Sometimes my taste buds will drive the menu more than anything else. My family agreed to buy the Christmas tree and do some decorating last night. It happened to also be my farmer’s market day. I bought the most killer mini corn on the cobs. The corn season is over but this farmer allows the last few batches to grow to a petite size. He gave me a taste. You eat the cob and all. It was like those mini corns you buy in the can but they were fresh, naturally sweet and with a long, mild corn flavor that was so nice. I am going to roll them in some lime and chile and roll them across my super hot plancha (griddle) for just a few moments and then sprinkle them with some cotija cheese (the Mexican “parm”. Dry, beautifully salty and rich in milk flavor).
I then walked passed Carlsbad Aquafarms stand. They shucked a fresh oyster for me (10:00am!) and it was the most pleasurable gulp of the sea. Fresh, salty, briny, and clean. I then saw the mussels and clams and decided that was going to be dinner. Mussels and clams are simple, easy and tasty. My favorite combination. Pan is really hot. Olive oil in, mussels in. I let them sizzle for a minute and then drop in some chopped garlic, shallots and a crushed chile arbol (chile flakes). After a couple stirs (before the garlic browns) I hit it with some white wine. As the mussels/clams open (ps I do them in separate pans as the clams tend to take longer to open) I pull them out and into the serving bowls. Once they are all out I let the wine reduce a touch more (when I dip my finger in I want to taste the flavor of the wine but not the alcohol) and then stir in a couple pats of butter. The sauce gets poured into each bowl, garnish with chopped parsley and some grill press baguette slices. I love watching the kids go at it. They become silent as they soak up the sauce with the bread. The clams are so clean, tender and sweet the kids don’t even pause. They love um. A perfume of fresh seafood in the air is not exactly the nutmeg holiday sent but we are still excited to do the tree! Happy Holidays. Enjoy!
Eat well, Enjoy life, Be happy
No comments:
Post a Comment