10-15… CLAMS W FRESH TOMATOES & Angel hair pasta

For tonight’s dinner I’ve gone back to July, 2004 for a dish I served to Patience, Terrie, and myself. As soon as I saw the wonderful grape tomatoes and the farmer’s market this morning I knew what I wanted to do. With a few minor changes, this is the same dish that it was over 7 years ago. (now that is a frightening observation…the time, not the recipe.)


INGREDIENTS:

Cherry tomatoes cut in half
Whole baby clams with juice partially drained
Garlic
Celery
Fresh parsley and oregano
Anchovy fillets finely chopped
Olive oil
Sweet vermouth
Red pepper flakes

PROCESS;

Sauté garlic, red pepper flakes, finely chopped anchovies, celery, and parsley in olive oil, then add clams, fresh oregano, and the tomatoes. Cook for several minutes then add red wine. Serve over the pasta, garnished w fresh parsley.

COMMENTS:

I could have easily eaten a pound of this pasta tonight...it was sooooo good. One of the changes I made was to substitute Sweet Vermouth for the red wine, which gave it a smooth, sweet taste that I found difficult to resist.

DAD

Sixteen years after his death, I can easily access a number of mental images of my father, but there is one that stands out above all the others. In my favorite memory of the man he is sitting with his elbows on the kitchen table and one hand folded into the other, and as the dish of pasta is set before him his face is transformed into one of absolute delight and an audible “ahhhhhhhh” escapes from somewhere within. My father loved pasta and never failed to express his appreciation for every opportunity to indulge his love. Even after he lost most of his speech and some motor functions to a stroke (which he survived for about a year) this simple display of joy at the dinner table never faltered, and in fact may have even become a bit more pronounced. I do not doubt that in some way this whole pasta affair is my attempt at emulating my father. Did I mention that he also loved wine?

He would be 98 years old this month.

10-14…Seafood medley with linguine

It’s 3:30 and time to begin thinking about dinner. Actually I begin thinking about dinner as soon as I wake up in the morning…not so much about wanting to eat as about deciding what to cook. They’re not the same. Even though we had the tuna two nights ago I still have seafood on my mind, and I know that in the freezer I will find bay scallops, shrimp, orange roughy fillets, and salmon. Here’s the plan…

INGREDIENTS:

Linguine
Orange roughy cut into bite size pieces
Bay scallops
Shrimp
Anchovy paste
Bay seasoning
Garlic and onion
Fresh basil
San Marzano tomatoes
Red wine
Red Pepper flakes

PROCESS:

Cook the garlic, onions, and anchovy paste in olive oil along with the red pepper. Then add the tomatoes and basil and cook for about 10 minutes before adding the Orange roughy. Continue to simmer over low heat while waiting for the pasta water to boil. Add the scallops, and Bay seasoning to the sauce when the pasta goes into the water. About 5 minutes later add the shrimp and a couple of splashes of red wine.

PROCESS:

This dish is like an old friend; I've been making it for years and it never fails to satisfy me.

ADVANCING THE CAUSE

After completing two more small drawings I decided it was time to punch things up a bit, moving to a larger size with a bit more deliberation in the process, hopefully maintaining some, if not all, of the looseness of the smaller pieces. I'm not talking real large, but 9x12 as opposed to 4x6 and 5x7.

Here are the last two drawings...each about 4x6




And here is the larger piece...9x12


I started out with watercolor, added a few lines with the pen, and ended with pastel pencils for highlights and some detail (not sure they can be discerned.)

10-13…Fettuccine with green beans, sun dried tomatoes and lemon

I opened the box of CSA veggies 2 days ago to find, among other goodies, a bag of green beans (almost as bad as Okra), and thus the challenge was laid down before me…green beans and what? Green beans and pasta has never been one of my favorites, so tonight I looked for something different. This is the result of that search.



INGREDIENTS:

Sun dried tomato fettuccini (found at Tuesday morning of all places)
Fresh green beans
Olive oil
Garlic and shallots
Red pepper flakes
Ground black pepper
Lemon juice
Bacon, coarsely chopped
Sun dried tomatoes in oil

PROCESS:

Cook the bacon, set aside, and remove the fat.

Cut or break the beans into 1-2 inch pieces and cook for 3-4 minutes in boiling water. Remove the beans and set aside. In the meantime cook the garlic and shallots with red pepper flakes and then add the beans to the pan along with fresh lemon juice and coarsely ground black pepper and cook.



When the past is almost done remove and add to the pan with the beans. Mix well, adding the bacon and more lemon juice and pasta water as needed.

COMMENTS:

I went a little heavy on the pepper so this dish had a real bite to it. This resulted in an absolute need for Ice cream immediately after finishing the pasta.

I am pleased to say that of all the ways I’ve served green beans with pasta this was the very best. It was so good that there is only a small bit left for me to give to Keyth, and I know he will enjoy it because of the heat.

JUST BARNS

I have abandoned all my restraint and given in to my addiction...BARNS -BARNS-BARNS. After years of struggling to avoid being known as the guy who paints barns, I know longer give damn. I like barns, I like the their practical architecture with the occasional flair, I like the way they serve the needs of the farmers and the livestock, and I like the way they survive abandonment with dignity, but most of all I like the stories they trigger in my imagination of the hopes and aspirations of their owners. So, in keeping with this new state of mind, here are the latest in my series of mini-drawings...all barns:

10-10…Tuna with tomatoes, arugula and lemon

Tuna canned in oil is a common staple in many Italian kitchens, and I find that recipes for canned tuna far outnumber those for fresh tuna in the more than a dozen Italian cookbooks I’ve reviewed.

I’ve previously posted 2 variations of pasta with canned tuna (5/30 and 7/24) and tonight I’ll add one more.



INGREDIENTS:

Tuna in oil
Olive oil
Garlic and onion
Dill
Lemon juice
Arugula, chopped
Two ripe, medium (or one larger one) tomatoes peeled and coarsely chopped
Anchovy paste

PROCESS:

Run the garlic through a garlic press and cook in olive oil along with the onion and anchovy paste. After several minutes add the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the cooked al dente pasta to the pan and mix in the tuna and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the dill, arugula, and lemon juice, mix well, and serve.

COMMENTS: