Just a Tuesday night dinner ...

A couple of weeks ago I saw something at Whole Foods that looked cool and I thought would be easy and tasty ... Pacific Razor Clams.  Yeah, not so much.  But, like any adventurous cook I figured ... let's try it anyways!

A quick google search told me that I would need to clean the clams and then I would be able to partition and cook them.  Preferred preparation?  Fried.  Well, that part I could do at least.

As you can see from the picture, I was finally able to get the clams cleaned, partitioned and cooked.  I cooked them with a mix of salt, pepper and garlic in butter.  They were tasty but totally not worth the effort at this point.  Guess I'll have to head back to the west coast at some point and try them the "right" way so I can figure out how to correctly make them at home.

For the second part of this dinner I made grilled veal chops with a spring onion topper served over mashed potatoes and greens.

Steamed clams and brown butter ... yup!

Having some fun out on the patio during the weekend is one of our favorite pastimes, and for those that haven't figured it out yet ... having fun = food.

For this snack I steamed up a batch of clams, but it was the accompaniment I served them with that stole the show.  Browned butter is a great flavor enhancer, and perfect for serving with steamed shellfish (or for basting a steak).

Browned butter is incredibly simple to make, and leaves a world of opportunities in terms of flavor you can add to it.  For this dish I pulled some fresh sage from the garden, but really any fresh herb will do.

Sage Browned Butter w/ Clams

12 Little neck clams

3 tbsp butter (I prefer a nice European butter like Plugra, but any butter will do)

1 large fresh sage leaf

Use an in pot steamer to steam the clams until they all open ... a larger pot ensure the clams have space to open.  If you use a smaller pot you may need to adjust the clams once some open to ensure the others aren't prevented from doing so.  

Melt the butter in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat.  While the butter is melting, cut the sage into strips.  Once the butter begins to foam, stir often with a whisk until the foam dissipates.  Add the sage and continue to cook for another couple of minutes (actual time will depend on the size of the sauce pan and how much of the butter is in contact with the bottom of the pan).  Once the butter has turned a nice caramel color, remove from heat and strain (this will remove the pieces of sage, not a required step) into a small ramekin to serve.  Enjoy!

Seafood, mostly, dinner!

After three weeks in a row on the road, eating steak, I was craving some seafood.  Now, for me, craving seafood does not always equal healthy ... but I think I did pretty well with both for this meal.

For the first course I did melted cheddar toast points topped with a pan fried clam.

 For the second course I grilled up a bunch of shrimp and calamari tubes with asparagus.  Little salt, pepper and lemon juice is all you need here.

For the next course I lightly poached some oysters in a butter wine sauce.  This is a very simple way off cooking oysters where they still maintain that almost raw consistency, but you don't have to worry about that whole "raw" thing. 

 Shishito peppers, pan fried, tossed with sweet chili sauce and sriracha.  A little messy to eat, but most tasty food is!

Remember when I said this dinner was seafood?  Well, pork belly is basically a seafood, right?  RIGHT?  Even if it's not, I grilled up a couple pieces of pork belly and served them with taco shop guac! 

 Scallops wrapped in bacon?  Nope!  Scallops wrapped in pork belly?  You say it's the same thing, I say potato.  Either way, who cares?  They were grilled and awesome!

For the last course, I stuffed some morel mushrooms with a shrimp, scallop, avocado and red bell pepper.  I then grilled the mushrooms until cooked through and then served them with a bit of the mushroom broth that I had warmed up.

Overall this was not a complex dinner, but man was it tasty.  Give it a try and see for yourself, enjoy!