A couple of days ago Bill and the kids and Bill’s friend and one of his kids went crabbing. Gone are the days when crabs were the occasional bonus goodies brought home in addition to the major prey – the clams, the bluefish.
Now, we are The People Who Hunt the Savory Beautiful Dancers of the Sea. Well, of the Bay. And I haven’t even been hunting for them myself. (Because of course I am The Woman Who Tends the Hearth) (okay, enough with that silliness….)
We’ve had family visiting from Seattle for the past several days, and on the first day we put together a clambake – a huge pot (about 7 gallons) filled with potatoes, chorizo, sausage, corn on the cob, steamers, little necks, and lobster.
No one went hungry that night.
July is the month of Visiting Family Members From Outside New England, which means, in addition to Alex and Julia having to share a bed, lobster.
Now, there are several types of lobster eaters. There are the Big Claws and Tail Only people. There are the I’ll Eat Other Parts of the Lobster As Long As I Don’t Have to Pick Through All The Body and Squeeze Out All The Meat in Those Skinny Legs Myself people. There are the ICK, What’s That??? people. And there are the people who will eat every last scrap of edible lobster – meat, fat, coral (roe) and tomalley (liver) – and will suck all of this down faster than the Big Claw and Tail people can get their crackers and picks going.
I belong to the latter group.
But.
There are times when I curb my impulses and leave the body and little skinny claws alone, just so we have meat to do something with the next day.
This post is about one of those times.
I know, I know. It starts out sounding healthy, you know, because there’s a green vegetable, but then I go and ruin it by adding fat and salty meat, and then deep-frying the whole thing.
I’m a terrible influence, I know.
But, if you’re interested in a really quick, easy, and yummy little appetizer (or after-school snack, as these were), then stick around.
We went to my cousin’s house for Easter brunch yesterday, and here’s what I brought…
Bill bought a lot of scallions recently, when we made sushi with my niece and my sister, and we needed to use them up before they started getting yucky….
And we had bacon….
So? Scallion pancakes…with bacon!
Continue reading "My Versions of Stuffies and Clams Casino" »
I served these bite-sized goodies at Thanksgiving, and I might just make them again at Christmas time.
They’re a variation on the Kale Pie I’ve made numerous times now, but I’m calling them Kale Quiche Bites because that seems to describe them better.
But call them pie or call them quiche – they are scrumptious!
We had some people over for an early Christmas dinner last night. Some family, some friends.
But before all that, when it was morning, I cooked some bacon and eggs for Bill.
The bacon is homemade. We made it. It’s our second batch, and it will not be our last. Some time soon I will tell you all about that. The making of bacon.
But for now, there’s this little story.
Continue reading "Bacon Pancake Bites – Maple Syrup Optional" »
It was so nice to have something relatively quick and easy to throw together this week!
For today’s French Fridays with Dorie I give you Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts.
And then I take them back, because they’re so good, and so addictive.
Or you can use chives...just scallions, just red onions, shallots, or whatever combination you want.
The recipe isn't mine - I found it on the Food Network website - from an episode of East Meets West with Ming Tsai. If you want a copy of the recipe, here it is. I pretty much followed it exactly except that I used a combination of the baby scallions and the young red onions.
The first time I made these I used wild chives that were growing in among the horseradish and the asparagus. I didn't take pictures, though. And they were so good, I knew I'd need to make them again and this time TAKE PICTURES.
So here we go.
Continue reading "Scallion and Red Onion Pancakes with Ginger Dipping Sauce" »
We had leftovers to use up. Leftover Sauerbraten from this year's Oktoberfest dinner...leftover butternut squash...well, okay, just those two. And the butternut squash wasn't technically left over yet, as I'd only cooked it that day. But I quibble and digress.
Or Clam Pancakes. Or Clammycakes.
Take your pick. I don't know what to call them.
Here's how they came about.
There are few foods that bring me as much joy as smoked bluefish. Specifically, smoked bluefish on a Ritz cracker with a little dollop of sour cream in between.
Earlier this week we went fishing off the rocks - the East Wall in Point Judith. Bill actually did most of the fishing, as it's a little dangerous for the kids to be reeling fish in and standing on the wet rocks while the waves crash against them. But the kids played on the sand and calmer water on the other side of the wall and occasionally Alex would get to reel in a fish part way, and then Bill would take over so the fish wouldn't smash and scrape against the rocks.
From Food 2.0 by Charlie Ayers.
Didn't feel like putting much effort into dinner last night.
So I made some baked chips out of leftover soft tortillas...and some crisp cheesy garlic toasts out of a leftover half loaf of ciabatta...cooked some shrimp...some edamame...put out the leftover small blocks of various cheeses in the fridge...crackers...smoked oysters...cucumbers...and these two bean dips.
There was something for everyone, and it was very peaceful to have a meal where no one complained about not having anything to eat.
Why two bean dips? Because I couldn't decide if I wanted canneloni beans or black beans. So I used both. But separately. With different flavors.
First up, the canneloni beans. I used a 15.5 oz can and rinsed the beans well, drained them well, and put them in the food processor. I added some dried rosemary...salt and pepper...olive oil...and a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
That seemed like a good start, so I put the lid on and pulsed a bunch of times until I had a slightly lumpy paste. I tasted it, decided it needed a bit more rosemary and of course! some garlic. (I had garlic warming in a bath of olive oil and butter for the aforementioned garlic/cheese bread, so I just took about a clove's worth of the garlic from the pot and added it to the bean puree.)
Pulsed this mixture a couple more times, and poured it in one half of a crystal two-sectioned bowl perfect for the occasion.
Next up, the black beans. Rinsed and drained them and into the (also rinsed) food processor they went. To start off, I added some olive oil...lime juice...salt and pepper...ground cumin...and ground coriander. Oh, yes, and half a shallot.
Pulsed everything until nearly smooth, then tasted it. It needed more of the cumin and coriander, so I added a bit of them, and a bit more salt. Then into the bowl it went.
Ta-da! Pretty simple, no?
I didn't measure anything, so I can't tell you how much of anything to put in. I would just say - start small. You can always add more - you can't remove it once it's in there.
And don't feel obligated to do what I did. My point, really - not that I had planned to have one - is that canned beans are really handy things to have on hand - a few additions and a whirl or two in a food processor and you have instant yumminess.
These are the sort of onion rings I mentioned in yesterday's post - the ones I made to go with my Buffalo Ball sandwiches. I had one onion left over, so yesterday afternoon I cooked up another batch and took pictures so I could show you how little what I did to make them.
For a small batch you will need:
One large sweet onion - Vidalia if they're in season, otherwise, just pick the best looking sweet onion in the store.
Buttermilk. Easiest is to buy the quart size, but if you can't do that for some reason, you can also find powdered buttermilk in the baking section of most grocery stores.
Each package gets mixed with a cup of water, so if you're going to go this route, you'll need at least two cups, and three would be better.
This powder is easy to use, and you can just buy some to have on hand. When you need it for the onion rings, just whisk the powder with the water...
and ta-da!
Buttermilk.
Now, peel the onion and trim the ends a little bit...
And then slice the onion into rings approximately half an inch wide.
Separate the rings and place them in the buttermilk. Soak them for an hour or so in the fridge.
When you're ready to make the onion rings, fill a large pot about half full with vegetable oil and heat to about 350-360 degrees F.
While the oil is heating, pour some flour in a shallow bowl or pan, add salt and pepper, and whisk together to combine.
You'll also need a slotted spoon or tongs and a plate with several layers of paper towels.
Set up your bowl of onions and buttermilk, the bowl of flour, and an empty bowl (the on-deck circle, so to speak) near your hot oil. Take the onion rings, a few at a time, out of the buttermilk, dredge them in the flour and pile them on the empty plate.
Fry in small batches, turning the rings over about halfway through, until they are crisp and dark golden brown. Remove from the oil, place on the paper towels to drain, and sprinkle with salt immediately. Transfer to another plate in a warm oven, if desired, until all are cooked and ready to serve.
These come out crisp and light. My husband said last night that he likes these better than the heavily coated ones you get that are basically thick, fried batter with a little string of onion running through the middle.
To accompany the rings, I made a sauce of mayo and sriracha and lemon juice - you could also use a hot chipotle sauce mixed with the mayo as well. Just a thought.
Whatever you do, serve the onion rings as soon after cooking them as you can. Fried foods don't stay crisp forever, and these are definitely meant to be eaten the day they are cooked. They don't reheat to the same degree of crispness.
Enjoy!
This recipe comes from a Time Life-Books series - "Foods of the World" - published in 1968. I think my mother had (or maybe still has) all of them. They came two books per part of the world - one large hardbound book that had a lot of historical and cultural information and recipes, and then the smaller wire ring-bound volume that just had the recipes. Bill's mother had the two volumes for Chinese Cooking, and now we have them on our shelf.
From Keo's Thai Cuisine, by Keo Sananikone. I mentioned the Spring Rolls in this post earlier today. Here's my version - slightly different but basically the same. Mine are larger - like egg roll size - and the actual version has them smaller - little bite sized appetizers.
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