Clams on the Grill

70 degrees. In March. In Connecticut. We've been blessed with a taste of summer lately and we're taking advantage of it. Grilling steaks and seafood, eating on the deck, working on the lawn, enjoying the sunshine. Who knows how long it will last? One of our favorite things to do is to stand by the grill waiting for littlenecks to cook in their own juices and open up to reveal the briny, tender clam inside. We twist them out of the shell, dunk them in clarified butter and eat them then and there. It's a great prelude to whatever we may be having for dinner, and gives us a taste of the warm months approaching. Heavenly.

Wordless Weekender: A Taste of Summer: Red Snapper and Shrimp

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

We enjoyed our St. Patrick's Day early, having a Sunday dinner at the house of our good friends and neighbors, D and J. They made the traditional corned beef and boiled vegetables, served with Black-Green-and-Tans. We made green cupcakes with green flour frosting (gotta love food coloring) and brought those, with some Irish soda bread. Happy St. Patrick's to one and all!

Rose Shrimp Farfalle: Bertolli Tastemaker

One recent afternoon, there was a package on the steps. We hadn't been expecting anything -  what could it be? It was addressed to us, attention "A Couple in the Kitchen." Hmmm...interesting. It was obviously food-related, and just in time for dinner! Hungrily, we ripped open the box and inside were two jars of Bertolli sauce, "Four Cheese Rosa" and "Arrabbiata," both neatly packaged with a letter inviting us to try them as part of Foodbuzz's Tastemaker Program. What could be more perfect on a hectic weeknight than a quick and easy pasta dinner?

First, we decided to try the Four Cheese Rosa, an alfredo sauce made with Romano, Aged Asiago, Parmesan and Ricotta cheeses mixed with tomatoes. Then we rummaged through the fridge for ingredients we might use to make this into a well-rounded meal. We turned up a pound of frozen shrimp for protein and texture, a jar of sundried tomatoes for rich sweetness, garlic because you just have to have garlic, and some fresh baby spinach for a serving of vegetables and color. All of these, with a few shakes of red pepper flakes for a touch of spicy heat,  we thought would go well with the  cheesy, creamy sauce. We tried it. We loved it. While we aren't normally users of jarred sauces, we plan to buy more of this unique and tasty pink alfredo. It wasn't a just quick and easy dish, but it was simply delicious! Thank you, Foodbuzz and Bertolli!

Ingredients:

1 pound large, raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped (equal to 1/2 of an 8.5-ounce jar)

1 cup baby spinach, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 jar Bertolli Four Cheese Rosa

8 ounces farfalle

salt and pepper to taste

Prepare pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sundried tomatoes and saute until garlic is fragrant, about one minute. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Add shrimp and cook, stirring, until shrimp just begin to turn pink. Add sauce plus one ladle of pasta water. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring, until shrimp are cooked through. Add spinach, stir, and immediately turn off heat. Drain pasta and toss pasta with shrimp and sauce. Serve garnished with grated parmesan if desired.

Wordless Weekender: Irish Cupcakes

Foodie Song Friday: Sinkin' Soon

Amy writes:

I had my I-pod on "shuffle" this morning and listening to the song "Sinkin' Soon" by Norah Jones got my stomach grumbling (although it could have been the fact that I didn't eat breakfast). I rewound and listened to those beginning lyrics again, and thought they'd make for a good "Foodie Song Friday." Enjoy!

We're an oyster cracker on the stew,
And the honey in the tea.
We're the sugar cubes, one lump or two,
In the black coffee.
The golden crust on an apple pie,
That shines in the sun at noon.
We're a wheel of cheese high in the sky,
But we're gonna be sinkin' soon.

In Praise of Real Maple Syrup

Spring is springing. It's a slow process, particularly here in New England, but we recently had five whole days of sunny, almost-60-degree weather, and yesterday we spotted crocus leaves peeking out of the ground by our driveway. Among the other glorious things that happen in spring is that the sap runs, which means it's sugaring time! Warm days and cold nights - the perfect formula for producing that sweet golden nectar we know as real maple syrup.

Up in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, Amy's cousins run Maplehurst Farm, a family-owned and operated dairy farm and sugarhouse. Their maple syrup is all natural, organic, and the best we've ever tasted, (although we may be a tiny bit biased). Amy recalls visiting "The Farm" as a child during sugaring time and happily sitting in the corner of the sugarhouse, breathing in the sweet-smelling steam, taking "shots" of the warm amber liquid, and pouring the hot syrup on snow for a sticky, delicious treat.

Growing up with the real deal means that to this day the "fake stuff" can not be tolerated by our family's delicate palates. If we're having breakfast out, we'll never order pancakes or waffles because the server might assault us with some ubiquitous mass-market maple "flavoring" made with various unpronouncables. Each household in our family always possesses at least a half-gallon of real maple syrup at any given time and God forbid we run out (although thankfully, The Farm now has online ordering since it's a 5-hour drive to get there from here!). 

By the way, real maple syrup isn't only a condiment for those aforementioned pancakes and waffles (or ice cream), but also, or maybe especially, for savory dishes (ever have a scallop wrapped in bacon and dipped in real maple syrup? amazing.), baking (maple pecan pie, anyone?), and beverages (a dash of maple syrup in a hot toddy will do you just right on a winter's eve).

As foodies, we believe in the power good, natural ingredients have to escalate food from edible to fabulous. Real maple syrup does exactly that. Is it expensive? Sure. But most high quality, organic, gourmet ingredients are. Consider the fact that it takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup, and the cost just makes sense. Try some real maple syrup from Maplehurst Farm or any New England sugarhouse. Along with a food lover's enjoyment of  a natural, fine, versatile ingredient, you'll also get the satisfaction of supporting real farmers engaged in good, honest work.

For more information about real maple syrup, check out the official website of Vermont Maple Syrup, the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association, or the maple syrup page of the World's Healthiest Foods website.

Once you go sap, you'll never go back.

Sweet Potato and Pancetta Gratin The Sequel

So, what to do with Sweet Potato and Pancetta Gratin leftovers? Sweet Potato and Pancetta Gratin "McMuffin" with Egg for breakfast! Oh. So. Very. Delicious.

Sweet Potato and Pancetta Gratin (**Award-Winning***)

As soon as we heard about the Sweet Potato Bloggers Contest, we went to our favorite produce market and picked up two of the biggest sweet potatoes we could find. Sweet potatoes work well as a substitute for regular potatoes in most recipes, and we intended to change our muffin-tin potato gratin recipe to use these orange beauties.

Chris sliced the potatoes nice and thin using his favorite chef knife, and as he laid them in the muffin cups, I did the assembly: a little bit of salt, a little bit of white pepper, a pinch of pancetta and a pinch of shredded gruyere. He kept slicing and I kept assembling, until the muffin tins were close to overflowing (photo below). Two tablespoons of heavy cream needed to go on top of each individual gratin, and then, into the oven they went.

Fifteen minutes later and the fragrant scent of melting cheese and roasting potatoes began to fill the kitchen. Another twenty minutes and they were done (photo, below). We let them cool a bit so we could get them out of the muffin tin, and voila! We were so pleased with the great balance of sweetness from the potato, sharp tanginess from the gruyere, and smokiness from the pancetta. A delicious, albeit decadent, side dish!

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato

6 ounces gruyere cheese, shredded

4 ounces pancetta, diced small

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

salt

white pepper

Special equipment: 12-cup muffin tin

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice the sweet potato into thin rounds. Put one slice of the sweet potato into each cup of a 12-cup muffin tin. Top with a pinch each of the shredded gruyere, the diced pancetta, salt and white pepper. Top with another slice of sweet potato, and continue to layer as described above until the muffin cups are close to filled. Pour two tablespoons of heavy cream on top of each cup and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for an additional 20 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from muffin tin and serve as a side dish to your favorite main course.

Yield: 12 individual gratins

What to do with Leftover Rice? Rose-Cardamom Rice Pudding

A night of Chinese take-out left us with a full pint of leftover steamed white rice. We didn't want it to go to waste, so we decided to use it to make rice pudding - just enough for two. Rose water and cardamom added a bit of Middle-Eastern flair, making what could have been a boring, old-fashioned pudding into a rich, creamy, exotic dessert.

Ingredients:

1 pint steamed white rice

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups fat-free milk

1 1/2 tablespoons rose water

2 cardamom pods

2 tablespoons chopped pistachios or slivered almonds 

Place rice, sugar, milk, rose water and the seeds from the cardamom pods in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for 35 minutes, continuing to stir often. Pour into desired serving dishes and allow to cool. Cover and refrigerate. When chilled, garnish with nuts if desired and serve.