We made our way down I-45 south late Saturday morning, venturing to see the Galveston coast and explore what the port community had to offer. As it turns out (or rather, so we'd been warned), not too much. Many of the buildings, although historic, looked weathered and often times in disrepair, with the remnants of 2008's hurricane Ike still occasionally visible. The shopping stretch near the cruise ship port was occupied by tourists and locals, spending the afternoon drinking legally on the sidewalks while wandering in and out of kitschy shops and tattoo parlors, and the vacationers killing time before boarding the most recent ship to park itself in the harbor.
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| IKE WATER LINE, spray painted on a building on the northern side of the island. |
Glad to have checked "Visit Galveston" off of the to-do list, we crawled back to Houston through the predictable weekend traffic in plenty of time to collect ourselves and head to Central Market, a culinary wonder and foodie paradise worthy of its own post. (600-some cheeses; 40+ varieties of olives at their olive bar; fresh duck, bison, and quail readily available any day of the week; a fish counter that would make the Seattle fish market blush; and a produce section that would make Leenie proud...)
Last night's dinner was so good we're having it again tonight. Seriously. The white bean ragout with toast will be a year-round winner (and an upcoming post), but get out and grill those littleneck clams while the temperatures are still warm, and a crisp summery white wine tastes especially good (or red if you're feeling Italian). Bon appeitit!
GRILLED CLAMS WITH HERB BUTTER
(This recipes claims six servings, but at just four clams a head, I beg to differ. Amuse bouche, anyone? They're petite little things post-grill, so I recommend at least 8-10 per person if serving as an appetizer with grilled bread. The butter goes a very long way, so don't worry about doubling.)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature (Cold butter? Me too. Microwaving for 15 seconds does wonders).
(NOTE: I halved the amount of butter called for but kept the herb quantities as-is).
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon chopped scallion
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon chopped scallion
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
24 littleneck clams, scrubbed
Lemon wedges
Lemon wedges
Ciabatta, sliced and brushed with EVOO
Directions:
First of all, grilled clams -- who knew, right?
Mix the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl until well blended. Season the herb butter to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
Build a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to high. Place clams on grill rack and cover grill with lid. The recipe instructs to grilling until clams just open, 6-8 minutes, but I'm leaning toward the 5 minute mark, given the clams that opened early were almost tough.
As an aside, don't be startled if it sounds like like a mini fireworks display inside your grill. However, do open the grill carefully at the end of the 5 minutes. As it turns out, a few of the outer shells splintered from the heat, literally popping.
Use tongs to transfer to a platter, being careful to keep as much juice in the shells as possible (this is easier than it sounds). Discard any clams that don't open.
Grill the ciabatta, turning regularly until grill marks appear. (HINT: Leave the lid open and keep an eye on the slices, or you'll end up with charcoal toasts in no time flat).
Dot clams with herb butter; let stand until butter melts. Serve warm with the grilled bread and with lemon wedges alongside for squeezing over.
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| Didn't like this one. ;) |
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