Irish pub happy as clam, wins Mass. chowder prize Boston Globe Take a look at an interesting article we found.
Steamed cockles with white port and wild fennel The Independent Take a look at an interesting article we found.
New Jersey Dining: The Classic Clambake, Tweaked for Practicality The New York Times Take a look at an interesting article we found.
July 29, 2009
Actually plenty.
I’m not sure if you’re aware it, but the clam, known for its happiness, has reason to be happy again.
New York’s Great South Bay, once the Nation's great bastion of clams, contributing over 50 percent of them, to a clam eating population, was in decline.
By 2004, scientists believed that the clam population numbers were so low they could no longer reproduce successfully.
Enter the Nature Conservancy that planted more than three million adult clams and now there is bivalve baby boom.
The Bay has more than 250 million new juvenile clams in their midst.
That’s a 4000 percent increase in the clam population since 2006.
So, how...well, do they do it?
Somewhat impersonally.
In case you need a refresher course, clams may be male, female or hermaphroditic (a little of each) depending on the species and the particular stage in its life cycle. And it’s almost impossible to tell them apart.
Females release large numbers of eggs, from 1 million to as many as 24 million at one time, while males release loads of sperm. Now I'm not exactly sure what hermaphrodites do.
Fertilization then takes place in the open water.
The tiny clams that result are about the size of a thumbnail and have to survive blue crabs, and a host of other predators.
I’m certainly rooting for the little "guys."
Because, like the asterisk of yesterday’s post, never has anything so seemingly insignificant, served us so well.
Henry David Thoreau writes in “Cape Cod,” about his deep attachment to the sea and clams:
“I kindled a fire with a match and some paper, and cooked my clam on the embers for my dinner... I found it sweet and savory.”
And, in the sultry days of summer, there's nothing tastier to take your mind off the heat than a New England Clambake party, replete with salty stories and shrieking seagulls at your local beach.
Louis P. De Gouy from "The Soup Book:"
“Clam chowder is one of those subjects, like politics or religion, that can never be discussed lightly. Bring it up even incidentally, and all the innumerable factions of the clam bake regions raise their heads and begin to yammer.”
Those bivalves stir up a lot of passion.
Simplest way to eat clams is raw. Just have to practice your slurping techniques. Stuffed, fried, on spaghetti, there’s no end to what you do with them.
But before my enthusiasms carry me away to discuss the hundreds of species, shell types, shell art, the ongoing vegetarian debate on whether bivalve's have feelings and other thrilling minutia, I should probably clam up.
And let you have your say.
Clam Recipes allrecipes.com Take a look at an interesting article we found.
The Story of the Fried Clam woodmans.com Take a look at an interesting article we found.
Wonders of the Sea: Mollusks oceaninn.com Take a look at an interesting article we found.
My favorite clams are "bearded". My alltime favorite bearded clam comes from the sparkling backwa...
-Dong
Jul. 30, 2009 3:03 PM
Favorite bivalve?
19% 2% 8% 31% 33% 6%
I think I have missed something in life. I've never had fresh clams. I'm not even sure I've ever had canned clams. And I've never quite trusted what passes for "clam chowder" around here.
Anybody want to put me up on a coast? I know how to build a fire, and I'm sure I could rustle up a pot to cook them in.
I like raw oysters but when it comes to clams cook em.
We go claming here on the back bays.
Then I make trays and trays of "clam casino".*
*Wash em, open em up and place em on a baking tray, layer sauted onions and bacon.
Top with cheddar and bake at 400 till bubbly.
Clam dip with Fritos, delish. But I make that with canned clams.
Love clams.
Chowdda*, pasta anyway but raw.
*New England style, creamy.
Now Mr. P. I'm hungry and eating at this hour is not on my diet.
Yes. Spaghetti al Vongole. Clam chowder. Baked with a little garlic butter.
I'm salivating.
Michael: Probably better that you stayed away from "what passes for clam chowder." Get involved with the real deal, or don't get involved at all. Otherwise you will never make a 2nd attempt. Gourmet clam chowder is deceptively simple to make. Freshness of all of the components is essential, as is proper temperature and cooking time. But the reward of your abstinence is worth it. I have driven for hours to dine at some obscure unpretentious restaurant, if the prize is a bowl of trophy grade clam chowder.
Clams clams clams !!!
How I love clams.
And to top it off, I am quite the "clam signer".
I'm not talking about harvesting the farmed clams so popular around here seaside and bayside on Virginia's Eastern Shore.I have a number of friends who raise seed clams and "plant"them and harvest them for a living. I'm talking about those yummy wild ones that grow in the shallows at the barrier islands just a few minutes East of seaside "ports" like Wachapreague and Red Bank ie Cobb Island , Cedar Island etc.
Just give me a reasonably low tide, a clam rake and a bucket and I'll have enough for a feast in no time at all. The trick is the art of keyholeing..that is looking for the little airhole the clam breaths through. One needs to be able to distinguish that from a worm hole.etc.
I have done a bit of beach camping out on those Islands over the years.The beast way to eat calms....raw just out of the shell or roasted over a fire on the beach.
Michael, if you are ever in my neighborhood, look me up. I'll take you clamming.
Miss Blue: More dark roast for you! What a Freudian slip...."The BEAST way to eat clams...raw..." lol
good morning eyes!
fresh homegrown vegatables, herbs, eggs, or nuts raw, yes, meats or seafood, no!
Bert...no slip not even a chemise......lol
I like my beef and lamb bloody too!
Favorite oysters are roasted but love them raw too( as long as the sea water they are harvested from is below 45 degrees. The "R' months actually mean someting. The oysters are not as"sweet" in warm water....hence my dislike of Gulf Oysters( sorry Ivan)
And the most 'nicks' I have ever scarfed....144.......made me a charter member of the"gross club". Of course 144 nicks still isn't that much clam meat.
Now wanna hear my clam recipes.
Eastern shore clam chowder isn't like new england( milk base) or Manhattan( tomatoe base).
I'll call one of my pals and have some clams tonight!!!
Cuukoo1: Reluctantly I must agree with you, bacteria & viruses show total disregard for who you are, or if you may have had thev most honorable of intentions.....
It bugged me that -- growing up in New Jersey -- I'd never heard of the 'Great South Bay'. (I was wondering at first if it was a new name for Jamaica Bay (adjacent to JFK), or Lower New York Bay.... In both cases I had visions of the waters as they were in the 1960s (UGH!) --- But no! 'Great South Bay' is the Longk Eye-Lant (proununciation appropriate) equivalent of Galveston/Houston's East Bay/ Christmas Bay/ West Bay/ Galveston Bay complex.... a gigantic lagoon protected by an island upon which only seabirds and insane humans reside.... For more, as usual.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_South_Bay .
thank you bert! it's a natural selective preference, love to cook any thing, and quite well, i'm told....once again prefer the company to the food. been told i'm a vegetarian, it's not a consciencious conviction though. what my body naturally prefers, i honor that, most of the time!!!
enjoy the food day!
cuukoo
Raw nuts, veggies etc can be just as dangerous . Always know your sources for all foods. Try and find truly raw almonds now. Virtuallly all are pastrurized due to outbreaks of food borne illnesses. I never eat raw clams( or any local seafood for that matter) after heavy rains. I only harvest in waters that are safe. We have a bureau of shell fish sanitation that does nothing but test waters where clams and oysters are harvested. Condemned waters are posted. My raw clams and oysters ore only taken from pristine seaside waters that have limited access to harvest and are routinely tested( mostly private beds). I don't eat raw oysters in warm months because they taste musty from the spawns. I have decades of food protection experience. i'm very picky about my food. I don't think most folks here on the forum can even relate to the where area I live.
note the home grown, i don't even do farmers market raw. thank you, your right!
the comma disapeared between nuts and raw. my bad.
totally off topic...owners manual no.71, item no. 2588, there's one less...
"where area I live." dang...need more latte ! cuukoo
http://www.littleneck.com/about-cherrystone.php
http://www.littleneck.com/how-we-grow-our-clams.php
see above for the full story on aquafarming clams
Will someone please remind Miss Blue that PUNS will be discussed another day...? Perhaps had I said "double entendre" instead of "Freudian slip" I would have gotten more respect.....
Bert
"double entendre".....
Don't even go there when talking about "clams".... dangerous territory in these parts.
Decorum prevents me from further explanation.
Ok, it seems I hit a snag in Petermans essays. And they distract me. He writes that their sex lifes are somewhat impersonnal. Furhter he writes: In case you need a refresher course, clams may be male, female or hermaphroditic (a little of each) depending on the species and the particular stage in its life cycle. And it's almost impossible to tell them apart. A sticking similarity in humans, especially in P-town where I find much the same character. Maybe it in the clams there. You can simply laugh...or clam up. It was a joke.
HOT OFF THE PRESS: In checking in with my friends in The Windy City, I found an undated coupon offering 20% off any purchase over $100.00 @ Peterman's. Here is the link: www.Chicagobreakingnews.com {I got my "Owner's Manual" yesterday via regular mail}.
I simply don't know where to begin to extol the delicious pleasures I receive when eating these yummy morsels. It will be impossible to vote in the Poll today because I just can't choose one favorite shellfish!
Growing up in Coastal Rhode Island, with Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic Ocean at my doorstep, as well as an uncle and a grandfather who fished commercially, I was afforded the opportunity to develop a taste...nay, a love...for the bounty of the sea. I do prefer my shellfish cooked, which does kill bacteria that mollusks sometimes carry.
There are the sublime scallops - tender and sweet; perhaps wrapped in pancetta, sautéed in garlicky oil, pan juices reduced with a little vermouth and a touch of butter, then served over a creamy basil risotto.
There are the coquettish cockles - adorably heart-shaped; scrumptious steamed with olive oil, shallots, and white wine, then tossed with flat-leafed parsley and a bit of butter over pasta.
There are the magnificent mussels - a beautiful Green Lipped variety that I had recently, in New Zealand, were first steamed, then a lovely sauce (consisting of onion, garlic, tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme and parsley) was spooned over the cooked mussels on the half shell, and all this was topped with crumbled feta cheese and placed under a grill until slightly browned. Oh my...
Then, there is the controversial and capricious clam chowder - A Yankee obsession and source of constant quarreling! Native Rhode Islanders usually do not choose chowder that contains milk or cream, nor do they choose the tomato based variety, but instead opt for a clear broth. My grandmother's recipe is typical of this purist attitude and she would never think of contaminating the broth with any other ingredients! Simply stated she used quahogs, water, salt pork, onions, white potatoes, salt and pepper. I can still picture her using a manual food grinder, clamped firmly to the edge of the wooden kitchen table, grinding quahogs for the large pot of chowder she made every year, on the 4th of July...a truly revered meal to be sure...
Now, I'm not only agonizing over how to vote in the Poll, but also over what to have for dinner!
Paul Murphy ....
"playing for both teams" is a little different than possessing the ability to throw both male and female gametes.LOL ( see link to aquafarms above...nice video on clam reproduction.)
Was it you who recomended "The Black Swan"?
kindlee
Seems true coastal folk use the same chowder recipe !!!!
We never use the tomato or milk based broths. Relatives in the Coastal Carolinas do the same as here and from where you hail. The milk and tomato must mask the taste of canned clams or not perfectly fresh ones!
Now as for grinding clams. You have brought to mind the most sacred of traditions here. The clam fritter. No July is complete without a clam fritter sandwich at the Chincoteague or Wachapreague Firemens Carnivals. ( that and the caramel corn)
Kindlee
Might I suggeat we throw a Bouillabaisse party. I'll make the stock as I have plenty of fresh tomatoes , herbs, wine fish etc. Lets have everyone bring something to throw in the pot, sort of a "stone soup" sort of thing.
I have done this several times. It's a great party idea.
clams. oysters, mussels, scallops, crab, shrimp chunks of fish......omg I'm getting hungry.
I'm with Michael on thsi one ~ not living near the coast EVEr ~ I ahv eno clue what a frech clam would actually taste like.
Miss Blue ~ I would love to go clamming ~ If I ever get back out to the East Coast I will be cashing in your invite. :)
I have clam rakes but prefer to do it the old fashioned way.*
*With my toes and feet in the shallows up waist deep.
How about "up to waist deep".
korthal
once badly cut my foot that way....
I prefer a hand rake.....looks a lot like a garden tool.
rings90, anytime!
i'll bring the "drinks" and korthal i would love to dig for clams with my toes and feet too!
method doesnt matter...only results.
where do you calm...on the inside of assateague bay?
I have posted a picture of my area, for those unfamiliar with it.
thats clam.....busy roasting tomatoes for the freezer...
How appropriate!
My parents took all their kids and grandkids on vacation to Oregon at the first of this month (Sir Boyscout and I had to stay home and hold down the fort, among other things). When they got back I asked all my nieces and nephews what their favorite part of the vacation was and I got a chorus of "CLAMMING!" and one smallie danced around before she yelled "hucha hucha hucha LABSTAH!"...she was confused and actually meant crabbing but had picked up on an Eddie Izzard joke that one of my brothers was tossing around.
They described looking for the little water spouts and digging like mad. They showed me a rather large bucket with all the shells that they had saved and they have plans to drill holes in the shells and make windchimes out of them.
Growing up in a landlocked state has me at a disadvantage. I come to seafood late in life and it has taken me some time to appreciate its finer points. As a kid the nearest I came to seafood was the occasional shrimp cocktail or pan fried trout...both of which I would always turn my nose up at. What a fool I was!!!
OK in completely off-topic news...if there are any equestrians/horsemen here that are interested in Arabians, please send me a message. My friend and I are in the process of trying to place 4 beautiful foals from a farm that had a massive over-breeding problem and is now dumping horses. The are free to a good home, but you have to pay to get them to you...the older 2 are registered and have their Coggins and are ready to go, the younger 2 aren't fully weaned and will not have shots and Coggins until the end of August.
I have clamed on the inside of Assateague Island, in Maryland.
We could boat down past the Ocean City Inlet a little way and either drop anchor or pull up on the island bank.
Alot of the time we got a double feature, clams and ponies.
Well actually we only got to look at and take pictures of the ponies.
korthal
where do you now clam? I didn't know of open beds in the O.C. area.
nachista
how cute!
make sure to make those windchimes.you will treasure them always.
i hope they brought back a couple of small pieces of driftwood to use as the branches from which to hang the shells. If not, we'll mail you some.
Willie, are you there?
Are the beaches of South Carolina still full of those wonderful Coquinas? We have them here on the sea beaches of the barrier islands. Millions of them in all colors and hues, smaller than the nail on one's pinky finger.You find them as you scoop up handfiulls of sand. it's fun to watch them burry in after being disturbed buy the waves.
We had a fleet of sea clam trawlers in chincoteague at one time. I think they all moved to ports farther north. We still have truckloads of their shells hauled in for driveways and parking lots. Just be sure to order "seasoned " shells and spread them in cold weather. They are a little smally otherwise.
MISS BLUE:
I haven't clamed lately but I've seen people claming at the Ocean City Convention Center and I'm sure there are still other places to go.
As far as I know we just went to spots that had clams.
Where ever the boat driver took us.
I don't have a boat (that went with a certain short term man) and my friends that had a boat till last year gave it up because of Parkinsons.
CUUKOO:
We'll need a boat. The city has a public ramp about 4 blocks from here.
Can we have a PE Progressive dinner that starts at Korthal's house and moves on to Kindlee's? You can come to my house for dessert!
NACHISTA:
That sounds like a plan.
PS-Korthal you had me at sauteed onions, bacon, and cheddar cheese!
Why doesnt everyone just come here. It's about a 15 to 20 minute ride out to the islands from Red Bank. nachista, what's for dessert?
bye...gotta pick more tomatoes....
PAM, deliciously and alliteratively grand is your writing. My mouth waters.
LIving in the hot dog/deep dish area, I have to "clamup" about this topic.EyE don't wanna "mussle"in... But I love to eat,and that's what I'm gonna do now, maybe a PB&J,and some fresh coffee
Michael,
I would be happy an honored to put you up here on the coast. You too, Rings. Any time you want to try the real deal, I will take you to the Oyster Bar at Grand Central Terminal and Harbor Lights at the South Street Seaport. Great clams, oysters, mussels, etc. will be had by all.
I'm with RoadYacht here, if we've got clams out there in Lake Mich, they're some form of alien life. And utterly inedible.
But you all on the coast sure do seem to enjoy your clams and your clambakes. Here's the official Clambake Song as written by Rogers and Hammerstein. Sounds like a good time is being had by all:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGIhFTQYicQ
The best clam chowder I've ever had is made by my husband's mother, and she's from Canada. Canadian Clam Chowder is like none other, and it's the one thing she does better than I. Just joking, mom...
Park4
I'm more familiar with this one! gonna have a clambake...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk8vgSdLrwQ
Interested in the Canadian chowder....tell me more.
korthal, i have a canoe that i use on the river here to flyfish....no big boat though, will that work? can have it on top of my jeep in a flash!
Another cool & rainy summer day in southwestern Pennsylvania. Only broke 80 nine times since Memorial Day. Days like this are made for a glass of Scotch, neat, and a warm bowl of clam chowder. Imagine my surprise as I eat my lunch and come to the Eye, only to notice today's topic.
Only had a chance to skim, but do agree that clams are best enjoyed in the R months, but there's always an exception to be made and that is the rain.
After the run tonight, rest assured, I will read everything.
Enjoy the afternoon all.
Miss Blue I can make any dessert that sounds good to you...if we're doing a clambake on the beach I'll bring my dutch ovens and do fresh fruit cobblers/crisps/cakes. If we do it at Kindlee's house and I have a kitchen to work from...I believe Floating Islands would be appropriate!
It is 10:45 am and I'm starving...thanks guys!
CUUKOO:
I don't think a canoe will work on the bay where it gets choppy and definitely not going through the inlet.
Who's got at least an 18 footer?
That would be big enough for us.
Or we can just drive over to Assateague and walk to the bay from the park parking lot.
It's a hike but we'll work up an appetite.
I spent a good bit of my younger days in Ireland where I learned about many things not possible in Arkansas. It was there that I met with the wild and tart rhubarb, and learnt of my instinctinve and nascent love of the sea in its rocky coastal fury and beachy, gull-tormented serenity.
I had the luxury of experiencing whatever came fresh from the waters, dandering down by the harbour and chatting with the fishermen, bartering for a fresh plaice or a skate for the dinner.
Of shellfish I seem to have an instinctive aversion. Lobsters and shrimp just look like big bugs to me, and they are indeed arthropods closely related to grasshoppers and such.
Shellfish I cannot manage, nor sardines nor herring nor anything where one is obliged to consume the entire animal, organs and all.
None of them taste good to me either. I often think of Samuel Johnson's baleful observation about a certain vegetable:
"It has been a common saying of physicians in England, that a cucumber should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing."
Boswell: Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides
This is near my feelings upon those melancholy bivalves of our coasts, plucked in their prime from a life of ease in their communal beds and swallowed raw or dealt to death in various ways for the pleasure of their predators.
I can barely, and rarely, manage a bit of chicken or salmon any more, having been a vegan for years, then a vegetarian, now a so-called 'flexitarian'; and I vacillate between those categories from time to time as my preferences fluctuate.
I did very much enjoy accompanying my ones along the Down coast when they went winkling near Murlough Bay.
Now the term refers to a species of very pointed shoes worn by young people, mostly:
Winkle-pickers
nachista
we'll grab Michael and DreadPirateRoberts and anyone who wants to come along. I'll get blueberries and peaches from the farm stand. No need to bring your cast iron, I have just about every piece made. We'll take the large spider with the lid and a dutch oven and a couple of fry pans just in case we catch a few fish. They work well in a beach fire and you can't hurt them no matter what.
olivia for you !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nql1_RKwQt0
*Mental note to self...must clean out closet and find clam-digger shorts...
This is regarding the discussion on British ancient trees from 25 July. This article from Country Life was in my RSS feeds today: www.countrylife.co.uk/news/article/384115/National+Trust+hunt+for+ancien+trees.html. The Yew that witness the signing of the Magna Carta is still there?
MISS BLUE: You seem to have your hands full preparing Food ... Are you Canning ??? That is a lost Art, and it is too bad it is not taught to young girls any longer ... But, it is a lotta work, and cannot be expedited nor punctuated with a Delete Button, or Escape, or by Cutting and Pasting ....... Done by the Numbers for Safety, High Quality, and maintenance of Best Flavour ...
OLIVIA: I'd like to suggest you reserve your final decision about Shellfish, until you have savored Beer-Steamed Conch ladled generously with piquant Creole Sauce, a salad on the side of Mandarin Orange Segments, Rings of Bermuda Onion, and chilled potato-chip thin slices of Fennel with poppy seed dressing, dotted with Black Olives ... and your favorite Calypso Beverage to wash it all down with ... (My choice is, Bul) No Bugs thgere ...
jalopkin
Actually I'm roasting and freezing these. What is Bul?( hope I'm not sorry I asked this)
We have northern conch here( welk). They used to be plentiful, but now are a rarity except out on the Islands. The Japanese ate all of them . Now some jerk at the Va agriculture dept wants to catch and market skates and rays. The horseshoe crabs were all caught and sent to Labs for research. At least we are farming clams and oysters. The blue crab is in trouble here too.
Does escargot fit into this discussion?
I don't bother with the shells, tongs, etc. I cook them peasant style in one big dish.
A favorite with a few of my friends.
We've had the Escargot discussion before & because of that ~ It's on my list of things to try.
Speaking of food finished the Julie/Julia book last nite ~ Enjoyed it can't wait to see the film version. The Lobsters was the best part.
And they're off.......
If there is any event that is more thrilling, heart-pounding, adrenalin- pumping than going to an east coast underwater track to watch and wager on the clam race daily-double. Just the anticipation as the clams take their place at the starting line, straining at the bit and churning sand in anticipation of the starter firing his air bubble gun is worth the price of admission...... but when the starting gates spring open and the mechanical mussel is let loose, thus causing a fierce frenzy amongst all of these purebred, fine-tuned and well conditioned clams as they all fight to position themselves in the lead along the rail..... well all I can say is that words alone cannot describe the majesty of this sight.
As exciting as these races are, they are humbled by the spectacle that takes place at the end of the race when the winning clam, proudly enters the winner's sandbar, and hoists the traditional mug of marinara sauce. Be still my beating heart! There's not a dry eye in the house.
The only complaint that I have about these events is that hot dogs are always soggy and the drinks are watered down and very salty..... but then, who cares about food or drink when you are witnessing such a grand spectacle of speed and power.
I don't always wager at these events, sometimes I just go for the halibut.
MISS BLUE: "BUL" is a popular beverage among the Gentry of a beautiful Island called, Cuba ... Half Coldbeer, half good cold Ginger Ale, with juice of half a fresh Lime squeezed into it ... a most refreshing libation ....... Goes very well in washing down a Cuban Sanwich, sitting under a tarp on Veradero Beach ....... Tostones with a dollop of Sour Cream for dessert and that laced with Cinnamon ... All flavors are enriched by Salty Sea Air ... Even Coppertone smells different, it even smells, closer, sometimes ... I tell you, Santiago had nothing on me ... and my Amanuences was not Manolin, but Manuela .......
Conch we get from a specialty Market in Houston, and it is flown up to them from the Bahamas ... fresh and worth the premium that we pay for it ... they sent us strips from the wings of Rays, once ... but the flavor is distinctly different and the texture of the meat is less like Lobster than Conch ... it is all outstandingly good, but when one has his mouth set for Conch, no pretenders will do .......
Jalopkin
I'll bet you make a great cervice( i think that's the spelling). love it and only the best conch will do. freshly chopped conch, lime juice, sweet onion, cilantro sometimes peppers....well I'm sure you have a great cecipe.
the Bul sounds tasty....wonder if its related to the BullDog they serve in Mazatlan(half beer half margerita) I do love a Dark n Stormy
have a good Pouilly Fume with those raw or steamed clams....yhat ot muscadet or Champagne...
Off to dinner with friends. Been cookin all day....glad to have someone making me dinner.
Can we have the conch on the PE Progressive dinner along with all the other shell fish?
Peter Lake
Red sauce on clams....not to my liking.
perfect clam sauce recipe if you so request. I'll even share a trick for shucking the biguns.
I remember swimming at 'The Shore' and avoiding pilings totally encrusted with black mussels. (I also vividly remember the day the seawater was 55 degrees, but that's another story...). I never occurred to me as a kid that humans actually would EAT mussels... I knew about clams, crabs, oysters, and fish -- but mussels? AND THEN... I went to Spain, and learned the glory of seafoods! Squid in its ink, sardines grilled over an open fire, shrimp fried in a skillet with olive oil and garlic, and .... mussels! Now, when I go to the Middle Eastern/Mediterranean/Baltic grocery store (The Phoenicia), I'm drawn like a fly to the tinned seafood aisle... True, the canned stuff is only a faint shadow of 'The Real Thing', but still... a shadow in Plato's Cave is enough to recreate the perfect forms.... Ahhhhhh.....
It's amazing how delicately we have all tip-toed around the erotic habits and the ethical complexities involved in clam sex... Hat's off! We are now officially graduates of the smirk-and-grin school (aka PE Intermediate School)... Off to college where we can examine the genetic pool (in which DNA frolicks and gambols).... and learn about meiosis and mitosis and mitochondria -- and learn how many chromosomes can fit on the head of a pin....
MISS BLUE: Way back in the days when I still had hair ... I spent considerable time fishing on the Sea of Cortez, and Mazatlan was experiencing tremendous growth in Tourism at that time, and the increase numbered examples from areas one would never expect to be doing such things ... One of the things repeatedly asked for, and eventually provided, was a ... CHEAP ... potion called, BullDog Malt Liquor ... A Barkeep at the Presidente Hotel thought to make his own brand of Boiler Maker using Bulldog and Tequila, to satisfy the seemingly suicidal Fraternity Animals that seemed to glut Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas two or three times each year, as well as the newly declared members of the Tourist Trade ... I can only imagine that using Margarita as a mixer was simply the most natural next-step for those flirting with death from either the Hammerheads that are repleat in the Sea of Cortez, or the Hammerheads behind the bars in the Tourist Traps ....... After a nite or two of those, scraping the moss off one's teeth the morning after, presents a whole new set of problems ... I am told that the bristles on the toothbrush make a noise on the teeth akin to fingernails on a Blackboard ... The stuff John Belushi Movies were made out of years ago .......
Jalopkin
Mazatlan seemed a little sleepier than that 20 years ago.....smudge pots on the runway and an armed guard cause it was night.
Sounds like your drink is safer !!!
Doc Nolan
I don't think I was that delicate in my earlier posts.....LOL
Miss Blue: I'll leave the clams to your skilled hands, but I'll be happy to use my Boy Scout skills to make a dutch oven peach cobbler. Now, if there were just some way to get Colorado Peaches (which are going to be perfect any minute now) to the East Coast in mid-October (I'm guessing that is a good time for clams).
I wonder if the Sepiatrain has a refrigerator car . . .
Eve - Thank you. Coming from such a wonderful writer as yourself, your comments warm the cockles of my heart.
nachista - A PE Progressive dinner! What an exciting idea! (the stuff of dreams) Please count me in and I want you, and everyone else, to always feel free to use my kitchen anytime at all!
Miss Blue - bouillabaisse...yum...I recall having a wonderful one for lunch at Bookbinder's in Philadelphia, many years ago.
Peter Lake - a clam race...shades of Lewis Carroll's "The Walrus and the Carpenter"...
"O Oysters," said the Carpenter,
"You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?"
But answer came there none -
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one!
Did you know that a walrus, in reality, can eat 4000 clams in one feeding? Amazing to think of and without any marinara sauce at all!
MISS BLUE: I was actually thinking more like 30 to 40 years ago ....... I forget sometimes that not everybody is bordering on PreHistoric ....... 20 years ago, there a lot of amerikan and Chinese Investors all over Mexico looking to spend a lot of developmental Money, and a lot of the insanity of both the Natives and Tourists was toned down a bit, so as not to scare away the Golden Geese .......
The BUL is quite Good, and goes well with Chicken as well as Seafood ....... It is also not too bad with Iguana and Alligator .......
JALOPKIN - The only alligator I ever ate was very tough. I'm assuming it may have been cooked incorrectly, but even a good, stiff brace of Scotch would not have made it palatable.
Miss Blue, "the tail of the lobster is not worth a damn, compared to the taste of ..." (insert asterisk joke, too )
You lawyers may have heard this already:
A woman was on the witness stand, to tell her part in a knife fight.
Prosecutor: So what happened?
Witness: Well, I was with my boyfriend and this other guy kept lookin at me. My boyfriend didn’t like it, so he got his knife out and went after him
Prosecutor: And you got cut in the fracas?
Witness: Well, to be exact, it was about six inches above the fracas.
Wow everyone. What a day. All the fun I miss when I'm chained to a desk and have limited access to the Eye. This progressive dinner sounds like fun. I hope that I would be welcome at the table. We'd have to get some sort of chicken for Lady Red because she too has an aversion to fish and seafood.
On the subject of mussells, I remember when I was very small and my parents took me to Ocean City, MD on my first vacation. Of course when one is three, everyday is a vacation. But back to the mussells. Mum & Dad took me to my first seafood restaurant and soon, on the table appeared a plateful of hot, steaming mussells. This was a life-changing experience. Not only did the waiter comment that he never saw a three-year old eat that many mussells (and i was incredibly skinny) but he never saw a kid as young as me be willing to try something so foreign. Still love the mussells although they're a bit expensive nowadays.
Might go to the Oyster House on Friday. Three breaded oysters and a cold beer. Oysters are indeed great raw, but I have a special place in my belly for the Oyster House.
On a completely unrelated subject, going to be in DC and Baltimore in mid-August. Any reccommendations of interesting things slightly off the beaten path?
MICHAEL:
Of course the Sepiatrain has a refridgerator car, the Sepiatrain has everything.
Mixed shellfish platter anyone?
With Stoli on the rocks and a twist of lemon.
Daniel, now you're talking about my neighborhood. Baltimore, known for it's steamed crabs, has excellent seafood. When you're in Baltimore, if you get a chance, try McCormick & Schmick Restaurant at Pier 5 in the Inner Harbor -- really so very good.
As for clams -- love 'em, especially raw but fried, steamed or in chowder equally as good.
Daniel Zev - In answer to your inquiry into things off the beaten path in DC and Baltimore, and in light of your Eyedentity synopsis, I offer the following suggestions:
Union Station, DC - architecture and trains
Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, VA - aircraft and spacecraft
Amity St., Baltimore, MD - Edgar Allen Poe house and museum
Annapolis, MD - U.S. Naval Academy and museum; architecture, Naval history, and ship models
The Newseum, Washington, DC - news history spanning the last 5 centuries
The National Arboretum - gardens, greenhouses, orchids
The Library of Congress, Washington, DC - library, architecture, and books, books, books...
RFK stadium for a DC United soccer game (8/8 against Kansas City Wizards, 8/22 against LA Galaxy)
Vienna, VA - Wolftrap - performing arts and concerts
Not even mentioning any of the Smithsonian Buildings, the National Zoo, the Baltimore Aquarium and Inner Harbor, there are more than enough things to see and do in this area to keep you busy for months and months!
And then there were the cockles.... I believe in Hunstanton, on 'The Wash' (between Lincoln and Norwich, England). Out on the mudflats at low tide, digging the little suckers out. The standard method of getting themselves to 'clean' themselves of grit, sand, and such was to put cornstarch in the water. (I think the idea was it would bind to the grit and the 'little guys' would expel the foreign objects....) . So... that night..... back home.... into the bathtub went dozens and dozens of cockles... and half a box of cornstarch... It was an excruciatingly sad night... all night long I could hear the clack, clack, clack of the cockles moving around in the bathtub... all night long.... and even when I cooked them and ate them the only thing I could think of was.... 'Clack, clack, clack, clack...' It was very depressing...
KINDLEE; The only parts of the Gator that are rea;;y good to eat are the Tail and the Legs ... and the Leg Meat is generally a little tougherm especially when it is cooked too fast and over too much heat ... The Muscle Cells on the Legs are shorter, and tend to be a little more rubbery, but marinating Gator with your favorite spices and Buttermilk for about eight hours before you cook it, regardless of how you choose to cook it, will definitely give you better, easier to cut/chew/swallow texture ....... As it is with Shark, eating Gator simply requires that one become accustomed to eating something that probably ate someBODY else ....... But it is good, and I don't think it tastes like chicken, but a lot of people do, and that may be because they have heard it said so often ...
I have an urge for ice cream. Luckily, I have some.
What a lucky coincidence.
Ok, William, you showed me yours, so I'll show you mine:
Two men were sitting on a park bench, reading sections of the newpaper (remember those?).
One says to the other "Where is a woman's YET?"
The other says "A woman's what?"
"A woman's yet-where is it?"
"I don't know-why do you ask?"
"This story says that there was a argument, and somebody shot off a gun, hit the woman, and the bullet is in her YET!"
*rim shot*
Thank you, Justin Wilson...
...who was a great cook and preparer of fabulous SEAFOOD.
See? I was on topic all along...
Andy & Kindlee: thanks for the tips. Didn't know M&S was in Baltimore as well as Pittsburgh.
Kindlee,
Of course, a carpenter, in reality, can only eat about 40 clams in one feeding. And even that's pushing it.
My favorite clams are "bearded". My alltime favorite bearded clam comes from the sparkling backwaters of a lagoon in Southern Brazil- just thinking of the aroma makes my salivatory glands crave for more--I like to open using the French Herdsman Knife while the juices trickle down the front of my burgundy striped gatsby shirt-----memories
more on the honor roll