Seafood Chowda

Seafood Chowda, with a little 92.5 FM "Brunch by the River" in the background.

Oh chowda, sweet chowda. On a cool day (with the house all to yourself) is there anything better? When I saw the reasonable prices for lobster, shrimp and haddock at the seafood counter, I knew I could swing this. I had also been saving a few lobster bodies from when we splurged on a lobster dinner a few weeks back, which would help to make a great stock. (See stock recipe at end of this entry.) The result of the homemade stock combined with fresh ingredients was OUTRAGEOUSLY GOOD.

Ingredients:

½ pound of bacon, chopped, smoked (preferred) 

6 stalks of celery, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 large potato, chopped (I leave skin on; washed well.)

1 cup corn, lightly cooked (best cut fresh off a lightly boiled cob)
1 garlic clove, chopped

1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning

1 teaspoon thyme

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt to taste (bacon is salty and Old Bay has celery salt, so go easy and taste test)

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

6 cups of seafood/fish stock*, warmed

Seafood of Choice (about 3 cups total):

1 pound haddock or cod, filets or chowder fish chuncks

3 large shrimp, peeled & chopped

3 sea scallops, shelled (remove muscle too) & chopped

1 lb lobster meat, chopped

½ cup clams, chopped (canned ok, add clam juice to stock)

1 and ½ cups heavy cream

In large sauce pan, spread out chopped bacon and turn heat to medium-low. The idea is to first render the fat off of the bacon before browning it up. Don’t stir the bacon. Just let it sit for 15-20 minutes.

Sweet and Zesty Seared Scallops over Greens

If you're a scallop lover, this combination of flavors will create a party in your mouth!

You'll need:

Large Sea Scallops, equally sized, muscles removed*
Chopped Greens
Olive Oil
1 Garlic Clove, finely minced
Cayenne Pepper, enough for dusting
Salt & Pepper
Pat of Butter
1 Teaspoon of Orange Marmalade
 
*After rinsing and patting the scallops dry, look for the muscle on each. Sometimes it may not still be there, but if you see one remove it by gently peeling it away from the rest of the scallop. Even some of the best restaurants fail to do this step, and it annoys the heck out of me because the muscle is tough to chew and will otherwise ruin a good mouthful of food.

Dust one side of the scallops with cayenne pepper and a little salt. Set aside.

Creamy Roasted Squash Soup

'Tis the season for squash, so why not whip up a batch of this? It even freezes nicely if you make too much.

You'll need:

2-3 Squash, depending on size (I prefer butternut or acorn)
2 Carrots, peeled and chopped
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
1 Onion (sweet vidalia works nice, but any ol' onion works), chopped
2 Small Potatoes (I used red), peeled and chopped
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
4 Tablespoons of Butter
4 Tablespoons of Canola Oil
Salt & Pepper
1 Tablespoon of Ground Ginger
1/4 Teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
1/4 Teaspoon of Ground Sage
4 Cups of Chicken Stock*
1 Cup of Heavy Cream*
1 Cup of Whole Milk*

*Depending on your preferences, you may play around with the liquid portions of this soup. I strongly urge you to use some heavy cream because it puts the soup over the top, but if you only have milk on hand, that works. Also, the amount of chicken stock (or veggie stock) can be adjusted depending on how thick or thin you want the soup. Often, after refrigerating, I like to add a little more stock when reheating.


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prep squash for roasting, and use whatever squash you have or like. Even a combination is nice. I'd just skip the spaghetti squash for this soup since you're going for a creamy and smooth texture in the end. No need to peel the squash. Just cut in half and scoop out the seeds. Place squash halves on roasting pan, inside part down. Roast for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until fork tender. Cool enough to handle, and scoop out pulp.

Naughty or Nice? Tomato Basil Cream Sauce or Pomodoro Sauce?

With tomato season in full gear, I recently set out to make a simple Pomodoro Sauce, but took it a step further when I realized I had some heavy cream in the fridge. So, the choice is yours...keep it nice, fresh and simple with the Pomodoro Sauce or a step further for something more sinful, Tomato Basil Cream Sauce.

1 cup good Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
6 tomatoes (or about 3 pounds), roughly chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
Pinch each of dried oregano, thyme, parsley, crushed red pepper
Bunch of fresh basil, finely torn/cut
(If making cream sauce) 1/2 cup of heavy cream, pinch of nutmeg and grated parmesan cheese to taste


POMODORO SAUCE
In a large sauce pan, start oil and garlic warming on low heat so that the garlic can slowly infuse the oil with flavor, without crisping up the garlic. After about 20  minutes, add chopped tomatoes, salt & pepper and pinches of herbs, and increase heat to medium so the pot eventually comes to a slow simmer. Leave uncovered (to allow steam to escape), simmering for one hour so the sauce reduces quite a bit. Reduce heat if necessary to maintain slow simmer and stir occasionally. Add lots of torn basil when ready to serve, over the pasta of your choice.

Leftovers at your place are Tapas at mine

Whoa, it's been a while.

No recipes today, but rather a comment regarding the simple pleasure of good food. Today for lunch, I sat down to 5 mini plates of food, or "tapas" as they are commonly called in the Spanish eating tradition. My tapas were simply tiny portions of leftovers that were taking up too much room in my refrigerator and therefore, needed to be eaten. Among the plates were: a couple slices of tomato and 1 slice of fresh mozzarella, drizzled with balsamic vinegar; a couple roasted spears of asparagus, lightly seasoned; half of a superbly fresh avocado diced and salted; fresh salad greens topped with one spoonful of homemade chicken salad; and 1/2 cup of American chop suey.

Doesn't that sound nice? Doesn't it sound better than leftovers? Next time you look in the fridge, think tapas, for a meal that not only provides a variety of tastes, but also cleans out the refrigerator in the process.