Clam Chowder

I'm not the biggest fan of clams and oysters. Truth be told, every time I eat them my first thought is that they taste like snot. And my second thought is that that's because they really are covered in snot.

This recipe, however, is so delicious I can't turn it away, despite my better judgment.

Clam Chowder

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time:

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 lb canned clams (weight including liquid), reserve the liquid, and chopping the clams

1 1/2 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" dice

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

4 oz bacon, diced

Reserved clam liquid mixed with water to equal 3 cups

1 cup milk

1 cup half-and-half or heavy cream

sea salt to taste

2 tbsp chopped parsley

In a heavy pot, add bacon and cook, stirring, until slightly browned. Add onion, and cook until translucent. Add clam juice and water to equal 3 cups and increase to high heat. Add potatoes and simmer until just soft. Mashed some on the side of the pot to thicken the chowder (this should be your primary source of thickening).

Add milk and cream and chopped clams and heat thoroughly.

Let cool. (at this stage it can be stored for serving later, if you should so choose). Reheat gently (do not let it boil), and garnish with parsley and serve with oyster crackers.

Shrimp with Fennel

This recipe is easy and delicious. Ouzo could be replaced by another anise-flavored liquor, although Ouzo is the cheapest one I'd recommend.

Shrimp with Fennel (based on this recipe)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 small fennel bulb, diced

1 small onion, minced

pinch of red pepper flakes

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup dry white wine

12 grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 tsp oregano

1 tbsp Ouzo

3/4 lb shrimp, peeled and de-veined

2 oz feta cheese, coarsely crumbed

1 tbsp fresh parsley, mined

grated zest from 1/2 lemon

salt and pepper, to taste

olive oil

orzo pasta (7 oz)

Cooking:

Cook the orzo according to the directions on its package.

Heat a little olive oil in a skillet. Add the onions, and saute 2 minutes. Add the fennel, red pepper flakes, and salt, and saute another 6 minutes. Add garlic and saute another 2 minutes.

Add wine and bring to a simmer. Simmer 3 minutes, or until liquid is reduced by half.

Add tomatoes, oregano, an Ouzo. Simmer another 3 minutes.

Turn the heat to medium-high, add the shrimp, and fry until pink. Remove from heat, add the lemon zest and parsley and toss to combine.

Sprinkle with feta, and serve with orzo.

Lobster Bisque

Now, I've had a couple of lobster recipes on here, and I note each time the added benefit of making bisque from the waste shells. Bisque is reasonably easy, in the world of soups. It takes little meat to make a bisque- you can set some aside when making other recipes, because the flavors primarily come from those shells.

Lobster Bisque

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

2 lobster shells

spare lobster meat (this can be substituted by prawn meat if need be)

1 onion, peeled and chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

2 sticks celery, de-stringed and chopped

2 tbsp oil

2 tbsp brandy

4 cups water

1/2 cup white wine

2 oz long grain rice

2 small tomatoes, chopped (or 1 can)

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp cream

Break the Shells:

Wrap the lobster shells in a plastic bag, paper towel, towel, or other instrument to prevent pieces from flying, and then beat them, vigorously, with a rolling pin, meat mallet, or any other blunt instrument until they are in small pieces.

Prepare the Stock:

Add oil to the pan, and soften onion, carrots, and celery. Once the onions are translucent, add the lobster shells and water, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and simmer for thirty minutes.

Strain the stock carefully, using a sieve or cheesecloth.

Cooking:

Use 1 cup stock to cook the rice in.

While the rice is cooking, put the rest of the stock in another pot. Pour the brandy into a ladle and hold it over a burner (or lighter) until it ignites, and pour it into the pot. Add the wine, and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes.

Take the cooked rice and tomatoes, run them through a food processor and blender, and pour it into the pot.

Add chopped lobster meat. Salt and pepper to taste, and mix in the cream.

Lobster Tail Sandwich

There was a day, long ago, when lobster was cheap, considered a poor man's food. Lobster Tail Sandwiches are still sold in shacks along the Maine coast, a lobster salad of mayonnaise and tail chunks.

You can make this by steaming fresh lobster (this has the advantage of reusing the claw meat and shells for lobster bisque) or buying canned lobster (if available in your area).

I could not find New England-style hot dog buns in Indianapolis. You might not be able to either, and you can use regular hot dog buns (as pictured) but it is less authentic (and less preferable).

Lobster Tail Sandwich (based on this recipe)

Prep Time: 30 minutes (not including dissasembling of whole lobster)

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1/2 lb lobster meat chunks (or the tail meat from 2 1/2 lbs worth of live lobster), cut into 1/2" chunks

1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely diced

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 tbsp fresh tarragon

2 small scallions, finely sliced

sea salt

finely ground pepper, to taste

New England-style hot dog bun (you can substitute traditional hot dog bun if you cannot find these)

2 tbsp butter

pickles and potato chips, a sides

Preparation:

In a large bowl, combine lobster, cucumber, mayonnaise, tarragon, scallions, sea salt, and pepper and mix thoroughly.

In a skillet, melt the butter, and brown outsides of the hot dog buns (unless you're using normal hot dog buns, then brown the inside).

Serve the lobster salad into the buns, then serve with pickles and potato chips.

Chapter 22 : New England

New England might not seem that different for those living in the lower 48, but out of any region the foods are rich with unique ingredients and flavors, be it lobster bisque or moxie cola.

I'll start off with a couple of odd-lobster related delicacies, in case you feel like steaming a couple.

Lobster Tomalley

Tomalley is the, er... hepatopancreas? It's a sorta liver-pancreas combination used by lobsters to digest

food. When you steam a lobster, it turns into a greenish-grey goo that tastes fantastic spread on toast and salted.

Now, they say you shouldn't eat Tomalley every day, since like livers in animals, the epatopancreas absorbs many toxins and heavy metals from the environment, but if you can afford to eat lobster that often you need to diversify your diet into more truffles and foie gras.

Lobster Roe

If you happen to get a female lobster, and she happens to be "expecting" you may get another delicacy if the form of lobster roe.

Now, I won't lie. Much as I love lobster, lobster roe is, like caviar, something less impressive than you might imagine. Sure, it's orange and not bad tasting, but not as good as the more plentiful tomalley.