• salt and pepper

Everything into the food processor and puree until smooth!

New England is famous for “steamahs“, a dish often found at traditional lobster shacks and clam bakes. This dish typically is made by steaming clams or mussels in ocean water or white white and serving them with melted butter and clam wash to take care of the sand. Hard to complain about that. However, many dining establishments are now upgrading this classic by adding a few more ingredients to the steaming broth and serving the dish with a nice crusty piece of French or sourdough toast.

The bread (example recipe below) is used for the ultimate dipping instrument – sometimes decadently topped with some aioli or basil mayo. There is a little place in Cape Porpoise, Maine called The Ramp that has mastered this dish by offering three different varieties, all of which by far outshine the wine and butter method. Delicious. The recipe that I have included here is still simple and quick, but is satisfying as a meal on its own.

I use Little Neck or Manila clams, since I began making them when I was living on the west coast and steamers are not available.

They can be made with steamers, but be prepared to deal with the beard. This recipe would also be delicious with mussels. Serve with plenty of hot garlic bread, because you will want to soak up every last bit of that broth.

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds of Little Neck or Manila clams, scrubbed and rinsed to get rid of sand or grit
• 4 strips of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 3 large shallots, roughly chopped
• 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 container of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 cups of dry white wine
• 3 cups of chicken stock
• 1/2 cup of fresh chopped parsley
• Salt and red pepper flakes to taste

Heat a large, deep skillet with a lid over medium high heat. Add the cut bacon and cook until brown and crispy. Add the shallots and cook until they begin to become translucent. Add the garlic and salt and red pepper flakes to taste. Once the garlic softens, add the wine. Bring the wine to a boil and then add the stock. Once the liquid is boiling, add the clams and tomatoes and cover.

Reduce the heat to medium and let the clams cook for 7-10 minutes, or until almost all of the clams have opened and released their juices into the broth. Discard any clams that did not open, as this means they were dead before you cooked them and are not safe to eat. Just before serving, add the parsley and taste to see if you need to add any more salt. Serve immediately. Recipe makes four or five dinner sized servings.

Quick Garlic Bread Recipe:

Ingredients:

• Good, crusty French or sourdough baguette
• 4 tablespoons of room temperature butter
• Minced fresh herbs (parsely, thyme, rosemary)
• 3 cloves of glaric
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, add the minced herbs to the butter. Using a garlic press, add the garlic to the butter and herbs. Add salt. Slice the baguette in half lengthwise, and spread the butter mixture over the bread. Bake for 10 minutes or until the bread becomes golden on the top.