Clams, clams, clams!

We went to Seabeck yesterday (5/21/11) to go oyster picking and there's nothing better than eating fresh shucked oysters on site! We found the smaller ones to be sweeter and smooth and so delicious. While there the company, Hood Canal Seafood, had claims for $4 per pound which is a steal compared to the ones Whole Foods sells for $5.99 per pound.
Last night I prepared the clams with garlic, shallots, butter and white wine.

Ingredients:
2 pounds clams
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 large shallot, cut in thin rings
3 tablespoons white wine (any is fine, I use Chardonnay)
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
4 green onion stalks, diced

Heat oil in large skillet. Add garlic and shallots and let saute for 3 minutes then add butter. Allow butter to melt while garlic and shallots brown. Add wine and let reduce, about 3 minutes. Add clams and lemon zest and stir. Cover for about 5 minutes. Add lemon juice, tomatoes and green onions and cook until clams open. Serve with pasta or garlic bread and enjoy!

Good Find: Brioche Burger Bun

One day I was shopping at Whole Foods and didn't know what kind of burger bun would go well with salmon. Looking confused I asked one of the associates and he introduced me to the brioche burger bun. He even said, "Once you have these you will try to make burgers as often as you can." So I got home, cooked up the salmon and toasted the buns...every bite was heaven and the buns went so well with the salmon! The buns are light, a little flaky and have a hint of sweetness. To incorporate more fish in our diets I often buy cod filets and throw them on these buns. They're even good with lamb patties. I like the buns so much I put them in the toaster and spread Nutella on them for breakfast :)

The buns are from a local bakery in downtown Seattle called, Macrina Bakery & Cafe. Try them, you'll have no regrets!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

This is one of my favorite recipes from Cooking Light, its easy and takes barely any time to prepare. The recipe below is not the exact recipe from the magazine...for one, they used pork and two I just cooked it from memory but it should be pretty close.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
2 chipotle peppers (from the can), finely diced
1 lime, zested and juiced
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large shallots sliced into thin rings
6 small (taco size) corn tortillas

Slice chicken breast into thin strips and put in medium sized bowl. Cut chipotles and add to bowl. Zest the whole lime over the bowl then cut lime in half and add the juice of the whole lime. Let sit for 15 minutes. While the chicken is marinating, slice shallots and in 10 minutes heat the olive oil on medium in a skillet. Saute shallots until tender then place in a serving bowl. Add chicken to skillet and saute until meat is cooked. While chicken is cooking warm tortillas on medium heat in a small skillet; only heat for 30-40 seconds on each side. You want the tortillas maliable not crisp. When chicken is cooked add to bowl of shallots and mix.

Serve tacos immediately. We added lowfat sour cream to our tacos just for a little flavor. Enjoy!

Black Bean and Ginger Halibut

Well folks its been awhile since my last post but I'm back! During the Lenten season I chose to give up beef and of course had no meat on Fridays. As a result, I prepared a lot of fish and vegetarian dishes but didn't want to eat the same thing week after week. So I looked up recipes online and conjured up recipes from my childhood; they turned out great and below is one of preparations. First, I must say that on Easter we decided to celebrate with a steak dinner and for some reason it wasn't that great tasting. In addition, maybe it was just me but I felt lethargic afterwards...two months of not eating red meat made realize that I CAN live with LESS beef in my life. I have to admit, it wasn't only giving up beef that made me feel this way reading articles about the health ramifications of beef was also a contributor. Therefore, I'm choosing to incorporate a lot more seafood and lean meats into my diet...beef, maybe on special occasions.

For this recipe I chopped ginger into fine stringy pieces and sauteed them in olive oil with minced garlic. Joe picked up Judy Fu's black bean sauce and to my surprise it was good and not as salty as the black beans you get in the can to make the sauce...add 3-4 tablespoons and then add your fish. I used larger pieces of halibut so you can adjust the amounts based on the size of the fish. Cook for 4 minutes (depends on thickness of fish and preference of doneness) on each side and voila, you're done!