Just About Any Topping Goes with Spaghetti—Even Mussels

I love spaghetti so much that I could eat it every night of the week.  When I was younger, Spaghetti with Garlic Sauce was my dish of choice.  Hot pasta mixed with fresh chopped garlic, Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley kept me and my food budget happy.

Bart introduced me to Spaghetti with Clam Sauce (aka Spaghetti Vongole).  I immediately liked it, possibly because it bears a great resemblance to Spaghetti with Garlic Sauce, minus clams and tomatoes.

Easiest-Ever Summer Dinner

It’s 96 degrees outside, and we don’t have air conditioning.  It’s dinnertime, and my thoughts are turning to what would make the perfect meal: lobster rolls.

I first met a lobster roll about 15 years ago while visiting friends in Boston.  What I remember more than the actual lobster roll is the way we obtained the lobsters.  Our friends calling a local fisherman, and 30 minutes later he knocked on their door with several freshly caught lobsters in a crate.  These friends are not gourmet cooks, but they knew just how to crack open a lobster. 

When the Kitchen Explodes!

“Explosion” may be an exaggeration.  But when the dishwasher leaks and mold is discovered, it might as well have been an explosion.  “I hope you’re planning to eat out,” the workman said as he turned off the water and turned on the giant dehumidifier for its five-day stay in our kitchen. 

Then he added, “You can use two of those gas burners.”  Luckily the oven was on the opposite wall and also unaffected.  “We’ll pretend we’re camping,” Bart said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

Raw Shrimp vs. Cooked Shrimp: Which Is Better?

Are you extremely squeamish about peeling raw shrimp?  If so, stop reading and continue buying cooked shrimp.  But use that shrimp for Shrimp Cocktail or Shrimp Salad—dishes that don’t require cooking the shrimp any further.

If you can handle pulling the shells off raw shrimp and then cooking them, your shrimp dishes will taste much better.  The reason is simple. 

I Can Make That Too: Honey Shrimp in Mom’s Kitchen vs. the Restaurant Version

Mom's Honey Shrimp

Until I ate some Honey Shrimp at Pho Show in Redondo Beach, CA, it never occurred to me to combine these two ingredients.  They work surprisingly well together.  And here I thought the best match-up with shrimp was cocktail sauce!

That’s because of my Western Pennsylvania childhood.  The only times I ever had shrimp was at restaurants, and they were always served as Shrimp Cocktail.  How ignorant I was.

Ramen Noodles Not Just for College Students

If you toss out the flavor packet (too much salt), packaged ramen noodles can be the basis of a reasonable emergency meal.  I proved it last night when I was scrambling to get dinner on the table and discovered two lonely packages of ramen noodles at the back of a pantry shelf.  They were just what I needed for the leftover pork stir-fry I wanted to make.

Where Do You Get Your Recipes?

Shrimp Chowder

I like trying new recipes, but I’ve learned to be careful about the source.  If my aunt, a terrible cook, hands me a copy of a recipe she likes, I say thank you and put it in my purse, never to be seen again.  If a close friend who is also a skillful cook offers one, I try it immediately.  I don’t always like the end result, but I’m willing to give it a chance.

With cookbooks, I’ll test out one or two recipes.  If they’re successful, I’ll try some more.  If they’re not, that cookbook moves down to a shelf near the floor of my kitchen and may never be consulted again.  If it was an epic fail, I banish the cookbook to the garage.

Arborio Rice: What Is It and How Do I Cook It?

(left) Arborio Rice     (right) Long-Grain Rice

If you’ve ever eaten Risotto, you’ve very likely eaten Arborio rice.  It’s an Italian short-grain rice that is creamy when cooked.  Arborio Rice is more expensive than long-grain rice and thus tends to be used for specialty dishes like Risotto and Rice Pudding, where its creaminess is valued.  You’ll find it at gourmet food stores and some groceries, as well as online.

I first tasted this rice at a fancy Italian wedding, where plates of Risotto were plopped down in front of 500 guests.  It was a poor choice for an appetizer because it arrived at the table cold and looked like a large lump of brown coal.  Everyone at my table picked at it before the waiters took it away.  I’d heard that Risotto was a real delicacy and decided I must have heard wrong.

Era-Themed Dinners

1950s-Style Shrimp Cocktails

The most fun I’ve had in the kitchen recently came as a result of menu boredom.  “Not the same old dishes yet again,” I thought to myself as the family sat down for our regular Sunday dinner.

“We need something new, something exciting,” I said.  “How about a meal may parents ate in the 1950s?”  The Fifties weren’t noted for fine dining experiences.  For most Americans it was a meat and potatoes era, and salad meant a chunk of iceberg lettuce covered in Russian dressing. 

I Can Make That Too: Crab Salad Appetizer in Mom’s Kitchen vs. the Restaurant Version

Crab Salad from Chez Fernand

I’m always looking for the easiest possible dish to put on the table.  It helps if the dish also looks appetizing and even better if it offers a hint of sophistication.  Ultimately, though, it has to taste good.  Beautiful pictures of beautiful food are delightful, but if the actual food is simply fodder--or worse--what’s the point?

I was surprised to find this Crab Salad Appetizer on the menu at a small restaurant called Chez Fernand on Paris’ Left Bank.  It was simple, attractively presented and, best of all, delicious.

I vowed to make it myself and came up with this very easy recipe.

I Can Make That Too: Mussels in Mom’s Kitchen vs. the Restaurant Version

Mussels from Mom's Kitchen

I started loving mussels when I lived in London and could buy fresh ones at the fishmonger’s stall in the Tachbrook Street Market, near Victoria Station. This was before mussel farming began in earnest, so the mussels I got were wild ones, often with barnacles attached to their shells.

Cleaning the mussels took ages and sometimes required a hammer and flat-head screwdriver to knock off the barnacles.  They had to go because they were likely to be full of sand.  I also had to yank out the mussels’ beards—a bunch of threads that help the mussel attach to an underwater surface.  That took brute strength.

How Cookbooks Reflect Eras of Your Life

Seafood Pie

I learned to cook from books because my mother was not too skilled in the kitchen.  She made good chocolate chip cookies, but it was downhill after that.  Her go-to guide was “The Settlement Cookbook: The Way to a Man’s Heart,” originally published in 1903.  I wasn’t a fan. 

Much more interesting to me was “Joy of Cooking,” a book I heard of when I got my first apartment in New York after college.  I bought a copy and was thrilled with the huge variety of recipes, although many of the dishes I picked out to cook were on the bland side.  That was probably my fault because I was afraid of seasonings.

That changed when my mother bought me “The Spice Cookbook.”  Here were recipes with major flavor.  During my four years of cooking for myself and my roommate, I toggled between “Joy” and “Spice.”  They’re still in a prominent place in my kitchen, and whenever I pick them up I remember my young and fun days in The Big Apple.

A Tale of Two Woks

Stir-Fried Shrimp and Vegetables

Last night it was a face-off between shrimp and tofu.  The shrimp won (no leftovers), but the fight  was close.  The contenders:

1 pound (21-25 per pound) raw shrimp - cost $5.77 (on sale)

12 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into small squares - cost $1.49

Stir-Fried Tofu and Vegetables

Cooking two dishes at the same time is stressful. Here are some tricks I learned:

If Fish Didn’t Have Bones

Crunchy Baked Fish with Tabouli Salad and Garlic Mayonnaise (photo by Jenny Craig) 

I didn’t grow up with fish sticks, but I did like pickled herring and gefilte fish—neither of which had a bone in sight.  My introduction to real fish came in London, where there was a chain of restaurants called Wheelers.  You could order Dover sole cooked at least a dozen different ways.  When the waiter brought your dinner, he deboned it right in front of you.

S-t-r-e-t-c-h Your Dinner to Feed Extra People

Salmon Shish Kebab, Black Rice and Corn (photo by Jenny Craig)

You’ve planned dinner for two, and suddenly a third person turns up.  Don’t panic.  There are lots of ways to stretch a meal without people leaving the table hungry.

What's Your Emergency Meal?

Spaghetti with Clam Sauce

Everyone needs to have an emergency meal—something you can make at the last minute when dining-out plans fall through, your phone service is dead or it’s 3 a.m. and you’re too hungry to sleep.

College students fall back on ramen soup and cereal. No refrigeration is necessary. Who needs milk on your cereal if you’re desperate?