Hahahahaha! – In Case You’ve Forgotten How

What’s Cooking? Pasta with Clams – Two Ways

Today’s image is from a Shannon Martin greeting card, the full and hilarious collection of which –

 including note pads, luggage tags, and cocktail napkins – can be found at this website. 

Are you tired of worrying or obsessing about the election – from either side? The other night, after watching another episode of Jeopardy and contemplating our choices of the various series we’ve followed, my sweet husband said, “I’d just like to watch something light. Without a murder.”

As we browsed our collection of Roku channels for a movie, I spotted Moneyball. Which, even though we’ve both seen it, seemed just right: no one dies, there’s no violence (unless it’s when Billy Beane throws a chair through a window), a few players get traded, the divorce in it seems amicable, and the story is true and actually interesting. About halfway through it, my mate said, “You know, I’d forgotten how much fun this one is.”

I think we’re all in need of a break – from Covid-19 news, election news, climate change news, Supreme Court news, .... As an antidote to reality, since March, the Sunday New York Times has been running a section called At Home, with puzzles, craft ideas (mostly for making things out of newsprint), recipes, and thoughts of what to do each week to take your mind off whatever. This past week, that included an essay on the health benefits from laughter.

The article quotes Dr. Michael Miller, a cardiologist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, who says that laughter causes the body to release nitric oxide, a chemical that relaxes blood vessels, reduces blood pressure, and decreases clotting. Other salient research notes that laughter improves short-term memory – as well as the capacity to learn – in older adults; it reduces the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline, and increases life-affirming endorphins. Most relevant today, it helps people stay resilient in the face of troubling circumstances.

Also, if you laugh more, the “mirror neurons” in the brains of those around you kick in and they will also laugh. A win-win – improving your environment and your health at the same time.

If you’re having a hard time getting started, here are a few suggestions:

■ Watch the 1963 original production of The Pink Panther (streaming on Max Go, Cinemax Amazon Channel, DIRECTV);

■ Read A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson;

■ Call your 6-year-old grandson and have him tell you his latest knock-knock jokes.

* * *

Now that you’re at least smiling, here are a couple of fast and nutritious paths to a delicious pasta dinner with canned clams and without a lot of work. I see that look -- keep reading.

One of my mother’s specialties – and there weren’t too many – was what our family always referred to as Clam Spaghetti. It seemed exotic – probably because clams aren’t much of a Southern dish, and in those days, fresh clams were generally NOT something you could get at your grocery store. And even though you can now find them at many grocery stores and fish markets, buy them only if you know you’ll be cooking them by tomorrow.

What if you just decided that’s what you want for dinner? Maybe you’re just looking for something fast yet not fast food. Try the canned version. After a bit of research (the KG’s fave activity), I’ve learned that:

■ The canning process cooks the clams, so all you really have to do is heat them.

■ Like tuna, canned clams keep forever – ok, maybe not forever, but my sources say 3-5 years is the general guideline, and even longer if the can hasn’t been damaged.

■ They’re impressively cheap – in a cursory survey online, I found whole clams at 21 cents/ounce, and chopped clams for 26 cents/ounce.

■ Also like tuna, canned clams are a terrific source of lean protein, rich in vitamins, minerals, and Omega-3 fatty acids. They promote sexual health (!); and have been found to have cancer-preventing properties. So... no cancer and lots of sex -- what’s not to like?

My mother kept cans of chopped clams in her pantry, and that’s what I’ve used for years. But in shopping for these recipes, the Kitchen Goddess found canned whole baby clams, which she likes a bit more for the texture. And let us be honest -- anything with the word “fancy” on the label is a draw for her.

What you’re getting in the can are generally Atlantic surf clams – sweet in flavor and with a firm texture, and you can find chopped clams in almost any grocery store. Look for products from the U.S. Tinned whole clams are brinier and more delicate than chopped clams, so salt your dishes accordingly. Apparently, you can also find jarred whole tiny clams from Italy, but they have thus far eluded the KG. 

The original authors of the two recipes that follow both claim to need less than a half hour. But remember: they have minions. The KG needs a good 10-15 minutes just to get the garlic peeled and chopped. Nevertheless, both dishes can be accomplished in an amazingly short time, including the search through your pantry. And they’re both well worth the effort. Just add a salad and some garlic bread.

Kitchen Goddess note on the ingredients: (1) Both of these recipes called for 1 pound of pasta in the original version, but the Goddess thinks that’s way too much pasta, so she has scaled back both recipes to 12 ounces. You, of course, are free to use as much as you like. (2) And both original recipes called for red pepper flakes (a.k.a, crushed red pepper). As frequent readers will know, the KG much prefers Aleppo pepper for its more complex flavor profile. It’s not as hot as red pepper flakes, but you can always add more, or even add red pepper flakes; and in the meantime, you will have a huge difference in flavor. The KG has purchased Aleppo pepper from Burma Spice and Penzey’s, and there are lots of other places. Bon Appetít calls it “about half as hot as ...crushed red chile flakes... and easily twice as flavorful. Like salt, Aleppo-style pepper is a flavor enhancer. It marries slow-building heat with earthy, cumin-y undertones and a little hit of fruity tang..., with a super-savory finish reminiscent of sun-dried tomatoes.” The Kitchen Goddess has been at the forefront of this wave and hopes you will all jump on so she can stop explaining it.

Spicy Clam Pasta With Bacon, Peas and Basil

Adapted from David Tanis in The New York Times

Who doesn’t like bacon or pesto? So bacon and pesto are bellissimo together. And the peas? Why not?

Serves 4.

Ingredients

1 cup basil leaves, loosely packed, plus some pretty ones reserved for garnish

1 cup Italian parsley leaves, loosely packed

2 small garlic cloves, minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 ounces (6-8 slices) bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces [KG note: Even better, if you have thick-cut bacon, slice it into lardons, which are ¼-inch pieces]

2 (10-ounce) cans baby clams, drained

½ -1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper, or for more heat, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

12 ounces spaghetti

Lemon wedges

Directions

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the basil, parsley and garlic together to a grainy consistency. Wipe down the sides of the bowl and add ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 8-10 grinds of black pepper, and ¼ cup oil. Process until you have a bright green purée.

Start the pasta water with about 4 quarts of water and 2 tablespoons kosher salt. [Another KG note: No iodized table salt, please – it gives the pasta a bitter taste. If you use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, use the 2 tablespoons noted above; if you have Morton Kosher salt, use only 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon. Why? Because Diamond salt is flaky, irregular crystals, while Morton’s is round and pebbly, so is saltier by volume. Isn’t knowledge wonderful?]

Cook the bacon without extra fat in a high-sided skillet over medium heat for 5-8 minutes, until browned and crisp but not hard. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Pour off all but 1-2 teaspoons of the fat – just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.

Increase the heat to medium-high and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the Aleppo pepper (or red pepper flakes). Cook for about a minute to let the Aleppo pepper bloom, then add the clams and the peas for another 30-45 seconds, stirring and coating the clams well with the flavored oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then turn off the heat and, if the pasta is not yet al dente, cover the pan with a lid.

I added the clams before the peas -- this time. Next time, will add them together.

Boil the pasta until slightly underdone (al dente), then drain it and add it to the pan with the clam sauce. Turn on the heat to medium-high and stir all together. Add 2-3 tablespoons of pasta water, if the dish seems dry. Stir in the basil-parsley purée and toss well. 

Serve topped with the bacon and the reserved basil leaves. Include lemon wedges.

* * *

Linguine with Lemon-Butter Clam Sauce

Adapted from Colu Henry in The New York Times

Fast in the making, also light and flavorful. Lemon and butter are a classic combo.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

Kosher salt

12 ounces linguine or other long pasta, such as spaghetti or capellini

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving (optional)

5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper, or ½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ cup dry vermouth or dry white wine [KG much prefers vermouth]

2 (10-ounce) cans whole baby clams, drained*

10-12 ounces clam juice*

freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

lemon zest (from 1 to 2 lemons – okay, more like 2 lemons)

½ cup chopped Italian parsley

Lemon wedges, for serving

*A 10-ounce can of clams contains 4 ounces of clams and 6 ounces of brine. If you have no clam juice, you can use the can’s contents without draining, but the Kitchen Goddess – no surprise here – prefers to use clam juice, which contains actual clam broth, for a richer flavor you can’t get with just the brine. The most widely recommended brand is from Bar Harbor. And yes, the bottles are 8 ounces, so you’ll have half a bottle left, but you can add it to any other seafood dish or a Bloody Mary (bonus!). Or freeze it for as long as you want.

Directions

The author of this recipe says “While the pasta cooks, make your sauce.” That's so you know how fast/easy it is to do. But the Kitchen Goddess’s blood pressure goes up just thinking about having to get the sauce done before the pasta finishes cooking. If you haven’t got everything for the sauce ready to go, at least get the water to a low simmer and add the pasta when the sauce is ready.

Bring a large pot (4 quarts) of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions until not quite al dente (about 2 minutes short – it will finish cooking in the sauce). Reserve ½ cup pasta water, then drain the pasta.

For the sauce, heat the oil in a deep-sided 12-inch skillet over medium. Add the garlic, Aleppo pepper (or red-pepper flakes), and oregano, and cook for 1-2 minutes, until the garlic turns pale golden. Add the vermouth/wine and clam juice and simmer until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. The sauce will be slightly syrupy. Remove from heat and stir in the clams (they’ll also get heated by the pasta). Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

You can tell the sauce is syrupy when you can draw a line across the bottom of the pan

 and it stays open for a few seconds.

Add the butter and lemon zest to the skillet, stirring until the butter is melted, then add the pasta into the skillet as well. Toss the pasta in the skillet until it is glossy with sauce. If needed, add ¼ cup reserved pasta water. Stir in half the parsley.

Serve pasta topped with a thin drizzle of olive oil (I found this unnecessary, but the recipe author included it, so I offer it as optional), and the remaining parsley. Serve lemon wedges along side or at the table.

Mangia!

 

Tripping the Light Clam Chowder

What’s cooking? Rhode Island Clam Chowder

One of the few soups I associate with summer is clam chowder. That’s because the clams and other seafood I find at my favorite farmers’ market are so fresh and sweet tasting, the experience spoils me for the rest of the year. So I feast all summer on fresh clams and scallops, as well as the tuna, flounder, fluke, etc. I can get at that stand. Once I’m back in Texas, I focus on salmon, Gulf shrimp, and the other seafood from my local grocer. But I only buy clams and scallops from Jimmy.

The Kitchen Goddess loves a food expert, and Jim LaPrete, owner of Shore Catch, is the most knowledgeable guy I’ve met when it comes to seafood. He sells his fish fresh from the dock on Long Beach Island on the Jersey shore, and in his words, “The fish was swimming in the ocean two days before I get it to market.” Which means they stay fresh for way longer than whatever you get at a grocery store. (I can keep clams and scallops unfrozen – but in a cold part of the fridge – for a week, with no off effects.) He is ably assisted by Cindy, who is kind enough to store my order in the giant freezer so that I can go off to coffee without worrying about whether my fish will stay cold enough. A Kitchen Goddess’s BFF.

Clockwise from top left: swordfish, cod, squid, scallops.

Jimmy's clams and oysters. Yum!

Kitchen Goddess note about safety: My hubby occasionally worries about buying shellfish in the months without an “R.” That was the conventional wisdom in the days before rampant refrigeration and commercial fishing. Today, this warning applies only to oysters and shellfish you might harvest on your own. On modern commercial fishing boats, refrigeration is de rigeur; and commercial oyster farms employ scientific methods to control spawning, so that commercially sold oysters stay safe year-round.

In years past, the Kitchen Goddess has made all manner of seafood chowders. Tomatoey Beach Chowder made with canned chopped clams, chunky Salmon Chowder, and creamy Clam and Corn Chowder. This summer, she learned of a new variation, one that originated along the southern coast of Rhode Island, where it’s a local delicacy. What makes it different? No tomatoes, no cream. Just the clams, a few veggies, and a simple broth with some wine. As you know, the Goddess loves adding wine to a soup.

According to wikipedia, the term “chowder” has no clear etymology. One possible source is the French word chaudron, for “cauldron,” which was the type of cooking or heating vessel in which the first chowders were probably made. From the cauldrons of coastal France, the dish migrated to kitchens across the English Channel in Cornwall, and eventually to the U.S., where it has become ubiquitous in almost every coastal area east or west.

Writing about this version of chowder, Sam Sifton of The New York Times said, “Eating Rhode Island clam chowder recalls the feeling of pulling into Block Island after a long day at sea, tired and scented with salt spray.” The Kitchen Goddess has been to gorgeously rugged Block Island, and so can testify to the windy, salty atmosphere; but she’s not a boat person, so that “long day at sea” is not a familiar sensation. On the other hand, the KG will say that this light, clear-broth chowder seems like the truest version of the dish. It’s the seafood-lover’s clam chowder.

Rhode Island Clam Chowder

Adapted from Daniel Gritzer of Serious Eats (seriouseats.com)

Serves 4.

Ingredients

2 pounds live littleneck clams*
Kosher salt

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 thick-cut slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 4 ounces)
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
2 medium carrots, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
2 stalks celery, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
2 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups broth, to include one of these:
– 8 ounces bottled clam broth + 3 cups water + 2 teaspoons Knorr chicken bouillon powder, OR
– 8 ounces bottled clam broth + 3 cups good quality store-bought chicken stock, OR
– 4 cups water + 3 teaspoons Knorr chicken bouillon powder, OR
– 4 cups good quality store-bought chicken stock
2 medium sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
1 bay leaf
12 ounces small red potatoes, quartered, or medium-sized fingerling potatoes, quartered
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, choppped

*The Kitchen Goddess prefers littlenecks because they’re more tender, but it’s always acceptable to use cherrystone clams instead of littlenecks. Keep in mind that cherrystones are larger, so you need fewer, but they’ll take a bit more time to cook. You may want to roughly chop the cooked cherrystones before adding them to the finished soup. If you can’t get fresh clams in either size, try whole canned clams. Recommended brands include Bar Harbor, Cento, and Chicken of the Sea. Two cans should do it for this recipe. If you use canned clams, use bottled clam broth for at least half the broth.

Directions

Scrub the clams well under running water and place them in a large bowl with cold, salty water to cover for 20-30 minutes. After soaking the clams, lift them by hand out of the water – in order to avoid the sand which will likely have accumulated in the bottom of the bowl – and rinse. (See below for more elaborate instructions on buying/storing/preparing your clams.) Discard soaking water.

Add the olive oil to a large stew pot with the chopped bacon and cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crisp, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, about 6 minutes.

Stir in the wine, and bring it to a simmer, cooking about 4 minutes, or until any alcohol smell has cooked off. Add the stock mixture, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf and bring to a simmer.

Gently ladle the clams into the simmering broth. Cover and return the broth to a simmer. Cook until the clams begin to open, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the clams to a large heatproof (glass, ceramic, or stainless) bowl once most of the clams have opened. (You can leave ones that haven’t opened in the broth a bit longer, to see if they’ll open, but do not use any that stay closed after 6-7 minutes. Cover the bowl while you finish the soup.

Add the potatoes to the broth and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. If you want, you may use this time to remove the clam meat from the shells and discard the shells. (The Kitchen Goddess doesn’t do that part – she likes the look of the shells in the serving bowl as well as that Popeye the Sailor feel she gets from scraping the clams out of the shells with her teeth. She’s funny that way.)

Serve the soup in bowls, along with the clams with/without shells. Garnish with parsley.

The Kitchen Goddess’s Guide to Buying/Storing Fresh Clams

Buy from a reputable seller. Best is to find someone who can tell you where the clams came from and when they were harvested. (By law, they have to be labeled when shipped out of state.)

Buy them alive. They should be closed, but if any are open slightly, give the shell a light tap; if the clam is still alive, it will shut immediately.

Store clams in a bowl with a damp towel or washcloth draped over them – in the coldest part of your fridge. NO water, NO plastic wrap – they need to breathe. Good fresh clams can keep this way in the coldest part of your fridge for 2-3 days. (I was told by a reputable fishmonger that they can keep fresh clams alive on ice for up to 2 weeks, but I’m not willing to try that for myself.)

Handle them properly. When you’re ready to cook them, scrub the outer shells under running water with a brush or plastic mesh scrubbing pad to remove residual sand. Then soak the clams in well-salted cold water for about 30 minutes – certainly less than an hour. This salt-water soak will encourage the clams to expel any sand inside. Then when you’re ready to add them to the pot, lift them out of the bowl using your hands to keep from disturbing the water, so that the sand the clams have expelled will remain in the bottom of the bowl.

Finally, don’t eat any clams that don’t open in the cooking process. Even in a restaurant.

KG Post Script: The KG is always finding little tidbits she wants to pass on. This time, it was in the final proofreading stage, so here goes... According to LEAFtv.com, clams – farm-raised or wild caught – are one of the best choices of seafood. (1) Among the sources of sea protein, clams have one of the lowest-known mercury levels. (2) Clams can be raised without polluting or damaging the environment, so they’re an ocean-friendly choice. And because clams are filter-feeders, they improve the quality of the water where they are farmed without compromising their quality.

Clamming It Up What’s cooking? Linguine with Herb Broth and Clams

The Kitchen Goddess is back in heaven – that is to say, I’m once again hitting my favorite farmers’ market on a regular basis. The fridge is filling up with lettuce – washed and layered with paper towels – and the hubby is filling up with fresh berries on his cereal. I wander the stalls like Goldilocks shopping for chairs, trying to decide which of the vendors has the fattest blueberries or the best looking zucchini, and noting the appearance of new items like the fava beans I’ve never cooked before. [Check back next week for a report on those.]

In the fall and winter, my menus are largely centered on chicken or pork or beef as a protein source. Once spring arrives, and the season for Gulf shrimp shifts into high gear, I start cooking more seafood, but I don’t really focus on it until summer, when I can get such fresh fish and shellfish at the market that I truly feel like binging.

So when one of my sons called to say that he’d be stopping by for dinner, I had a moment of panic until I realized I had a big bag of clams in the fridge. It’s easy to keep clams for several days, as long as they’re really fresh when you buy them. Just put them in a bowl in the fridge and cover it with a damp cloth. The main thing – aside from keeping them cold – is to keep them from drying out. But no plastic bags, please, or they’ll suffocate.

One of the things I love most about this recipe is that the pasta cooks in the broth from the clams. No separate giant pot of salted water – just move the cooked clams to a bowl and cover them with foil to keep the heat in. So that wonderful mix of flavors from the wine and the butter and the tomatoes and the clams and the herbs gets thoroughly cooked right into the noodles.

And while I’m talking about the wine, let me just say this: Do not obsess about which wine to use. Any decent white will do. The KG used the remains of 3 different bottles: a South African Chenin Blanc, a French Sauvignon Blanc, and a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. This probably means the KG and her hubby are not finishing enough wine, but the mix had no deleterious effect on the dish. What did come through – in spite of the onion, the garlic, the tomato, and the herbs – were the overall nuances of the wines. Lightly grassy and zesty fruit. And while they weren’t a strong factor, the flavors did make their way into the pasta, and the nose knew.

Kitchen Goddess do-ahead note: If you are one of those people who can plan 24 hours ahead of time, you can make the broth the day before serving, and refrigerate it, covered, until time to cook the clams. When you’re ready for the clams, bring the broth back to a boil before adding them. The raw clams should be added to broth that is actually boiling.

Linguine with Herb Broth and Clams

Adapted from Sara Foster in Bon Appétit, June 2008

Serves 4.

Ingredients
5-6 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced (about 1½ cups)
2 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped in ½-inch dice, or about 1½ cups canned diced tomatoes
3 cups dry white wine (see note above)
1 cup (or more) water
3 pounds Manila clams or small littleneck clams, scrubbed
⅓ cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup chopped fresh oregano (If you don’t have oregano, add more parsley and basil)
½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper, or ¼ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
8 ounces linguine pasta

Directions
Mince the garlic and set aside. Put the clams to soak in a bowl of fresh water to cover, for about 20 minutes.

Kitchen Goddess note: Remember just over a month ago, when I told you about the garlic secret I had learned? Hmmm. Fine. Here it is again: Garlic’s considerable health benefits are only released when it is sliced or mashed, and it takes about 10 minutes for the relevant enzyme to develop. So, keeping that in mind, for at least the time being, and until we get used to chopping the garlic in advance, the KG will be listing garlic at the very beginning of the recipe, even though, logically, it should go farther down. I’ll get back to standard garlic listing soon, I promise. 

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the onions and stir occasionally for 4-5 minutes, until they are soft and translucent. Add the garlic and stir constantly for another minute, so as not to burn the garlic. Add the tomatoes and stir often for 2 minutes, or until they begin to get soft.

Stir in the white wine plus a cup of water and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to keep the mixture at a simmer, then cover the pot and simmer 20 minutes. [This is where you stop if you’re making the broth ahead. Let it cool, then refrigerate it in a well-sealed container. On the day of the meal, when it’s time to cook the clams, first bring the broth to a boil.]

While the broth simmers, scrub the clams to remove any sand or grit on the shells. Discard any clams with broken shells.

Bring the broth to a boil, and add the clams. Cover the pot, and cook until clams open, 4-5 minutes (discard any clams that do not open). With a slotted spoon, transfer the clams to a large bowl, and cover it with foil to keep the clams warm.

Add the herbs – basil, parsley, oregano (if using), and Aleppo pepper (or red pepper) to the broth  and bring it to a boil. Add 2-3 tablespoons of water if the broth seems thick. Add the linguine and cover again. Boil the pasta until it’s very al dente – i.e., almost tender but still firm to bite – while stirring the mixture often.

Once the pasta is almost ready, add back the cooked clams, along with any broth that has accumulated in the bowl. Cover the pot again, and bring the clams/pasta mixture to a simmer. Continue to cook 3-4 minutes, until the clams are heated through and the pasta is al dente.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve the clams and pasta with broth immediately, in large shallow bowls. I like to add garlic bread and a green salad.

A Tale of Two Italys What’s cooking? Clam & Corn Chowder

Most people, when they think of Little Italy in New York City, picture a tiny area in lower Manhattan, nestled next to Chinatown, featured in The Godfather, and the home of the famous Festival of San Gennaro. But the neighborhood population peaked (at 10,000) in 1910, and the physical area has since been under constant pressure, crowded by growth on the west from the artists in SoHo and celebrities in TriBeCa, by new highrises in the creeping gentrification of the Lower East Side and the Bowery, and wrapped on all sides by tentacles of Chinatown. Even NoLIta (North of Little Italy), a section once firmly part of the corpus of Little Italy, now commands its own identity with the yuppies that call the area home.

So where does one go to find the merchants and residents who once occupied that space? Come with me to visit Arthur Avenue, in the Fordham section of The Bronx.

A short aside: If you’re limited to Manhattan and want a great Italian shopping and eating experience, check out Eataly, the emporium opened in 2010 by Mario Batali and Lidia and Joe Bastianich. It’s 50,000 square feet of food courts and shelves of dried pastas, jams, sauces, olives, 100 different kinds of olive oil, and pretty much anything produced in Italy, as well as counters for fresh pasta, salumeria, espresso, and chocolate. According to Wikipedia, “Batali has described the place as a grocery store with tasting rooms.” It’s on Fifth Ave at 23rd Street, and well worth a visit. But it’s expensive, and it’s not Arthur Avenue.

This is Arthur Avenue.

The Kitchen Goddess made her first trip to Arthur Avenue last summer, and was immediately smitten. What you get with a trip to Arthur Avenue is the old world charm, tree-lined streets, and the sense of a neighborhood that’s completely committed to the best of a culture, culinarily speaking, of course. They have bakeries for every kind of Italian cookie, and different bakeries for crusty Italian breads. Open air markets with barrels of olives, and cheese shops with fresh mozzarella. Salumerias with huge displays of Italian cured meats, and butcher shops with fresh hot and sweet sausages as well as rabbit, pheasant, and wild boar. And, of course, shops for fresh pasta.

But my favorite stop was the fishmonger, Consenza's. There are other fishmongers on Arthur Avenue, but Cosenza’s was the only one I saw with a stand-up raw bar out front. The Kitchen Goddess made a little piggie of herself over the fresh clams and oysters, right there in the great outdoors.

And the bins inside had more gorgeous fish and shellfish than I think I’ve ever seen in one place before – all smelling like it just came out of the water.

I succumbed to the need for more clams, and took home a 2-pound bag (about 50 clams) to make a truly excellent clam chowder the next night. There is hardly a better dish in the world.

Kitchen Goddess note about fresh clams: Whole clams in their shells are sold live, usually in porous bags of net or burlap. The smaller clams are the tenderest, and you want to store them in the fridge (but not on ice), in a bowl covered with a damp kitchen towel. DO NOT keep them in a plastic bag, as they’ll die from lack of oxygen. Really fresh clams will last a few days, but if you buy them at a grocery store, you should cook them within 24 hours.

Before you cook them, take them out of their bag and put them in a bowl of fresh cold, unsalted water to cover, for 20-30 minutes. This’ll give the little buggers time to clean themselves of unwanted salt and sand on the inside. Then lift them out of the water (so you leave the sand behind), and scrub them with a soft brush or plastic mesh scrubber, to get rid of any sand on the outside of the shells. Now they’re ready to cook.

Clam and Corn Chowder

Adapted from Shelley Wiseman in Gourmet magazine, August 2007

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

3 slices bacon, cut into pieces about 1 inch long
5-6 small scallions, thinly sliced (white and pale green parts), or ¼ cup shallots, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
corn sliced from 3 ears (about 2 cups)
1 pound small-to-medium boiling potatoes (red or white skins), cut in ½-inch cubes
16 ounces bottled clam juice
½ cup water
¼ cup dry white wine (optional)
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
½ cup red bell pepper, cut into ½-inch dice
2 pounds small hard-shelled clams, well cleaned
1½ cups half-and-half
2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped

In a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot (I use a 5.5-quart Le Creuset French oven) over medium heat, cook the bacon, stirring, until slightly browned but not crisp. Add the scallions or shallots and garlic, along with 1 tablespoon butter. Cook, stirring, another 2 minutes. Add the corn, potatoes, clam juice, water, wine, pepper, and thyme, and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in the bell pepper and bring the mixture to a rolling boil, uncovered. Add the clams and return the mixture to a boil. Cover the pot and cook, checking and stirring occasionally, until the clams are just opened wide, about 7-8 minutes. Discard any clams that haven’t unopened after 8 minutes, as they probably weren’t alive on the way into the pot.

Reduce the heat and add the half-and-half and the chives/parsley, as well as the remaining tablespoon of butter. Cook, stirring, until the chowder is heated through, but don’t let it boil. Adjust chowder seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with toasted French or Italian bread and a green salad.