Clams on the Grill! Corn in the Skillet!

Cousins grillin' up some scrumptious eats

~

Fresh corn-off-the-cob = in the skillet goodness!

The hubs played in a charity golf tournament the other day and won one of the door prizes - a bushel of fresh Long Island Sound clams (actually he won an embarrassing number of door prizes; I've been visiting a lot of restaurants and wine shops of late). While this is one of our favorite foods, a bushel of clams is a lot more clams than two folks could possibly consume. Good thing we have our Sunday Family Dinner tradition! We gathered, they grilled and we all moved directly toward a food coma. SO good! The clams started our meal and were followed by the corn, grilled assorted sausages and a big green salad. So very good!

The T'nG:

For the clams: 

Clams
butter, melted (LOTS) keep it warm (clarified butter is nice)

Store the clams either on ice in a cooler or in the refrigerator in an open bag until ready to use. About 40 minutes before grilling, place clams in a colander and rinse them, then put them in a big bowl (or kitchen sink) and cover them with cold tap water. Sprinkle corn flour or black pepper into the water and give all a gentle stir. Leave the clams - do not stir - in the water for 20 minutes. After that time is up, gently lift the clams individually, or a few at a time, out of the water. Clean anything ugly off the shell, rinse and put into a lasagna-like pan. (It's better to lift them out one by one as just dumping them into the colander would also dump the sand back on top of the clams. Not good.) Place clams on your prepared charcoal/gas grill, see above, and grill with the lid closed until they pop open. As they pop open, place clams on a platter or another lasagna-like pan. Serve. If you have a ginormous amount of clams like we did, use two serving pans and serve the clams in shifts. Delicious!  

For the corn: 

Corn, use frozen, fresh cut off the cob, or in our case, left-over grilled corn cut off the cob
butter 
cayenne and fresh ground black pepper
sea salt

Warm butter in a large skillet (and while I almost always use an iron skillet, for some reason I didn't when cooking the corn that night - what's up with that??). Add corn to the skillet and stir. Let corn sauté, stirring often until it begins to caramelize. Be sure to scrape the bottom of your skillet to get all the lovely brown bits that will be forming there. Add cayenne and black pepper to taste as well as salt. You want it to have a bite, but not enough to take your head off. You can do all of this ahead (takes about 30 minutes for good caramelization) and just reheat right before serving. Wonderful!

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again!
xoabb

Potatoes Hasselback

Potatoes Hasselback

I've never eaten a potato I haven't loved, and these delightful spuds are no exception! They were first served in Stockholm at Restaurant Hasselbacken in the 1940's and are still served there today. I understand they've become a big staple all over Europe, and from the number of recipes I found on the internet, it's safe to say they're a big hit here in the USofA as well! My inspiration for making them came from one of my very favorite food bloggers, Kay, a gal from Holland. Her photography, writing and especially her recipes are wonderful. You really should take the time to explore her blog. You can find Kay's original recipe here. (I just discovered her "Hasselback - the sequel" recipe. How good does that skillet of potatoes look? Definitely trying those next time!)

Below is what I did, but this is one versatile dish! You can stuff the potatoes with cheese, or tomatoes and bacon as Kay did in her sequel recipe. I think it would be delicious with fajita or southwest seasonings in the butter and served with sour cream on the side. Endless possibilities, I tell you, just endless!

~

Yukon gold potatoes (one potato for each diner, plus one extra)

butter (approx. 1 tablespoon for each potato)

Trader Joe's lemon pepper grinder*

fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 425 F. Wash potatoes. Put butter in a microwavable container that is the right size to roll the potatoes in and melt in the microwave.  After it's melted, add the spices you want to use. I grated about a tablespoon of the lemon pepper in it and since the other ingredients in the grinder are *onion, lemon rind, sea salt, and roasted garlic*, that's the only seasoning I used. Place each potato in a serving spoon and slice potato in a fan, being sure not to slice all the way through. (You can also put the potatoes between two wooden spoons or chop sticks to slice.) Roll each potato in the butter mixture making sure all surfaces are coated. Place them in an baking dish that's big enough that the potatoes don't touch. Pour any remaining butter over the tops of the potatoes. Using a pastry brush, try to get the butter mixture in between the slices, being careful not to break the potatoes apart. Roast for 40 - 45 minutes or until they are nice and browned. Sprinkle tops with the parsley and serve immediately.

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again! 

xoabb