Clamming: Stuffed Quahaugs

Nothing quite screams summer to me like throwing clamming rakes into the back of my dad's truck, along with a clamming basket and snorkels and going out to find dinner.  My parents live a leisurely life on Martha's Vineyard - their calendar is packed with cocktail parties, dinner parties, movie dates, guests, sailing and fishing.  When I visit, I am always impressed with the energy that my 60+ year old parents have.  Every time I'm on the vineyard we go fishing (and usually catch a Blue Fish) and we go clamming.  This year we tried our hand at crabbing too and baited some crab traps but only got green crabs (which are inedible).

Stuffed Quahaugs "with tasty additions"

We either go clamming when the tide is low and rake for clams or we go when the tide is high and put on our snorkel gear and daintily pluck the clams from the bottom of the ocean floor.   This year more than most years, I saw more scallops "chattering" on the ocean floor than I did clams, but alas, I will have to wait to October to plug those little gems up and eat them!

Once we filled our basket we prepared a delicious dinner.  We made two types of stuffed quahogs (the greener ones are with fresh herbs), grilled chorizo, freshly caught blue fish and steamed clams.  (Quahogs are the larger variety of clams - better known as chowder clams and perfect for stuffed quahogs.  Clams are dainty, sweeter and less rubbery and delicious gently steamed and dipped in butter).  The saltiness of the ocean came through beautifully in the freshest of summer dinners.

Victor's Stuffed Quahaug Recipe: 

Stuffed "original" Quahaugs 

Fresh quahaugs (60)
1/2 cup of the juices created by steaming the clams, careful to skim from the top to avoid sand
6-8 slices white bread
3/4 cup fresh Parmsean cheese
1 Tbspn Oregano 
1 Tbspn Basil
1 Tbspn Tyme
1 Tbspn  Parsley
1 Tbspn Frank's Red Hot
Juice of one lemon
2 Tbspn safflower oil
1 Tbspn black pepper

Optional tasty additions:
A few cloves pressed garlic 
1 cup creamed spinach
2 Tbspn Sherry
Fresh corn niblets

Steam open the clams (saving some liquid in the pot) then coarsely chop in food processor, set aside.
Shred bread in food processor, set aside 
Mix all other ingredients in a bowl including any "optional tasty additions" 

Fold clam mixture and bread into the bowl to make a thick paste.  

Select 12-16 clam shells from the pile of discards
With a spoon, pack each shell with the mixture.
Brush the top of the mixture with a light coating of oil

Heat an oiled cast iron skillet to medium heat,
Place each shell in the skillet mixture side down.
Brown for about 2-3 minutes or until a dark-golden crust forms from the parmesan.

Serve hot with lemon wedges. 

I just love Summer: Lobsta

Surprisingly I didn't have lobster all summer until this past weekend.  This is a first for me as I LOVE lobster.  The Vineyard time was filled with clamming and crabbing and fishing - no lobster, but in Old Lyme I finally had my traditional lobster feast.

These lobsters were caught during their molting season so they were soft shell lobsters, similar to the soft shell crab and were delicious.  The neatest part was that we didn't need lobster claws to crack the shells, because their shells were soft, we could just crush them with our hands.  The summer market near Old Lyme steams them (perfectly, I might add) for you, so all you have to do is melt the butter and sit down to the table.  I usually love butter with my lobster meat, however, these were so soft and succulent I dipped not a single piece in the butter sitting next to my lobster.

We went traditional all the way.  We shucked corn, slathered it with pesto and wrapped it in tin-foil and threw it on the grill.

We took out our mini Cuisinart and threw together a quick salad dressing: a clove of garlic (obviously), the juice of 1 lemon, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, salt and pepper, and a large handful of fresh herbs from the herb garden.  We then tossed is with a bunch of Mesclun lettuce and some pieces of goat cheese.

One thing I love about my friends is that they love vegetables as much as I do.  We can have a complete meal consisting of a grain and a ton of vegetables with a salad.   None of us are huge meat-eaters so light fishes and loads of vegetables make our dinner parties colorful and delicious.

Our meal was perfectly summer light paired with delicious crisp, white wine and lots of laughing.  I should add the two of the three dogs (the Terriers) were trying to hurl their bodies into the bucket of lobster shells throughout the meal.

I just love the summer: The breakfast sandwich

I love all seasons - but I particularly love the warmer seasons and being able to sit outside around a lovely table cooking and laughing with friends.  This past weekend I went to Old Lyme and stayed at a friends house with some girlfriends from college and 3 lovely dogs.

We ate delicious foods, drank delicious wines, walked adorable dogs and frolicked in the ocean.  It was a fantastic summer weekend with killer weather and barely any traffic.   The trip started out with Aquinnah and my first train ride together.  As soon as I stopped projecting nervous energy onto her, she relaxed and the ride was fine - it's good to know that Metro North allows dogs.

Anyway, the first morning we brainstormed breakfast and agreed upon egg sandwiches.  It is no secret that my favorite breakfast item is the egg sandwich, it's totally and completely satisfying to me (with a little side salad).  I switch it up with the ingredients (fresh herbs, onions, garlic, chorizo, shiitakes, avocado, tomatoes, etc...), bread type (baguette, pita, multi-grain, English Muffin, etc..) and method of cooking eggs (poached, friend or scrambled).

This particular morning, and because I have trouble controlling the heat of an electric stove, we made scrambled eggs (slowly cooked - for about 25 minutes) with garlic, onion and herbs.  I have to admit we did this two mornings in a row.

The first morning we added fresh mozarella to the cooking eggs, the second morning, because there were so many more people, we each picked out the cheese of choice and put it onto the warmed toast instead of in with the eggs (I went with brie).  It was fantastic.  Throw a few slices of fresh tomato on there and you have a satisfying meal.  Because we had a garden right next to the kitchen, we also made a homemade basil-walnut pesto that first morning we put on the eggs and the second night we rubbed on corn and roasted.

Scrambled egg sammies are great when you're cooking for a large group because they are simply delicious.  You can keep the toast in the oven so everything comes out warm.

1 serving:
3 eggs, gently beaten with a splash of milk or cream
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 yellow onion, minced
1 bit of cheese of your choice

Heat a little bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a pan on medium heat.  Sweat the onion (add a pinch of salt) and leave until the onion becomes soft.  Add the garlic and let cook for a minute or two.  Add the eggs and let cook, slowly, periodically scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.  When it looks like the eggs are forming into scramble instead of just liquid, add your cheese and herbs in.

Toast your bread, slice your tomato and avocado if you so choose, put it all together and enjoy a quick and delicious breakfast sandwich.