The Fourth of July is just around the corner. For most of us, that means picnics, backyard barbecues and copious amounts of ice cold libations. I don’t know about you, but the last place I want to be on a holiday weekend is inside slaving over a hot stove. Rolling out the grill is a given. But, you’ve got to have something to go along with those burgers and ribs – and it better not require hours of cooking. This Presto Pesto Pasta Salad fits the bill. It’s fast. It’s ridiculously easy. And, it’s full of zesty, bold flavors.

The dressing for this salad simply a mixture of mayonnaise, lemon juice and store bought pesto sauce – the kind you find in the refrigerator section at the supermarket. If you happen to have an abundance of fresh basil in your garden, you can certainly make your own pesto sauce from scratch.  It isn’t difficult, but in this heat I’m all about the easy.   Plus, once you doctor it up with the rest of the ingredients, I promise, no one will know the difference. 

This salad makes a great side dish on its own for whatever you’re grilling. But, you can also punch it up by mixing in some chicken, tuna or tasty little salad shrimp like I’ve done here.  Any way you serve Presto Pesto Pasta Salad, your guests will be dishing out the complements!

****************************************************************************************************

Here are a few other side dish ideas for your 4th of July celebration from the SGCC archives .  Enjoy!

Easy Italian-Style Farfalle Salad

Thai-Style Broccoli Slaw Salad

Jewels of the Earth Quinoa Salad

Edamame & Heirloom Tomato Salad with Lemon-Miso Vinaigrette

Sweet & Spicy Wickled Okra

Don’t you hate those crazy days when your feet hit the ground running in the morning and just never seem to be able to stop until the rest of you crumples in a sweaty, exhausted, glassy-eyed heap on the floor about twelve hours later?   I’ll bet those of you that have already waved goodbye to forty know what I mean.  And then, as you’re trying to resuscitate yourself, you’re met with hungry, quizzical eyes and the dreaded question, “What are you making for dinner?” ARGHHHH!  At that point, I usually want to bare my teeth and snarl “Reservations!” But, I usually don’t.  After all, it’s not their fault.  Although, they could offer to help out once in a while.  But, that’s a story for another day…..

Anyway, it’s on nights like those that I usually either call Pizza Hut or dig out a box of Hamburger Helper.  No, I’m not proud of it. But I will admit that, on occasion, I have resorted to Hamburger Helper to fill the bellies of my loved ones.  Cheeseburger Macaroni is my poison of choice.

Sometimes, however, before total delirium sets in, I still have the presence of mind stop at the store on my way home and pick up something that I can throw together in minutes to stave off the ravenous hordes.  Well, not actual hordes.  There are only three of us – four, if you count Bella. But, she’s usually happy with a bowl of kibble. 

This Maple-Mustard Glazed Salmon is one of those “throw together” dishes. It is so light and flavorful and very easy to make.  In fact, you probably already have all of the glaze ingredients in your pantry. All you do is mix some maple syrup, Dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar together, brush it on some fresh salmon, and then bake it.  A total no-brainer!  I also added some pureed chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to the glaze to give it a little kick, because I had some.   A squirt of sriracha sauce does the trick too.  You should try to get the nicest, freshest salmon you can, though. It makes a difference.  I used a wild sockeye salmon this time.

I made a quick little Mango-Peach Salsa to serve alongside the salmon inspired by this recipe from Todd and Diane at White on Rice Couple . I really like the cool, sweet flavors of this fruit salsa with the glazed fish.  If you don’t feel like doing any slicing and dicing, you can pick some pre-made stuff while you’re buying your fish at the market.  Or, you could leave it out altogether.  I also served this dish with some “steam in the bag” frozen vegetables.  They come in a huge variety of different combinations, are soooo convenient and they are actually quite good. The whole point is to keep it simple.

So, the next time you find yourself in a time crunch or just can’t bear the thought of cooking a complicated dinner, remember that there are options.  Not to sound like Rachael Ray but, you can serve your family a delicious and nutritious meal in less than the time it takes for the pizza delivery guy to get to your house.  This whole meal took me less than thirty minutes to get on the table. If I can do it, so can you!

If you like this dish, you might also like some of these from the SGCC Archives:

Misoyaki Salmon

Slow Cooked Salmon

Pistachio-Crusted Flounder with Minneola-Ginger Buerre Blanc

Sesame-Crusted Tuna with Homemade Ponzu Sauce

One of the highlights of any cruise is visiting the various ports of call on the itinerary.  The sea days are fun and relaxing, but I really love going ashore and soaking up some local color.  As many of you know, one of the stops on my most recent cruise was Cozumel, Mexico.  Cozumel is a beautiful place, but I’d already been there twice before.  I’ve partied at Carlos’ n Charlie’s, guzzled margaritas at Senor Frog’s and shopped ‘til I dropped at the dockside “strip mall” set up for the tourists right off the pier.  I didn’t want to sit on the ship all day either, so I decided to try to find something else to do. The day before we docked, I was looking through the shore excursion booklet to see what my options were.  Snorkeling? Nope.  Hiking to the Mayan ruins?  Um…NO! Hanging out at the beach?  Well…I can do that at home for free.  Then, I saw it: an authentic Mexican cooking class led by a professional chef at the four star (and air conditioned) Playa Mia Resort.  Ding Ding Ding! I think we have a winner!

Apparently, the Playa Mia also hosts a few other excursions for the cruise crowd as well.  The next morning as I waited for the tour bus, I was joined by a rather eclectic collection of my fellow passengers toting beach towels, suntan lotion and scuba gear.  I couldn’t be sure, but it didn’t look like most of them were interested in cooking.  I was right.  When we arrived at the resort, everyone except me ran off to the beach, while I wandered around with my tenth grade Spanish skills trying to find the cooking class.  Finally, a nice cabana boy took pity on me, handed me a pina colada and led me to the kitchen.

The kitchen itself was pretty bare bones; just a big, white, tiled room with several portable work stations and a big sink.  Each station had two propane gas burners and a griddle.  I looked around, but I didn’t see an oven anywhere.  There were six other “students” in the class, most from another cruise ship.  And, there was our instructor, Chef Luis.

Isn’t he adorable?  He looks like he’s about twelve. I almost asked to see his driver’s license before letting him touch the knives!  But actually, he was pretty knowledgeable.  He was also a lot of fun.  He kept the entire class organized and entertained.

Under Chef Luis’s tutelage, we learned how to prepare three dishes – an appetizer, and entree and a dessert.  For the appetizer course, we made something called Huaraches, which consists of a grilled cornmeal base topped with sautéed chorizo, potatoes, black beans and cheese.  The entree was a fish dish called Snapper Veracruz, which was red snapper wrapped in a banana leaf with olives, onions, peppers and tomatoes and baked in a foil pouch with a splash of white wine.  The dessert course didn’t have a name – or at least Chef Luis never gave us one. It was a sort of napoleon made out of very thin sugar cookies and filled with a kind of rice pudding mixture.  To be honest, I didn’t really get the dessert, but it tasted pretty good, so I just went along with it.

Today, I’m going to share the recipe for Snapper Veracruz with you.  It’s a nice, light, healthy  dish with tons of flavor.  Plus, it’s pretty easy to throw together.  Since we were not given a written recipe to follow, I’m kind of winging it from what I can remember from the class.

First, you need to get some nice, fresh snapper fillets like this one. Season it with some salt and pepper.

Then melt some butter and olive oil in a pan.

Sear the fish about one minute on each side.

Remove the fish and sauté the vegetables.

Add the wine and flambé.

OOOH!  Let’s see that again!

You actually don’t have to do this step. I think Chef Luis was just showing off.  If you don’t feel comfortable starting a fire in your kitchen, just simmer until the wine is reduced by half.

Then, assemble your dish in a banana leaf.  If you don’t have a banana leaf, you can skip it and just assemble the dish in aluminum foil.  The banana leaf is kinda cool, though.

Wrap it all up and bake.

Here’s what it looks like when it’s all finished.  That little jar in the upper right corner is homemade hot pepper sauce made by some locals. It is wicked awesome! I brought some home with me.

We served our Snapper Veracruz with some yellow rice and some cute little corn tamales that Chef Luis made for us.  I wish he had taught us how to make those too!

Chef Luis also gave us a little tutorial on how to decorate our plates so that our dishes looked pretty.

Here’s mine. What do you think?

After we finished cooking our food, we all went upstairs to a private dining room with a spectacular view of the Caribbean Sea and enjoyed the fruits of our labor. So, what did I think of my “authentic” Mexican cooking class?  It was a lot of fun, although I don’t know how authentic or truly Mexican it was. All of the ingredients we used were ones that I could easily find at any supermarket here at home. There wasn’t a chili pepper in sight!  I kind of felt that the menu was “watered down” a bit to accommodate the so called “generic” palates of American tourists. That always irks me! But, the food was very good and Chef Luis was very engaging. Plus, the pina coladas and margaritas just kept on coming! And, hanging out in a nice, air conditioned room beats melting outside in ninety-five degree heat any day. Just sayin’.

Snapper Veracruz
adapted from Chef Luis

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 6-8-ounce skinned and boned red snapper fillets (If snapper is not available, you can substitute grouper or any flaky white fish.)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup pitted green olives, sliced
1 large or 2 medium tomatoes, sliced into eight 1/4-inch slices
Salt and pepper to taste
4 banana leaves (I have seen banana leaves in some Asian and Latin markets. If you can’t find them, you can omit them and just wrap your fish in foil.)
Aluminum foil for wrapping

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Sprinkle snapper filets with salt and pepper to taste.  Heat butter and oil in large sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Add fish to the pan and sear one minute on each side.   Remove from pan and set aside.

2.  Add a little more oil if needed.  Lower heat to medium and cook onions and peppers until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

3. Add wine and simmer until reduced by half. (In the class, Chef Luis had us flambé the wine and vegetables in the pan.  You can try this, if you dare, but I take no responsibility for any negative outcome!). Remove from heat.

4.  Place each fish fillet on top of a banana leaf and top with 1/4 of the vegetable mixture.  Top each with 2 slices of tomato and some green olives.  Roll up into bundles “burrito-style” and place each bundle on a square of aluminum foil.  Then, roll up and seal each sheet of foil around each bundle and place on a baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes or until fish is cooked through.

5. Remove from oven, unwrap each bundle and serve with yellow rice or boiled potatoes.

Enjoy!

Nope, I don’t have any Chocablock Cookies for you today. And, I don’t have any steamed puddings either. I’m really sorry about that, but life has kind of smacked me in the head this past week and I just never found the time to make them.  My work schedule has been kind of crazy and Mr. SGCC has been out of town A LOT, so I’ve been pulling double duty both at home and at the office.  Plus, I’ve got a brand new project over here that is taking up a ton of my time and attention!  Allow me to introduce you all to our new little addition.

Meet Bella:

Okay, all together now:  AWWW!!!

Isn’t she a little cutie pie? I took this shot right after we got her home. She looks pretty pooped, doesn’t she. After a three hour car ride, I wasn’t surprised.  We picked Bella up last weekend from a wonderful breeder near Mt. Dora.  This is the same breeder that we got our dear, departed Sophie from.  I had to wait for more than a year for a puppy from her, but it was worth it.  Sophie was such a special member of our family and I wanted our new baby to come from the same nurturing place.  I’m so thrilled to have Bella in our family, but taking care of an eight week old puppy is a lot of work!  It’s almost like having a new baby, except that the puppy can already run around on her own!  And no, that is not a splotch of blood or poop on her flank. Lol!  It’s nail polish. The breeder uses it to identify all of the puppies in her litters.  It will eventually wear off.

So, back to the food, or lack thereof.  I had all the best intentions to make both this week’s TWD recipe and this month’s Daring Bakers challenge.  It just wasn’t in the cards.  However, I’d never let you leave here empty-handed.  This Lemon Linguine with Basil Pesto Shrimp was on the menu of my cooking class last week.  It’s a lovely, springtime pasta dish that highlights the bright, fresh flavors of lemon and basil.  Plus, it’s super simple to make.  My students loved it!  You can even make this recipe ahead and serve it chilled as a pasta salad.  It doesn’t get much better than that!

So, enjoy!  I’ve got to run and take Bella out for another potty break before she notices my Oriental rugs!

The other day I was shopping at my neighborhood supermarket, looking for a little dinner inspiration.  I meandered past the seafood department without a thought.  Usually, I don’t even bother to look in that direction.  I live in Florida, less than a mile from the Gulf of Mexico.  The last thing I am interested in is defrosted frozen shrimp from Indonesia, artificially colored, farm-raised salmon, or some ubiquitous white fish filets from South America.  Sadly, those are nearly always the only kinds of seafood my local supermarkets carry.  So, I pass on them and buy my fish at one of the few and far flung fish markets in the area, which are not great, but at least do offer some local selections.   But, this time something in the display case caught my eye.  It was fresh rock shrimp.  Rock shrimp?  Wow! I hadn’t seen fresh rock shrimp anywhere around here in a very long time.

Rock shrimp (Sicyonia brevirostris) are deep-water cousins of the more commonly known pink, brown and white shrimps.  They have a hard, spiny shell more like a lobster rather than a traditional shrimp.  Their shells are “hard as a rocks”,  hence the name rock shrimp. They have a fresh, clean, sweet taste, very much like lobster.  Rock shrimp live and spawn in warm deep waters between 120 to 240 feet and are mostly harvested off of the east coast of Florida. 

When I was growing up, rock shrimp were plentiful all over Central and South Florida.  You could regularly find them in area fish markets and on the menus of many local restaurants.  Sadly, that has changed.  Many of the local shrimpers have been crowded out of the ports, at least in part, because they can no longer afford to pay the exorbitant prices for berthing space that have been driven up by the cruise ship industry and waterfront condo developers.  Now, there are only a handful of shrimp boats left in what was once a thriving shrimp fleet on the east coast of Florida.  As landings for rock shrimp from Florida shrimpers have decreased, the harvest has decreased as well. This has forced the shrimpers to focus on selling their product in larger markets outside of Florida where they can get higher prices.   Sigh….. Unfortunately, this is not only the case with rock shrimp.  It also applies to a large degree to other kinds of native Florida fish, beef and produce.  (You wouldn’t believe how difficult it is to find a decent orange here in the “Sunshine State”!  All the best “Florida” citrus is shipped out to the rest of the country.  Most of our oranges come from California!)

So, now you can understand why I got a little excited to see rock shrimp at the market.

I bought a few pounds and took them home to keep company with some plump bay scallops that I had picked up somewhere else.  After playing around with some different ideas, I decided to turn my seafood bounty into a pasta dish based on one of Lidia Bastianich’s recipes from Lidia’s Italy.  The original dish is called Shrimp Buzara. The sauce is a variation on a traditional scampi sauce which is made with butter, wine and garlic.  This one has olive oil in it instead of butter, and also a little tomato paste.  I adapted the recipe, using my rock shrimp and scallops, to make a tasty sauce to serve over pasta.

Take a look at that beautiful, fresh seafood!

Now, let’s start cooking…..

Once your Buzara sauce is finished, all you need to do is toss it in with some nice, hot pasta and drizzle a little more olive oil over the top.  I’d never made this particular dish before, and I have to say, it was absolutely delicious.  Both the shallots and the tomato paste added a nice touch of sweetness to the sauce that really complimented the brininess of the seafood.  The tomato paste also gave a little extra body to the sauce, making it seem kind of creamy – except there was no cream in it.  All in all, I would definitely make this one again, with or without the rock shrimp, because let’s face it.  Who knows when, or if, I’ll ever luck upon rock shrimp around here again!

Seafood Pasta alla Buzara
adapted from Lidia’s Italy by Lidia Bastianich

1 pound spaghetti, linguine or other long pasta
1 pound shelled and cleaned rock shrimp*
1 pound bay scallops
8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or more to taste
3 plump garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt
1 cup white wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups of seafood stock or clam broth
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon bread crumbs, or more if needed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Directions:

1.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, prepare the seafood and sauce.

2.  Lay rock shrimp and scallops on a baking sheet or tray lined with paper towels.  Blot until dry.  Season with a little salt and pepper.

3.  Heat 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauté pan, and set over medium high heat.  Sear the rock shrimp and scallops in batches until lightly golden, about 1-2 minutes per side. Don’t cook them too long, because they will added back to the pan later.  Remove and set aside

4.  Heat 2 more tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauté pan, and set over medium high heat. Scatter in the shallots and garlic and cook until sizzling.  Take care not to burn the garlic.   Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4  cup of the wine. Simmer, stirring frequently, until the wine is nearly completely evaporated and the shallots have softened. Add the tomato paste and stir it around the pan for a minute, coating the shallots.

5.  Pour in the rest of the wine, stock and another 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let the sauce gently simmer and reduce for about 5 minutes.  With the sauce still bubbling, add the seared seafood back to the pan and mix to coat them all with sauce. Stir in the pepper and the tablespoon of bread crumbs.  If the sauce seems too thin add a little more bread crumbs.  Cook for another 2 minutes, then turn off the heat.

6.  Pour the seafood and sauce over the cooked pasta.  Drizzle in the remaining olive oil and mix well. Sprinkle parsley on top and serve immediately.

Serves 6.

*If you can’t find fresh rock shrimp, feel free to use large peeled and deveined regular shrimp.

Enjoy!

I’m a bad blogger buddy!  Jaden Hair’s lovely new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, has been on the shelves for three weeks and I’ve yet to post about it.  Jaden was the first food blogger I ever met way back before SGCC was even a thought in my head.  She lives about 15 miles away from me, so when I stumbled upon her blog a few years ago, I immediately emailed her to introduce myself.  Jaden was kind enough to invite me to attend one of her cooking classes that just happened to also be a taping for a television feature on her.  I didn’t think twice before accepting!  I had a blast!  Plus, I got to be on TV!  That was when the blogging bug really bit me.  A few months later, with Jaden as a major inspiration, I decided to try blogging for myself – and SGCC was born.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Jaden’s recipes – and I’ve tried a whole lot of them.  When she announced that she was writing a cookbook, I was thrilled for her!  I was even more thrilled to be among her many recipe testers for the book.  During that time, I tried out some awesome recipes and it drove me crazy that I couldn’t share any of them with you, because…well, you know…because they were top secret, hush-hush recipes for the cookbook!  I wish now that I had taken photographs of some of those wonderful dishes I made.  

A few weeks ago, Mini SGCC was feeling under the weather, so I whipped out the cookbook and made some Quick Vietnamese Chicken Pho for her.  The next day, I tried Jaden’s recipe for Banh Mi.  Both were excellent.  I’d planned to post about them both in depth, but then my United Airlines fiasco happened and I was too preoccupied with that to take pictures.  By the time I got around to it, all I found were the empty Tupperware containers in the garage fridge!

One of my favorite “Steamy Kitchen” recipes is Jaden’s slow-cooked salmon. In the book it’s been transformed into Tea Smoked Salmon, but the original method is explained there as well.  I’ve made this dish about a dozen times so far, and it is one of my favorite ways to prepare salmon.  The fish is baked on a bed of onions and sliced oranges in a very low oven for about 30 minutes. I also like to add sliced fennel and fresh tarragon sprigs too.   The result is a soft, lush, melt-in-your-mouth salmon that retains its gorgeous color and texture.

I decided to try the recipe again the other night and played around with the presentation a little.  Since our temperatures around here are still hovering up in the high 80’s, I dressed some of my salmon up for a day at the beach.  The rest got dolled up for a swanky cocktail party coiffed with some crème fraiche and fresh dill.  Either way, they were both delicious!  I always try to find fresh, wild salmon, which is healthier and tastier than the farm-raised kind. But, this recipe works well with that too.

I’ve got lots more of my Steamy Kitchen faves still to share, but all in good time!

And, if you haven’t already bought your copy of The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, what the heck are you waiting for?  It’s a beautiful book for the pictures alone!  And it’s chock full of terrific recipes too.  You can find it at all of the major retailers, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Borders. And, please don’t forget your local independent book stores.  Remember, they are often your friends and neighbors who are struggling to compete with the big guys.  To find indie booksellers in your area, you can go to Indie Bound.

Slow Cooked Salmon
adapted from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook

4 (8 ounce) salmon fillets
1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 navel oranges, cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1 large or 2 small fresh fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
3-4 sprigs fresh tarragon
Salt and pepper to taste
Assorted garnishes such as crème fraiche, sliced oranges or fresh herbs

Directions:

Preheat to 250F.  Lightly brush salmon with oil and season with salt and pepper.  Let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Grab a baking pan big enough to hold all fillets in single layer. Make a bed on the pan by layering the onions, fennel and two of the sliced oranges. Place the salmon fillets on the bed and tuck in the tarragon sprigs.

Bake for 30 minutes. (If you’re cooking more than 4 fillets, just add another 2 minutes per additional filet.) To test for doneness, stick a sharp paring knife in, if it goes in and out, its done.

Top with whatever finishing herbs, spices or ingredients you’ve chosen. After cooking, the salmon is going to look almost exactly the same as when you first put it in. Don’t worry, after 30 minutes in the oven it is cooked.

Dress up your salmon however you like.

Serves 4.

I know you’re probably wondering about the results of my razor clam contest. Yes, it’s been a long time coming, but I’m finally ready to announce the recipe I selected as the fate for my precious razor clams. There are two reasons why it took so long, the first being that I didn’t want to announce the winner until I had actually had made the recipe to show you. That required setting up a big enough block of time for me to prepare the dish, photograph it, process the photos and write the post. You know the drill. It seemed like every time I planned to do this, something came up and got in my way!

The second reason is that I received so many fantastic recipes and ideas that it was really, really, really hard for me to choose just one. In fact, I didn’t. Since I had a a total of five pounds of razor clams in my freezer, (my sous chefs and) I decided to choose not one, but THREE winning recipes! Even so, it was still a very difficult choice, making me wish that I had bought a lot more of those clams.

As I stated in my earlier post, my criteria for selecting a winning recipe was originality, availability of ingredients and ease of preparation. I also stated that my clams were already cleaned and shelled. So, while many of you submitted great recipes calling for unshelled clams, I couldn’t use them. All three of the recipes we chose met this criteria and yet, were very different. I’ve made one already, and can’t wait to try the other two!

So, without further ado, here are the three winners of one of these:

Are you ready?

Really, really ready?

Okay. Here we go!

Drumroll, please…..

Sailcat

“While not the lowest calorie preparation, razor clams benefit from a hot oil bath to a greater degree than any other food this humble cook has had the pleasure to encounter.

Dip clams into rice flour coating evenly. (Regular flour may be used but rice flour is best). Flour may be seasoned with any dry seasonings you like (pepper, garlic, herbs etc.)

Dip floured fish into lightly beaten eggs.

Roll egg coated fish into Panko bread crumbs (the best) and shake off excess so breading isn’t too thick)

After rolling in Panko crumbs and before you fry in oil, always put battered items in the freezer for at least 20 minutes. This is a secret for a restaurant quality fish fry! I have frozen breaded razor clams for up to a week before frying. When the Panko gets frozen to the egg wash, it sticks like cement and the crumbs never fall off and the results are beautiful.

Cook in peanut (first choice) or other vegetable oil which has been heated to 375 degrees. Cook for one minute or less. Razors will toughen if overcooked. You want the clams to be done right as the bread crumbs start to turn golden.

Enjoy one of the most succulent seafood entrees on the planet!”

This is the first recipe I used, and the one highlighted in these pictures.

********************

Toni

“When I read your dilemma, I immediately called my friend Darren who used to live on a boat in Seattle. He came back with this recipe for razor clam fritters, which he said he used to make all the time and people couldn’t stop eating them and RAVING!

In a food processor:

1 medium sweet onion
1 large leek – whites only
1 scallion
2 cloves garlic, slightly minced
1 C fennel bulb, cubed

Pulse till coarsely chopped. Put the mixture in a large bowl and add:

Kernels off 1 ear fresh corn
1/4C corn meal
1/2C AP flour

Toss to coat everything with flour and corn meal.

Finely dice 3 C clams
Add 2 large eggs plus 1 egg white
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 head flat leafed parsley, chopped
2 TBS fennel leaves, minced
1 C whole milk
1 generous C grated parmegiano-reggiano
2C Panko bread crumbs
zest of 1 lemon

Combine all ingredients. You should have a mixture which can be shaped into balls and then flattened.

Heat a heavy skillet. Spray with oil. Add the fritters and fry on both sides – slowly on side 1, then turning up the heat and frying until crispy on both sides.

Serve with tartar sauce – either home made or store bought. Either way, the play of the corn against the lemon zest is a knockout, and anyone who turns their nose up at a tartar sauce out of a jar will probably not count among your best friends anyway!”

********************

Lisa @ The Cutting Edge of Ordinary

“I have had this recipe bookmarked for a bit. It calls for a pound of those suckers!

http://www.cookthink.com/recipe/11120/Portuguese_Razor_Clam_Rigatoni

Sounds delicious!”

Congratulations, you three! I loved the recipes you submitted, and intend to recreate each of them! Please email me at stickygooeycreamychewyATgmailDOTcom, with your snail mail addresses so that I can get your prizes out to you.

Thanks also to everyone else who submitted a recipe or preparation idea for my razor clams. I wish I could send you all a prize!

]]> http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/2009/07/02/finally-the-winners-of-my-razor-clams-recipe-contest/feed/ 14 http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/2009/06/24/crabby-corn-chowder/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=crabby-corn-chowder http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/2009/06/24/crabby-corn-chowder/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:08:00 +0000 Susan http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/?p=269
The other day I told you about the miserably oppressive heat we’ve been having here in South Florida. What I didn’t tell you was how sluggish, listless and grumpy I’ve been feeling as a result. At least, that’s what my family tells me. I don’t …]]>

The other day I told you about the miserably oppressive heat we’ve been having here in South Florida. What I didn’t tell you was how sluggish, listless and grumpy I’ve been feeling as a result. At least, that’s what my family tells me. I don’t usually pay much attention when Mini SGCC tells me I’m being a big meanie. She’s a teenager, so what can I say? It’s part of her job description. When Mr. SGCC gets into the act, then I know there must be something to it.

Now, I know it’s probably hard for you to believe that I’m not always the cheery, perky, charming and loveable blogger that I portray on the Internet, but dear readers, it’s true. Little Mary Sunshine, I am not. Sometimes, I am downright crabby! Crabby, crabby, CRABBY! And, running around in 95 degree heat all day long makes me even crabbier. I swear, I can actually feel pinchers growing where my fingers used to be!

Since I’m looking at another several months of this extreme weather, not to mention hurricane season, I’ve decided to embrace my crabbiness. Celebrate it, if you will. And, what better way to do it than with this deliciously creamy, smoky, sweet and spicy Crabby Corn Chowder. It’s chock full of chunky potatoes, smoky chipotles, onions, fresh sweet corn and succulent morsels of crabmeat, all swimming around in a creamy and buttery seafood broth. It’s like heaven in a bowl! Plus, the whole dish can be made in one pot in under an hour.

You can serve this chowder as a first course, but it’s substantial enough to make it a meal. Serve it alongside some crusty bread and a tossed salad and you’re all set.

My Crabby Corn Chowder didn’t make the temperature any less sweltering, but it definitely improved my mood!

Crabby Corn Chowder
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
3 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 large sweet yellow onion, chopped
2 dried bay leaves
1/4 cup chili peppers in adobo sauce, pureed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3-5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups clam juice or fish stock
4 cups half-and-half or whole milk
4 cups fresh corn kernels, scraped from the cob (frozen is okay too)
1 pound fresh lump crab meat
1/4 cup dry sherry (optional)
Hot sauce for serving (optional)

Directions:

Heat a deep pot over medium heat. Add oil and butter. When butter is melted, add potatoes, celery, onion, bay leaves and chipotle peppers to the pot. Season vegetables with salt and pepper, mix well and saute until tender, about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle in flour and cook about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in clam juice and half and half and mix well.

Bring soup up to a simmer and continue to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are soft.

Stir in corn, crab and sherry and simmer for another 5 minutes, until heated through.

Adjust the soup seasonings and remove the bay leaf. Ladle soup into bowls and top with a few dashes of hot sauce, if desired.

Serve with some crackers, crusty bread or cornbread.

Serves 6 as a first course and 4 as a main course.

Enjoy!

Roasted Corn Chowder with Chicken and Cilantro from Karina’s Kitchen

Clam and Pork Belly Soup from Wrightfood

Creamy Corn and Clam Soup from Home Cooking Rocks

Corn, Sausage and Potato Chowder from Sing For Your Supper

Thai Green Curry Seafood Chowder from The Spiced Life

Corn Chowder from Simply Recipes

RAZOR CLAMS!

I have three pounds of clean, shelled razor clams from Seattle sitting in my freezer and I’m itching to use them. The only problem is that I have no idea what to do with them! Though, I’ve seen and heard about razor clams on the blogs, I’ve never been up close and personal with them before, much less cooked with them. Also, as far as I know, I’ve never actually eaten razor clams either. So, I turn to you, dear readers, for help.

What should I make with my razor clams?

After a little research, I’ve discovered that Pacific razor clams (Siliqua patula), is a species of large edible marine bivalve mollusk in the family Cultellidae, found along the beaches of the Pacific West Coast from eastern Alaska down to California. They are considered highly desirable among clam aficionados, and are greedily collected by both commercial and recreational harvesters. Thousands of people flock to the beach when the razor clam season opens each year in hopes of scoring these marvelous mollusks!

(Photo courtesy of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife)

I’ve read that razor clams are exceptionally meaty and can be prepared a variety of different ways, from deep fried to chowders to pasta. I just can’t decide what to do! Who knows when I’ll ever have the opportunity to find razor clams again. I want to make something absolutely fabulous with them!

Here’s where you come in. Leave me your ideas and recipe suggestions for preparing my razor clams in the comments by midnight EDT on Friday, June 19. You can either type your recipe there, or leave me a link. My trusted sous chefs and I will evaluate each entry and choose our favorite based on originality, availability of ingredients and ease of preparation.

(Trusted Sous Chefs)

The winning entry will win one of these:

It’s an accutec, razor-sharp, double-sided, acid-etched bladed Cuisipro Fine Rasp Grater. It is the perfect kitchen tool for grating citrus zest, Parmesan cheese, garlic, nutmeg and cinnamon. If you don’t have one – you NEED one! If you do have one – it makes a great gift!

So, what are you waiting for?

GO FIND ME A GREAT RECIPE FOR THOSE RAZOR CLAMS!!!

Thank you very much!

]]> http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/2009/06/14/share-a-winning-recipe-for-these-and-win-a-prize/feed/ 34 http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/2009/06/10/sesame-crusted-tuna-with-homemade-ponzu-sauce/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sesame-crusted-tuna-with-homemade-ponzu-sauce http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/2009/06/10/sesame-crusted-tuna-with-homemade-ponzu-sauce/#comments Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:14:00 +0000 Susan http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/?p=265
Mr. SGCC and I went to a fancy cocktail party several weeks ago. It was the kind of party where everybody spoke in hushed tones, hors d’oeuvres were passed on silver trays and champagne was poured into real crystal flutes. The kind of party where you …]]>

Mr. SGCC and I went to a fancy cocktail party several weeks ago. It was the kind of party where everybody spoke in hushed tones, hors d’oeuvres were passed on silver trays and champagne was poured into real crystal flutes. The kind of party where you feel obligated to squeeze your feet into high heels and risk killing, or at least maiming yourself.

Yawn!

The buffet table was just lovely though, laden with platters of impeccably displayed, mouthwatering morsels and mile-high vases of lush, fresh flowers. At one end of the tables, a guy wearing a crisp, starched, white jacket stood over a smoking hot wok. He was searing gorgeous slabs of tuna encrusted with black and white sesame seeds. and was doing an excellent job of it too. That tuna was perfectly cooked – golden and crunchy on the outside and cool and smooth on the inside. It literally melted in your mouth! I remember thinking at the time that I simply had to try to recreate this dish at home.

The next morning, I was sipping my coffee and scanning through my reader, when lo and behold, I saw a recipe on Steamy Kitchen for the exact. same. tuna. What luck! I’ve made no secret of the fact on this blog that I think Jaden’s recipes are terrific. And, I’m lucky enough to live in the same city, so if I have any questions, I don’t even have to call long distance. I bookmarked the recipe and hurried down to Whole Foods to find some beautiful, fresh, sushi-quality tuna steaks.

Just look at these beauties!

I followed Jaden’s recipe pretty much as written. She says to coat the tuna with a thin layer of wasabi paste before coating it with the black and white sesame seeds. I was a little leery of this, but I did it anyway. She promised it wouldn’t kill me. Then, I seared it, sliced it and served it with some zingy, citrusy, homemade Ponzu Sauce.

Ponzu Sauce is a citrus-based sauce that is commonly used in Japanese cuisine. It is made by boiling mirin, rice vinegar, bonito flakes, and seaweed over medium heat. The liquid is cooled and then strained, after which citrus juice is added. In Japan, Ponzu is made with a citrus fruit called yuzu which can be difficult to find in here in the States. Fortunately, a very close facsimile can be made using other citrus fruits like lemons, limes and oranges, which is what I did here. My version also includes soy sauce, technically making it a Ponzu Shoyu. I also left out the seaweed, because I didn’t have any and didn’t feel like going to the store again.

You can buy bottled Ponzu Sauce in the ethnic foods aisle at most supermarkets, but don’t. It is so incredibly easy to make yourself, and the flavor just doesn’t compare with the bottled stuff!

I have to tell you, my Sesame-Crusted Tuna was just as good, if not better than the one I ate at that cocktail party. That tuna was like buttah! And the wasabi schmear that I rubbed all over it really did mellow out and give a nice, gentle bite to the tuna, just like Jaden said it would.

I’m going to send you over to Steamy Kitchen for the tuna recipe. She gives a detailed, step-by-step presentation there. But, definitely come back here for the Ponzu Sauze. It will really make your tastebuds sing!

Ponzu Sauce
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

¾ cup mirin (sweet rice wine)
½ cup rice wine vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
½ cup bonito flakes
1 tbsp fresh lime zest
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh orange juice
2 tbsp fresh lime juice

Directions:

Combine the mirin, vinegar, soy sauce, lime zest and bonito flakes in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Remove from the heat and let cool.

Pour the sauce through a strainer into a bowl and discard the solids.

Mix in the citrus juices.

Can be stored in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Enjoy!

Misoyaki Salmon

Smoky Seared Sea Scallops

Coconut Shrimp with Spicy Pineapple-Apricot Dipping Sauce

Seared Tuna with Avocado from Simply Recipes

Seared Spiced Tuna with Zucchini from La Tartine Gourmande

Prosciutto Wrapped Grilled Tuna with Wasabi Butter from Chili Cheese Fries

Tuna Nicoise-ish from The Perfect Pantry

Tuna Poke from No Recipes