What I am is persistent and confident.
I am confident in my cooking talents based on the popularity of my plates often constructed by thinking out of the box.
And when working for solutions, I do not permit setbacks to deter me.
After the 4th Earl of Sandwich
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Commentary
Sunday, July 28, 2019
What I am is persistent and confident.
I am confident in my cooking talents based on the popularity of my plates often constructed by thinking out of the box.
And when working for solutions, I do not permit setbacks to deter me.
So it was when I decided to create the perfect idiom for producing Italo-oriented seafood sauces to be served over pasta. (Italo meaning American-born with a strong does of ethnicity. My definition.)
The search for the perfect Frutta di Mare.
Fruit of the sea, but not fresh fish, shellfish only.
What proved to be the most troublesome detail in the development of the recipe was the amount of water or juice that these critters throw off.
What critters?
Razor clams, scallops, conch, shrimp, lobster, little neck clams, mussels, squid, cockles, octopus or any other shellfish.
How much of them per person?
8oz seems to work but that limits the number of different species.
Better to prep this for a larger group.
Each of these requires its own treatment.
I will talk only of little necks, shrimp, mussels, squid, and scallops.
Most people cook and serve the little necks and the mussels in their shells.
This had two advantages.
One is the dramatic presentation. Glorious to see heaps of the shellfish piled on the plates.
The second is that it limits the amount of broth in the sauce to what is natural in the shellfish.
My recipe sacrifices these for the benefit of ease of service and consumption.
The first step in the recipe is to steam the little necks and mussels using only a half-cup of liquid, white ine or water.
Remove and set aside the meat and the broth and discard the shells.
Cut the shrimp, squid, and scallops into bite-sized pieces.
Use a large saute pan to lightly brown 8 minced garlic cloves in ½ cup of evoo.
Add 2TB of the clam/mussel broth to stop the browning.
Add the shrimp, squid, and scallop pieces.
Season.
Use a bit of salt, freshly-ground black pepper, red crushed peppers, lots of fresh Italian parsley and fresh basil.
Toss the pan.
I add 14oz of canned San Marzano tomatoes, chopped, enough for color and flavor but not enough to dominate the sauce.
Bring to a simmer and cook for five or six minutes.
Add the clam/mussel broth and reduce to the level of juiciness desired.
I do not like the sauce too brothy.
Reducing the broth intensifies the shellfish flavor.
It’s done and delicious.
Now here’s the kick: the pasta.
Adding such a juicy sauce, juicy even when significantly reduced, tends to soften the pasta which I dislike a lot.
So I protect my spaghetti or linguini, the two best pasta alternatives for this dish, by tossing the al dentissimo pasta in an Olio ad Aglio sauce, (Oil and Garlic,) before plating it; before adding the Frutta di Mare.
The result is a plate with a taste more redolent of olive oil and garlic, a more opulent feel and a more chewy texture.
Of course, you need the recipe for the garlic/oil sauce.
I’ll print it tomorrow.
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Weather
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Today in Boston will be 90* and a feels-like of 93* under sunny skies.
It’s the first of a four-day heat wave: temperatures all 90* or above.
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Tracking Postings – Tracking Time
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Our 478th consecutive posting, committed to 5,000.
After 478 posts we’re at the 9.56 percentile of our commitment, that commitment a different way of marking the passage of time.
Posting always done by 6.00am the day of, but usually by 6pm of the night before.
A tip o' the hat (U.S. President Calvin Coolidge, 1924)
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Acknowledgements
Sunday, July 28, 2019
To Dr. Mike for today’s chuckle.
To Kali for sharing personal memories.
Always thanks to Wikipedia, the Lead and the Thumbnail sections of the Blog very often shaped from stories taken from that amazing website. They are truly worthy of public support.
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Thursday’s Dinner posted on
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Leftover Franks and Beans.
Including a delicious knockwurst in a bun with beans seasoned with mustard, relish, onions, and hot pepper.
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Chuckle of the Day:
Sunday, July 28, 2019
A 90-year-old man is sitting on the curb crying.
A woman stops and asks if he needs help.
He blurts out his story.
I’m married to a woman thirty years younger.
She’s perfect.
She’s a great lover.
A great cook. And she serves me.
She picks out my clothes and even helps me dress.
“That sounds like you’re a very lucky man.
“Why are you crying?”
“I’ve forgotten where I live.”
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We love getting mail.
Contact me at domcapossela@hotmail.com
Sunday, July 28, 2019
This from Kali L:
Dom you bring me such joy as does Lauren
and the only way for me has always been through every single goddamn aching and relentless and gut-wrenching pain I have ever had and to take that pain and turn it into being thankful
I can love Mike, always and I will and I can see the gift that love brought me and I can also at the same time understand that we both had to let it go
He will always love me too- how couldn't he? I was absolutely incredible and he will always be thankful for the gift I was to him in those years
and we can still not be together
love is a miraculous thing
There is so much of me I wouldn't be without having met him and what he taught me and I often wrote him poems and books and emails
such a blessing
being thankful is its own form of prayer and that is the only road I want to be on- to always know just how grateful I am for each moment
what a morning
thank you as always for spending time on me and for giving me joy and so much love
love you,
Kali
Web Meister responds: And you, my dear, share so openly, so honestly and beautifully that you are an inspiration to me and all the others of our extended family.
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Today’s Thumbnail
Sunday, July 28, 2019
The sandwich is named after Lord Sandwich, but the exact circumstances of its invention and original use are still the subject of debate.
England’s greatest contribution to gastronomy, named after John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich
Thomas Gainsborough - The original uploader was Hugh Manatee at English Wikipedia.
A rumor in a contemporaneous travel book called Tour to London by Pierre-Jean Grosley formed the popular myth that bread and meat sustained Lord Sandwich at the gambling table.
But Sandwich was into many bad habits, including the Hellfire club, and any story may be a creation after the fact.
Lord Sandwich was a very conversant gambler, the story goes, and he did not take the time to have a meal during his long hours playing at the card table.
Consequently, he would ask his servants to bring him slices of meat between two slices of bread, a habit well known among his gambling friends.
Other people, according to this account, began to order "the same as Sandwich!", and thus the "sandwich" was born.
The sober alternative to this account is provided by Sandwich's biographer N. A. M. Rodger, who suggests that Sandwich's commitments to the navy, to politics, and to the arts mean that the first sandwich was more likely to have been consumed at his work desk.
The original sandwich was a piece of salt beef between two slices of toasted bread.