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Cooked a meal for our hosts at the Jersey Shore: clams casino, scallops ceviche and linguine with clam sauce.
Fished the clams for the casino dish out of the bay. They were much larger than the littleneck clams used with the pasta dish. Scallops and the clams for the pasta — both also pulled from local waters — were purchased at Blue Claw Seafood Market.
I have to admit that I did not achieve perfection on the starters here. I chopped the clams instead of using the traditional method of putting a whole clam in each half shell, but I forgot to cut out the rubbery tips of the siphons, which resulted in chewy bits in the finished product. My plan for the ceviche was to drizzle some cilantro olive oil blend on it, but I oversalted that, tossed it, and ended up with a thick parsley and black pepper pesto - not the original thought for this. Still, that got eaten up.
—Alex
Clams Casino
Note: I usually don’t list specific measurements for my recipes. I think any experienced cook can figure out how to create the dish using their own proportions.
clams
green onion
bacon
red pepper
parsley
bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
butter
egg white
Steam your clams and cut out the rubbery tip of the siphons. Chop roughly and combine with other ingredients. Add a generous amount of butter to the tops and broil until browned.
Scallops Ceviche
scallops
lime
parsley
jalapeno
olive oil
black pepper
Slice scallops into 3/4 inch discs and soak in lime juice. Drain, and plate up over a bed of parsley black pepper pesto. Garnish with japapeno slices.
Linguine with Clam Sauce
Littleneck clams
garlic
olive oil, butter
parsley
white wine
Thinly slice lots of garlic and cook in olive oil. When it starts browning add white wine and clams. When clams start opening add parsley and butter. Toss with cooked linguine and serve.
—Alex
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