Italian Dinner – October 28, 2011 – Clams in white wine sauce on Linguine with fresh sautéed Zucchini, Chanterelles, garlic greens, cipollini onions and garden greens.

Italian Dinner – October 28, 2011 – Clams in white wine sauce on Linguine with fresh sautéed Zucchini, Chanterelles, garlic greens, cipollini onions and garden greens. 

Dessert – Apple Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream 

Lunch - Café Istanbul.

I was out running around today, so it was easy to do some wine and food shopping. So, this is an example of a meal created on the fly from available ingredients and how I combine shopping into a busy day with a lot of running errands. 

It started with a doctor’s appointment and an early lunch at Café Istanbul of Kibbeh, Greek Salad, tabbouleh, Kalamata olives and a pickle and turmeric rice ($7.95).  I love Istanbul’s Kibbeh, the combination of bulgar wheat wrapped around a core of ground lamb and then baked and served thinly sliced onions and a dash of fenugreek and other spices with a small cup of Theziki to coat the dry Kibbeh with a cool yogurt sauce.  After the lovely lunch I shopped a bit and bought Cardamom flavored tea (Canary 14 oz for 7.99), along with dried dates from a large box from a recent delivery and Lebanese halevah with pistachios.  I believe Café Istanbul carries the widest selection of Middle Eastern products in New Mexico, including many fresh items, such as the dates.  I almost bought some fresh sweet lemons, but passed because the owner was too busy to ask for a recipe for the lemons.

Then I ran by Trader Joe’s for several bottles of its pleasant (not bitter or harsh) Cognac Claude Chatelier VS ($20.00) and Chianti and several bottles of La Granja 2010, a Spanish red blend of 50% garnacha and 50% tempranillo.

Then home for work and two appointments at home and two appointments on the run to the Courthouse to file papers and by the bank, I. stopped at Jubilation to buy their last 21 bottles of Cutler Creek Vineyards California Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Grigio (3 for $10.00) and two more bottles of the light but pleasant Monterval Calvados ($30.99 each).

My last stop was Costco for gas, so I ran in to see if it had a fresh fish shipment.  Luckily it did and I got the last bag of fresh Washington State Manila clams ($3.49 per pound - $17.10).   

I took my clams home and put them in cold water and ice to revive them and put up all the wine and spirits. 

Then I cut into ½ inch cubes a large fresh zucchini we had picked from the garden the day before because I already had an idea that we would cook clams with pasta and make an Italian meal, so sautéed Zucchini fit into that menu.

When Suzette arrived we discussed the meal and decided to do Clams in a white wine sauce, which is one of her best dishes, with the sautéed zucchini and decided to throw in some fresh greens from the garden.  When we went out to pick the greens (Spinach and Kale), I saw that a new crop of garlic plants was already about one foot high, so I picked a handful of garlic greens and then grabbed three stalks of Italian broad leaf parsley.

When we returned to the kitchen, we looked for garlic for the dish and only found a rather dry bulb picked from our garden this summer.  While digging around for garlic, we discovered with glee the cipollini onions we had purchased last Saturday at the Farmer’s Market, so I cut up one of the onions (1/2 cup) and we worked together to remove the central stem from the greens (about two cups) and then I chopped two stalks of the parsley and garlic greens (1/4 cup) for the vegetable sauté while Suzette started cooking the pasta, vegetables and clams.

With the water on for the pasta, Suzette melted about 6 T of butter into a large cast iron pot and threw in the about two T of the chopped garlic greens and 1 T. of  chopped parsley.  Once the butter had melted and the herbs wilted, she then added ¾ C. of chicken stock and ¾ C. of white wine.  When this came to a rolling boil, Suzette began adding handfuls of fresh, rinsed clams to the liquid.  The cover went on tight and in 2-4 min. the clams did their magic, opening and releasing their fabulous liquid and aroma. The secret to steamed clams is to rinse them several times, so they release a lot of dirt and sand. When done steaming the clams, the steaming medium is best poured off, leaving any sediments in the bottom of the pan.

I got the bottle of wine and the dessert from the basement and then watched TV and shucked clams as Suzette brought them from the kitchen. Unfortunately, Costco sells the clams in five pound bags so it took four batches in a large, covered enamel pot of the wine sauce to steam them all open (See picture).

The clams were especially plump (filled their shells) and had a texture that could be bitten threw and were not chewy.  Eating the clams as you shuck them is of course the best way to eat them, fresh from their shells, hot, with a hint of the cooking medium; herbed white wine sauce.   While the clams were being processed, Suzette sautéed in a large skillet the cipollini onions and garlic greens in 2 T. of olive oil and 1 T. of butter.  Then, after 3-4 min., the zucchini went in, then when the zucchini softened, the chanterelle mushrooms and about ½ C. of the white wine clam sauce along with the greens were thrown in and covered to steam.  Once the greens had steamed into the sauce, the clams and an additional 1 C. of the white wine clam sauce was added to create the final sauce for the linguine.

When the clams all had opened and vegetables sautéed and linguine boiled, Suzette plated up the meal, I garnished it with fresh, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese and  poured us each a glass of the Cutler Creek Pinot Grigio.  We had never tried the Cutler Creek Pinot Grigio, so we were more than pleasantly surprised that it was okay (not oxidized or mildewed) with a floral bouquet and the herbaceous and slightly citrus taste and good character one associates with Pinot Grigio.  We were both satisfied with the wine and felt lucky to have ten more in the basement.

The leftover clams filled a quart container.  We also saved the about 1 1/2  cups of the clam cooking medium and bagged the pasta.  Suzette said that with the leftover clams and stock, there was a fish soup in our near future.

About one hour after dinner Suzette had some of our new cognac and I had a cup of the new Cardamom tea with some of the Menorval Calvados Prestige and a slice of the Apple Tart baked at the Greenhouse Bistro and Bakery with some Edam’s Organic Vanilla Ice Cream ($5.99 at La Montanita Coop) for dessert.  The Apple Tart had a strong but pleasant lemon flavor that complemented the fresh baked apples nicely.  One of the secrets to the lemony flavor of the Apple Tart is the addition of grated lemon to the pastry dough, according to Carol Wood, Pastry Chef at the Greenhouse Bistro and Bakery.  

As I savored this lovely meal, I could not help comparing my busy day spent working, shopping, picking vegetables, and cooking the fresh ingredients from out garden to those busy days of gathering the Earth’s bounty that our ancestors must have spent in preparation for Winter’s harsh arrival.

Bon Apetit