I have to confess that I haven't been grocery shopping in about a month. My internship has monopolized my time, and it has left me only sleeping in, drinking 2 cups of coffee during a normal person's lunch time, and grazing on Genoa salami/kalamata olives/grilled vegetables throughout the afternoon and then drinking late at night or doing more grazing on whatever I have in my house. Which, lately, has been toast. Or a late night trip to Waffle House or Sonic with my friends (and no, this is not a diet for weight loss). So today I rose earlier than usual to start organizing my house and preparing it for our move in late July. I actually showered, and worked while I waited for my chef to call me into work or not (thankfully, not!). So around 3:30 I made my first trip to the grocery in too long to buy breakfast items - fruit, yogurt, bagels and cream cheese - in hopes that I might find regularity to my waking/eating/living schedule. I also splurged on mussels, clams, shrimp, French bread and a tomato.
I have two best friends who eat the way I do - picky and pretentious (depending on your standard), and with absolute enjoyment. Unfortunately, one of those best friends is allergic to shellfish (which I know she would love if her body let her). Fortunately, the other adores shellfish and was available to let me run experiments on her tonight. So I put my internship to good use and tried to re-create a fusion of several dishes I have never made but have observed on numerous occasions at Villa Tronco.
The full menu: Bombay Gin and tonics with lime, Bruschetta on grilled baguette slices, and shellfish in a spicy white wine and lemon sauce ------ mmmm (if I do say so myself).
Bruschetta Half of a beefsteak tomato, diced small
Roughly chopped basil
parmesan cheese
s & p
balsamic vinegar
Slice baguette and dab in olive oil and salt and pepper. Grill on both sides and top with bruschetta.
Shellfish in white wine & lemon sauce (for 2)
Linguine (1/2 lb.)
Mussels (live or frozen; 8 total - 4/person)
Littleneck clams (live or frozen; 4 total - 2/person. I would have enjoyed 2 more)
Peeled/deveined fresh shrimp (fresh or frozen; 8 total - 4/person)
Lemon (for fresh juice. 2 wheels per person)
Crushed red pepper
White wine
minced garlic (2 cloves)
Butter
Vegetable oil
s & p
flour (for dredging shrimp)
Boil water in a pot for linguine, season water. Cook linguine then coat with olive oil after straining.
Meanwhile, heat oil (maybe 2 T) and butter (1 T) in saute pan over medium high heat. Don't use olive oil, which has a high smoking point. Instead, use a vegetable oil (which has a low smoking point) with butter in order to take the dish to higher temps without burning butter). Dredge shrimp in flour and saute on one side until cooked about halfway up from bottom (translucent flesh becomes white and firm on body of shrimp). Add mussels & clams to saute pan and flip shrimp; sprinkle with salt and pepper, minced garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Add generous pour (maybe 2-3 cups) of white wine and cover with lid (or in my case, cookie sheet) to steam shellfish and enable the shells to open up and cook. When clams and mussels open up, keep pan on medium high heat and let cook until wine has reduced to a thicker and more condensed sauce.
Plate linguine noodles in bowls and first portion mussels, clams and shrimp to bowls. Then pour sauce over each serving and top with chiffonade basil.
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