Clams with New Potatoes and Spring Onions.

We had another spectacular weather day here in my hometown so I decided to keep it simple once again with some steamed clams in a rich white wine broth perfect for dipping some of my homemade bread in to.

I wanted to try this delicious recipe from Epicurious so I went out to our less than local seafood market (where the prices are great and the people are lively) and purchased 3 lbs. of Manila clams. I followed the recipe to the letter and while the bf and I sat around shelling clams like sea otters we had discussion about what I would do differently next time around.

The ingredients. Potatoes, green onions, garlic and smoked chorizo (tough to find).

3 lbs. of Manila clams.

You render the chorizo in 4 Tlb. of olive oil until it starts to get crispy. This is something I would change the chorizo to possibly a nice smoked pancetta, or even a nice smoked bacon. The recipe calls for you leaving the chorizo in the pan while you cook the potatoes I think I would remove it and set it to the side and add back in later in the cooking.

Addition of the potatoes, white part of the green onions and garlic. I would watch your cooking time and adjust accordingly. You don't want mushy potatoes in the pot. Here is where I would add some seasoning if you want it spicy or smokey (cayenne and or some smoked paprika would be nice). The suggested cooking time was 10-12 minutes I reduced that to 8-10 minutes. Stir often so your potatoes don't stick. Add some salt and pepper.

Deglaze with white wine. Cook the wine til reduced by half then add water and cook until the potatoes are a little cooked but not done by any means. Remember they still have to cook another 8-10 min when you add the clams and lid it to steam. This is where I would add the chorizo back into the pot along with the rest of the green onions.

The finished product.

It was really good, but I did think the chorizo was overcooked and if I hadn't reduced cooking time the potatoes would have been mush in the bottom of the pot.

In the end there were no leftovers. All in all another great dinner. I did include the link to the full Epicurious recipe.

Busy Weekend

I was sooo busy last weekend I didn't have time to blog... I hope you can forgive me. We had a couple nice days and things just had to get done and bike rides had to happen. Plus I had a huge side job that I was on a mission to get at least half done...and I did.

Saturday I had decided Friday night that I needed to reduce the amount of containers in my freezer so I could reuse the containers for something else and so I could locate the North Pole (o.k. kidding). I had a few partially full, frozen quart containers of some interesting looking brown sauces (you know the mystery gravy that you are not sure when you had it, or one hundred percent sure of it's origin). So after thawing and really close inspection Saturday morning I determined, and that they were not some horrible lab experiment (kitchen mistake) gone wrong I decided they were beef in origin and most likely safe for human consumption. I made beef stew using the gravies as the base for the stew... It turned out amazing. Plus as a bonus I got to use my brand new shiny crock-pot. Thanks again sweetie! So I guess the moral of this portion is: Don't be afraid of things in the freezer that time has forgotten (unless moving or breathing)...experiment.

Sunday I did reuse my containers on Sunday morning. I made my homemade Spaghetti Sauce, but I made enough to last somewhere around 4 months. I simply make a quadruple batch of my sauce and cook it til it is almost done. Then I shut off the burner let the sauce cool. After the sauce has cooled completely I put equal amounts into clean plastic quart containers and put in my freezer for later use. This works perfectly on those weeknights when your mind draws a blank and the only thing your capable of is heating up food and boiling water (I know this isn't just me everyone goes through this). So pour the thawed sauce into a sauce pot and bring it to a simmer, add a 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes, maybe some more spices...whatever. Let it simmer for an hour to get the full flavor, boil some water for pasta and you have dinner. If you manage to have a green salad and some crusty bread well then you have a feast. Open a bottle of wine invite a friend over and they will think you spent all day on this.

Back to Saturday While my stew was blurbing (should be a word) away on the side counter I decided that I needed cake and not just any cake but a Toasted Coconut Pound Cake My daughter had suggested this pin to me so I took a look at the recipe a month back and honestly it has been haunting me ever since, so Saturday was the day to make this cake. I followed the directions to the letter except I added coconut flavoring instead of vanilla, and I used some salted butter. I think next time (and there will be a next time) it might be fun to add a little rum extract and some finely chopped and toasted almonds along with the toasted coconut. It was amazing. I had one piece and sent the rest away. Seriously I don't need those calories lingering around the next day when I am back on my calorie counting week...haha.

Saturday afternoon and evening I also put together some of my Artisan Bread (October 5th 2013 blog) for dinner on Sunday and some of my Cajun biscuits for the stew Saturday night (September 27th 2013 blog). So besides the baking, cooking, cleaning, shopping, side project and bike ride on Sunday I think I had a pretty full weekend. As usual the weekend was too short and on Tuesday I thought it was Wednesday...which means it has been a long week so far.

I hope one and all had great weekends last weekend and are looking forward to the weekend just around the corner. Me I plan on going to my favorite kitchen shop and using the coupon I just noticed in yesterday's mail...I see a shiny new cheese knife in my future along with maybe some cake decorating supplies. Carpe diem!