Archive for the ‘Seafood’ Category
Garlic Shrimp: Two Very Wonderful Words
Man, I love shrimp. There’s something about the texture about these bite sized, fleshy little crustaceans that always has me coming back for more. Sauteed, grilled, fried, steamed, peeled, unpeeled, there’s a lot you can do with these guys. I also love garlic, especially if I have an extra 10 minutes to roast the cloves whole first and bring out their nutty, soft flavors. Garlic goes with everything, but I think shrimp is one of the best combos. What’s that citrus? Oh yes, yes, you’re part of the BFF team as well.
This is not a dish you probably want to be making for a first date however. Garlic and seafood are two ingredients plenty of people have problems with. This is one for those long term couples that are appreciative (or at least tolerant) of one’s complete addiction to garlic and/or seafood. In my case, it’s just one more item on an already long list of traits my future wife with have to be patient with me regarding.
New England Clam Chowda
I crave creamy soup when it rains. And to me, the definition of a comforting, creamy soup is none other than New England clam chowder. Spending half my life growing up outside of Boston, ther’s plenty of good memories when someone’s uncle makes a giant pot of chowder and the whole neighborhood gets together to warm their bellies on cold days with oyster crackers. It’s comfort food you want to curl up inside and take a mid-afternoon nap.
So with that found memory in mind and a cold, raining to look forward to I decided to make the genuine article. The Cook’s Illistrated Best New Recipes encyclopedia turned out to be one of the best reference points to work with after browsing over a few other recipes. There isn’t a ton of variation with this dish except with your spices. It’s up to you what you want to add, but as usual I highly recommend some cayenne pepper to give your chowder a nice heat.
If you can’t get your hands on fresh clams, using store bought clam juice for the broth is still a much better option than buying premade chowder.
Paella Surprise
I really can’t think of a time when I didn’t want to make some paella. There’s just not that many dishes that are as filling, flavorful, and satisfying as a good old fashioned paella. I’ve been lucky enough to go on a few adventures that resulted in me eating the genuine article, homemade Spanish version of this dish complete with glasses of gazpacho and lively conversation. It’s just an immensely social and gratifying dish and I can’t think of a better way of starting spring than sitting around outside with friends, drinks in hand, and tearing into a big skillet of this crispy rice wonder.
That being said, paella is very easy to make, but kinda tricky to make right. I say that because the actual process of sauteing some veg and throwing some seafood in to cook with the rice isn’t difficult; it’s basically just making a stir fry. A true paella, which it’s crispy layer of rice on the bottom (called socarrat), saffron flavored rice and variety of ingredients takes a little effort to get right. You can literally make paella a thousand different ways, there’s no solid rules on that. But in my mind a big part of the challenge behind this dish properly is getting that rice texture and flavor right.
There’s plenty of easy shortcuts to make a great paella, but the genuine article is really worth the small degree of extra effort. I’ll touch on a couple of shortcuts in the post for those that are just looking to cook a tasty dinner.
Pasta and Clam Bliss
The funny thing about cooking is that the amount of time and energy that goes into a meal doesn’t necessarily mean that the final product will be the home run you were aiming for. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve spent hours, and I mean hours, prepping a meal, reducing a sauce, braising meat, roasting vegetables only to be disappointed by the end result. To me it’s maddening to find a recipe that looks amazing and regardless of how closely I’ve followed the instructions or shopped for the most random of ingredients, the first bite falls flat.
Yeah your friends are raving how much they like it, yeah they’re so impressed that you put together some fancy dish for them, but deep down you don’t really give a shit because this masterful concoction you had your heart set on recreating Just_Doesn’t_ Hit. And you know you did things wrong, you can taste what didn’t get cooked right, or what flavors and textures don’t match up, and you eat begrudgingly wondering how the hell you missed the mark.
So when one does come across a recipe that can stand on its own, that doesn’t need frill upon frill of elaboration, where the ingredients enhance each other and meld into something that is flavorful and delicious and unpretentious, and that first bite forces you to pause and take in the fact that this is everything you could have possibly hoped for, well my friends, that needs to be shared.
For me, one of my all time favorite recipes is one I picked up reading Bill Bufford’s Heat (a great book for anyone that loves reading about the fine dining kitchen subculture or Italian cooking). Simple ingredients, enough technique to make it a fun challenge, and one of those dishes you hope you have extra bread with so you can soak up any remaining sauce.