The Barefoot Kitchen Witch

Sushi Lesson

A few weeks ago my niece, Natalie, texted me and asked when we could cook together again.  

If you’ve been reading here a while, you’ve probably seen some of my other baking/cooking with Natalie posts…we’ve made Chocolate Pound Cake, Fresh Mozzarella, Dorie Greenspan's Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrownies, and also Dorie Greenspan's Chipster Topped Brownies.  (Can you see the chocolate theme that flows, river-like, through out baking adventures?)  Bill and I also went down to my sister’s house and taught Natalie (and my sister) to make Chiang Mai Soup, which features Thai red curry paste.  Natalie’s very adventurous in the kitchen – I’m sure she inherited that from me diagonally across the genetic pool.  Or something like that.

Anyway, I figured the school break in February would be most convenient for everyone involved, and asked what she wanted to do. 

“Sushi.”

My Versions of Stuffies and Clams Casino

 

I say “my versions” because, well, that’s what they are.  Slightly different from the traditional, and heartily approved by my three main critics.

Mercenaria mercenaria

Sometimes we think about leaving.  Sometimes it’s a frustrating state to live in, our Little Rhody.  The economy is still struggling, and my husband is a teacher, and what this state is doing (and has done) to his pension is appalling. 

So sometimes we think of going somewhere else.  Starting over.  Doing something different.  We’ve talked of farming.  I would love a cow, some goats, a bunch of chickens.  We’d both love more land so we could raise more of our own vegetables.  And we think we’d make a good go of it.

Until this happens….

Crab Cakes

Bill’s birthday was last week, and when I asked him what he wanted for dinner, he asked for crab cakes, seaweed salad, some kind of fish on the grill, and tiramisu. 

We also had sauteed asparagus, steak, and a simple garden salad. 

But Bill said the crab cakes were his favorite part of the meal.

So here’s how I made them.

Spicy Thai Fish Tacos

A couple of days ago I posted a recipe for Green Papaya Salad, and mentioned, at the end, that we were thinking of serving this as part of a fish taco dinner.

Last night, that’s exactly what we had for dinner.

Grilled Avocado and Sardine Sandwich

I never thought of Alton Brown as being overweight, though I don't always watch Good Eats or Iron Chef America (or anything else, really) on a regular basis, so when I saw him on more recent episodes of Iron Chef, I thought he must be very ill - so gaunt! - and I felt a surge of sympathy and admiration for him as he soldiered on, clearly determined to continue his work despite whatever debilitation he was battling privately.

Pretty sad, huh?  That I confused HEALTHY-LOOKING with DESPERATELY ILL.

Fun With Baby Octopi

 
A while back we bought a bag of frozen baby octopus. 

Comfort Food - Spaghetti with Clam Sauce

 
Comfort food.

We all have certain dishes that we gravitate toward when we're feeling a little less than 100%.  Foods that wrap us up in a big culinary hug and tell us everything will be okay, and we'll feel better soon. 

Scallops Wrapped in Nori, Topped with Bacon and Chives and a Maple Soy Ginger Glaze

I know.  It's a rather wordy name for a one-bite item, but I couldn't think of anything shorter.  If you've got any suggestions, feel free to offer them up.  

Ah, where to begin?

Risotto with Shrimp and Clams

 
Yesterday it rained.  And rained and rained and rained.  It was definitely a day to stay inside and cook something warming and comforting for dinner.

Snail Salad

Or conch salad, or scungilli salad or whelk.  Take your pick. 

Crab and Corn (And a Bit of Lobster) Risotto

  

I think sometimes I love things like crab and lobster more the second day, when I get to mess around with the leftover meat and be all creative and pretend i'm an Iron Chef (in my head).  Okay, not that Iron Chef part.  That would be silly!

Anyway, we had some crab parts left after Friday's seafood feast...

Feasting on Seafood

First there was the pork-fest, and then there was the seafood extravaganza.  Bill's brother, Ray, came back up for a couple of days after he and the rest of them headed down to CT to visit with Nina's part of the family late Sunday.  Ray arrived Wednesday afternoon and helped with the installation of the Anniversary Toilet, and he, Bill, Alex, and Julia went out for sushi while I was taking pictures at the beach class that night.

On Thursday, while I was being tortured fearing for my life drowning in my own saliva losing feeling in my fingers from clutching the armrests so tightly having a root canal done and a new core put in, Ray, Bill and the kids went down to Galilea, to the docks, to get some lobsters for our dinner.  They got 3 pound-and-a-half lobsters, 3 culls (lobsters missing a claw) and a dozen crabs, too.  When they returned, I was sitting on the couch reading and slurping ice cream on the side of my face that wasn't numb. 

My Kind of Gold

No, it's not jewelry or coins or highlights in my hair.

No, it's not the sun, which is finally out after days and days of "should we be building an ark?" weather.

It's stock.

Impromptu Live Blogging and Twittering Sweet and Tangy Scallops for Tonight's Dinner...

(When I originally wrote this post, I live blogged it and updated it on Twitter as I went along.)

For dinner tonight I'm using one of the recipes in this cookbook.  I'll be updating it on Twitter, so you can follow along there if you'd like to.  And I'll update photos in this post as I go along, so keep checking back.

Clampancakes

Or Clam Pancakes.  Or Clammycakes. 

Take your pick.  I don't know what to call them.

Here's how they came about.

Smoked Bluefish

  

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.

Ginger-Scallion Red Snapper - Whole, and on the Grill

The other day Bill brought home a 2 1/2 lb whole red snapper from our local Whole Foods.  (And yes, in case you were wondering, those are Julia's little fingers on the left.  When Bill told her what he had, she asked "Can I have the eyeballs?!")

Fluke Roll-Ups

When I was a kid, I remember my mother taking thin filets of flounder, topping them with a thin layer of some sort of ritz cracker stuffing, and then rolling them up individually, filling a pyrex baking pan with them and baking them.  We'd have them with rice, usually, and whatever vegetables and salad she had planned for dinner.

Recently, my brother-in-law, Jacques, gave us a gallon-sized plastic freezer bag crammed with frozen fluke filets.  The fish were caught by a fisherman friend of his.  Anyway, we stuck the bag right back in the freezer until we knew what we were going to do with the contents.

Scupcakes

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.

Grilled Halibut with Baby Shallot, Garlic and Ginger Marinade

 

We're growing shallots in the garden this year, and above are the seedlings that were thinned from the rest of their siblings in their square plot of ground outside.  They look like tiny scallions or chives, and taste similar. 

I'd picked up a just-over-two-pounds piece of halibut at the store on Friday, and we were planning to grill that Saturday night when my sister's kids slept over.  And so at the last minute, I thought - hey!  Baby shallots!  I could use them with the halibut somehow!  (I'm clever like that.)

2 People. 1 Lobster - 3 Ways

I bought two lobsters at the Farmers' Market yesterday.  I bought other things, too, but they are not the topic of this post, so I'll save them for later.

They were about a pound and a half each, and while I could happily eat both all by myself (shades drawn, doors locked), I figured the kids could split one and Bill and I could split the other one.

First Harvest, Two Ways

All of our gardens this year seem, at this point, to be more lush and productive than they were at this time last year.  Maybe it's the weather.  Maybe it's the super awesome compost we put down.  Maybe my husband's green thumb grew THREE SIZES that day.  I don't know.  But we've got a lot of green stuff out there.

Opening Day Salmon Cakes

They're named "Opening Day Salmon Cakes" because they were made with the last of the salmon that Bill and Joe caught on Opening Day of Trout Season in RI. 

Risotto with Artichoke Hearts, Crabmeat and Shrimp

I made this last night.  I first made risotto about 4 years ago, I think, and kicked myself for not making it sooner.  It's ultimate soft starchy comfort food, and once you've got the basic procedure down, you can be as creative as you want.

So We Bought a Whole Frozen Octopus

Every year when we get our taxes done by the same man who's been doing Bill's family's taxes since who knows when, we stop at this seafood place as we're leaving (it's in Massachusetts) and splurge on something (or several somethings) for dinner.

I think we started doing this in defiance the first year we were married - when we found out we had to PAY a couple thousand dollars in taxes that year.  We were stunned, to say the least, and then figured what the hell, we'll pay it in installments over a few months.  In the meantime, dammit, we need to eat.

Octopus Ceviche, Nobu Style

We used the recipe for "Seafood Ceviche, Nobu Style" from Nobu the Cookbook.  You don't have to use only octopus - you can use it in combination with other fish or shellfish, or not at all.  But we had that whole octopus, so that's what we went with.

Broiled Salmon with Honey-Mustard-Almond Topping

This is what I made for my husband's birthday earlier this week.

We had gone in search of whole snapper, but no luck there, so Bill picked out a nice piece of Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon and a dozen oysters, and I took it from there.

Valentine's Day Ideas: Littlenecks and Lobsters

I think this is my personal favorite of all the meals.  I love seafood, first of all, and as far as preparation goes, a boiled lobster is pretty easy. 

Littlenecks on the half-shell are easy too - especially if you're not the one shucking them.  Bill usually does that here, which is good because I can't take pictures and shuck a clam at the same time.

Valentine's Day Ideas: Grilled Sockeye Salmon with Asparagus and Wild Rice

I hadn't even planned on this "menu" but I was in the grocery store and saw some beautiful Sockeye Salmon filets and at that point I had no choice any more.

Steamed Crabmeat Dumplings

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.

Soft Shell Crab Roll

I love soft shell crabs.  Fried, so the legs are crunchy and the body is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  They're seasonal items - you can only get them fresh some time in the spring, but one of our local grocery stores has them flash frozen year 'round, so every once in a while I get some and make sandwiches.  Usually with some arugula and a spicy mayo on a soft roll.  Aahhhh.  Good stuff.

Shrimp and Avocado with Wasabi

And while I'm looking at the book Taste of Japan by Masaki Ko, I HAVE to share this recipe with you.  I landed on it while I was flipping through the pages to find the Daikon recipe in my previous post, and this is one of our all time favorites from the book.  SO easy and SO yummy.  If you like shrimp and avocado and wasabi.

We Interrupt This Photo Essay on Last Night's Dinner Preparation...

So yesterday Bill (mainly Bill - I was soft shell crab fry cook, dishwasher, and photographer) prepared this absolute FEAST of Japanese food.  Primarily sushi - related things, but not just that.  I'll post the recipes separately, because there are too many to cram into this one post.

But after the meal, and after the clean-up, I uploaded the pictures I'd taken while the meal was being prepared, and what struck me funny were not the pictures of the food, but the unexpected pictures that showed up here and there in between the chronology of the food prep.  Basically what happened was while Bill was making the soft shell crab maki rolls, and I was taking pictures of them, Alex yelled from the other room "Mommy!  Come quick!  The sky is pink!"  And so I just peeked out the kitchen window, saw that yes, the sun was setting and pink clouds dotted the sky, and took a quick step outside to take a few pictures before the pinkness was gone.  Alex knows I will to this, so he is vigilant.

So here's an example of my viewing experience...

Recipe for Thai Spring Rolls

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. 

Surfish and Turfish

I've been trying to dig out forgotten food items from the depths of the freezer so we can utilize them before they get freezer burn and become inedible.

I found a large square plastic container with something brown in it, so I figured I should thaw that just to see what it was about.  Turned out to be leftover beef stew. 

And Bill had mentioned that we had one remaining frozen bag of soft-shell clams in their broth, plus another bag of clam broth. 

So I thawed the bag with the clams in it and decided to make clam cakes to accompany the beef stew.  Weird combination, I know, but, well, sometimes that happens.

The clamcake recipe was Bill's mom's - it's written on a little torn-out page from a notebook; the fringes along one edge where it ripped through the spiral binding are discolored and raggedy looking.  The first part of the word "Clamcakes" is torn off - it's more like "lamcakes."

Clamcakes or lamcakes - they were pretty good.  And pretty simple.

First, in one bowl, whisk together 2  1/4 cups of flour and 4 teaspoons of baking powder.

In another bowl, combine 1  1/3 cups clam broth with 2 eggs.

Chop up the clams.  (Ours were already cooked.  Normally you'd use quahogs anyway, but hey, any port in a storm.  Or something like that.  Steamers worked just fine.)

Fill a large pot about a third to half way with vegetable oil and heat to 360 degrees F - 375 degrees F.

As the oil is heating up, combine the clam broth and egg with the flour and baking powder.  Whisk together to get rid of any lumps.  Then stir in the chopped clams.  Set aside until the oil has reached temperature.

Also, have a couple of plates ready with several layers of paper towels on them and some salt, and a large slotted metal spoon.

Here's how the batter will look after it has been sitting a few minutes:

When the oil is at the right temperature, get a large spoon (tablespoon or bigger), or, if you have it, a 2 tablespoon size measuring spoon.  Scoop up some of the batter with your big spoon and lower it to just above the surface of the hot oil.  Scrape the batter into the oil with another spoon.  Scoop 4-6 clamcakes-to-be into the oil.  You want them to have room to move around a bit, and you'll need move to turn them over so they brown evenly.

Here are some partway through the frying...

They're still too pale, but they're getting closer.  All those little straggly bits of batter can be scooped out and discarded. 

As they reach a dark golden color, take one out and cut it in half to make sure the batter has cooked all the way through.  If it has, pull the other clamcakes out and set them on one of the plates with the paper towels to drain.  Sprinkle right away with a little salt - it will stick better while they are still hot and a bit oily.  You can keep them warm in a low oven or under a dish towel.  You don't want to wrap them in foil - that will steam them and they'll lose their crispness.

Here's a tantalizing close-up of some of the finished ones from last night:

They go nicely with leftover beef stew.

The Rest of the Fish Story

The same night Julia was playing "Eye Spy" with the grilled red snapper, we also had maki rolls.  I had picked up a rainbow roll and a barbecued eel roll on the way home.  After the four of us consumed the two whole fish and a lot of the noodles Bill had made, Alex was still hungry.  So Bill told Alex to sit back in his seat and just wait.  And then he brought the maki rolls in.

Alex loves him some raw fish.

He's quite the connoisseur.

Hey, I want some of that!

(Nothing can distract him at this point.)

All was blissful...

until...

Julia?  What is this?

There's still some eye goop left, Daddy!  Want some?

Yum! 

Again With the Fish Eyes

I was trying to come up with some clever title to this post that wouldn't give away what it was about.  Something that would make you (or someone) want to read more to find out what I was eventually getting at.

Nothing really worked.  So I gave up. 

Stir-Fried Fish with Ginger

Bill made a fabulous dinner on Friday - all Asian dishes.  We used to cook a lot of Asian dishes when we were first together. 

(Interruption:  Bill and Alex are fishing this morning off the rocks and Bill just called to tell me Alex caught the first scup - a keeper - about 12 inches long.  GO ALEX!  Bill caught one too.  They're going to fish for another half hour or so and then go swimming and then come home.  Yay!  Fresh fish for dinner!)

Okay, back to the program. 

If you happen to have some lobster left over from your clambake...

Try this:

Pick the lobster meat from approximately two lobsters.  Chop into small pieces.  Don't forget to pick the meat out of the body.  And for goodness' sake, don't forget to include the coral and tomalley.  They are FLAVOR!

Clambake - An All-Day Affair

A couple of Saturdays ago, Bill and I took the kids and some clam rakes and metal baskets and gloves and the kids' plastic gardening tools and my camera down to Galilee to dig clams.  Bill had bought about four pounds of soft shell clams, or steamers, earlier, but in order to do the clambake we needed rockweed (a type of seaweed) and since we had to get that, we might as well dig for more steamers while we were there.

Summer

Bill called me at work yesterday afternoon - he'd picked up some sushi-grade tuna steaks and would be grilling them (just ever so slightly) for dinner, along with some zucchini.  And he'd make rice.

It's a lovely thing to have someone else decide what to make for dinner.

Anyway, I got home with the kids, and dinner was just about ready - just waiting for the rice.

I changed into more comfortable clothes, and put the kids in bathing suits and we watched them play in the pool their Uncle Bob recently gave to them as a joint birthday present.

They had fun:

And after a lot of screaming and squealing and laughter, we ate dinner outside on the deck.

When they were finished, the kids went back to play in the pool some more, and I wandered around taking pictures of flowers and pea tendrils and whatever else looked interesting.

I especially like this:

That's it for the moment.  I'm home right now - I'll be taking Alex in for his pre-K testing in a little while, then dropping the kids off at daycare and going in to work. 

It's warm.  Summer's here.

Surf n Surf n Turf n Turf (sort of)

Or, my Mother's Day lunch, cooked and served by my husband.

Variation on a Theme - Shrimp and Fettucine

(from my old blog...)

I've got this idea of making a pesto with the leaves from our nasturtium plants. The flowers and leaves are edible, and both are kind of peppery. No, not kind of, they are peppery.

Grilled Shrimp

(from my old blog...)

This is for my cousin, Susan, who asked for a copy of this recipe. It's one of the dishes Bill cooked for me on my birthday...

Two Scallop Recipes

(from my old blog...)

I made both of these for a clambake/cookout we had. Did each with about a pound and a half of fresh sea scallops....

Shrimp Recipe

(from my old blog...) Last night I was going to make shrimp fajitas, but I didn't have flour tortillas and I didn't feel like going to the store on my lunch break or on the way home, so this is what I did instead: