I Am A Clam Genius

Okay, it's not nice to brag, but this might be the best clam dinner I have ever made.

While I wandered through the grocery store I spied a package of smoked linguica sausage. Suddenly I was thinking cataplana, the Portuguese dish of pork or sausage and clams -- manilla clams, a house favorite.

I heated some olive oil and browned slices of the sausage in the pan. I removed the sausage and added in a chopped onion and cooked for about 5 minutes. Next I added in 1 tsp of smoked paprika (picante) and 3 cloves of minced garlic. I stirred that for just a bit and added 2 TBs of tomato paste, 1/4 cup of clam juice, 3/4 cup of white wine, a hefty pinch of red pepper flakes, a handful of chopped parsley, 2 bay leaves, a couple slices of chopped prosciutto for some extra porky flavor and about 2 TB of butter. I brought that all up to a boil, poured in almost 3 lbs of tiny Manilla clams, covered the pot and steamed for about 6 minutes until all the clams had opened. I served the clams with slices of bread toasted with shallot butter and parsley to soak up the super delicious, spicy sauce.

Modesty be damned. I can't deny it. I am a clam genius.

Soup In Indian Summer

The other day while flipping channels I stopped to watch one of Martha Stewart's minions (I think it was Lucinda Scala Quinn) stir up a pot of lentil vegetable soup. In spite of LA's record heat, that soup looked so good I decided to whip some up for dinner, with a couple additions of my own.

I sautéed chopped smoked sausage, onions, celery and carrots along with a hefty amount of minced garlic and a teaspoon of salt in olive oil for about 5 minutes. I added a chopped tomato and cooked a bit longer, then a good dollop of tomato paste and stirred the mixture around to cook for another 2 minutes or so. In went 2 cups of lentils, about a teaspoon of thyme, 2 bay leaves, more salt, and a pinch of chile flakes along with about 4 cups of water and close to 11 cups of chicken broth. I brought everything to a boil and simmered the soup for about 20 minutes until the lentils were tender. The last step -- as directed by my TV hostess, was to stir in about 2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar (homemade right out of our kitchen cask) for a bit of flavor punch.

To serve, as instructed by the TV, I made a pan of garlic croutons. Cubes of slightly stale bread (about 1 inch square) tossed in a hot pan with olive oil and two whole cloves of garlic until golden brown and crispy. The soup was good, but the croutons gave it a little something extra -- and so easy, all in a skillet -- no tray of cubes to burn in the oven, and ready to go.

Even on a hot night, soup is "a good thing." Garlic croutons are even better.

Sandwich Night

James came home late from work and wondering if we had something for a "snack" in the house. I went through the usual list . . . pizza, spaghetti, toasties (that's open-faced toasted bread -- usually with cheese -- around here), grilled cheese. "Oooh," James said. So I started on a couple grilled cheese sandwiches. I always try to do something a little different so today I layered prosciutto, butter, arugula, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, and a thin spread of Italian mostarda -- a sweet and tangy fruit flavored mustard -- on rustic peasant bread. I heated some butter and olive oil in a skillet, laid the sandwiches in the hot pan and pressed down with a heavy lid, flipped and cooked until each side was golden brown and crispy.

We always love Thursday sandwich night at Campanile, but tonight was grilled cheese night at home.

Slider Snack

I spent today helping my friend Karen throw a birthday party for her four year old son. Our house favorites, sliders and onion rings, were on the menu so of course there was a little slider snack for James when I got home.

Meatballs For Dinner

This week James has been all about ground beef. All he wants are burgers. I had to mix it up a bit so I seasoned some of our Hearst Ranch ground beef with parsley, chopped red onions, dried basil and minced garlic and added in some bread crumbs, an egg, parmesan cheese, and for something different some chopped arugula. I rolled the mixture into smallish balls (about a golf ball) and rolled each meatball lightly in breadcrumbs. Just to make everything a little easier I baked the meatballs at 400º for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile I boiled cauliflower florets until tender, then puréed them in the food processor with butter, salt, olive oil, milk, and a bit of parmesan cheese. For a nice contrast of bitterness -- not to mention color, I sautéed some radicchio with a touch of balsamic vinegar and golden raisins to mellow it's assertive flavor.

Meatballs for dinner in a whole new way.

Mish Mash Pasta Bake

There always seem to be the ends of a couple bags of pasta sitting back in the drawer. None of them have enough for a meal alone, so I decided to toss them all into a mish mash baked dish. Mixed pasta shapes (about half cooked in boiling water), brisket pasta sauce I had in the freezer (Mark Peel's recipe I made a few months back), and dollops of seasoned ricotta (salt, pepper, oregano, chili flakes and parmesan) all tossed together and baked at 350º for about 35 minutes.

Dinner. Done.

Autumn Soup

I love fall. I love Halloween. I love Thanksgiving. I love overcast days with a chill in the air. I love soup.

Maybe it's rushing the autumn a little, but tonight seemed like a good night for a warming bowl of fragrant soup.

I took two acorn squash I had sitting on the counter, halved them and seeded them and roasted them -- cut side down with a little olive oil and S&P for 30 minutes in a 400º oven. Meanwhile in a soup pot I sauteed one sliced onion, a few stalks of celery and two cloves of garlic in a little butter and olive oil, until the veggies were soft -- about ten minutes. While those cooked I fried 2 slices of bacon in a skillet until crisp, set them aside and added in one bunch of finely shredded Tuscan kale, and cooked it in the bacon fat (with a splash of olive oil) for abut 5 minutes -- until a tiny bit crisped. Back to the stock pot. I added in the flesh from the squash, fresh thyme, fresh sage, 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp ginger, and 4 cups of chicken broth. I let the soup simmer for about ten minutes to let the flavors meld and then puréed it in the blender. I added the now smooth soup back to the pot along with the sautéed kale and simmered the whole combination for about 3 minutes or so. I served the soup garnished with the reserved bacon.

I love soup. James loves bacon. Bingo!