Wild Salmon with Fresh Corn Salsa

Salmon, although delicious, is not my favorite to cook at home. It's probably my technique, but it usually starts to feel very one-note after a few bites. Wild Alaskan salmon is in season though, and it looked too gorgeous to pass up. I thought I'd try something different and serve it with a fresh salsa as a garnish/side dish. The combination ended up being perfect. The salsa was refreshing and sweet, a great balance to the fatty fish.


HOW TO:

Broil corn until tender. When cool, cut the kernels off the cob. Dice equal parts red onion and tomato. Finely chop garlic, cilantro, and jalapeño. Toss together with lime juice, salt, and pepper. For the fish, rinse and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Add oil to a very hot pan. Sear, about 3 to 4 minutes a side, until just under cooked.

Pasta with Clams

Restaurants may trick you into thinking that this is difficult, but it's not. One of the many perks about living in New York is the fresh, local seafood. Littleneck clams are really easy to get here, and are usually very very fresh. In this dish, they're tossed with sautéed pancetta,  tons of garlic, a little shallot, and regular fettuccine for a simple, delicious pasta dish. 

HOW TO:

Rinse the clams well. Ina Garten says a tablespoon of flour in the water helps release some of the sand - couldn't hurt. Mince about 1 head of garlic and chop 1 medium shallot finely and 1 finger thick slice of pancetta into small cubes. Sauté the pancetta until crisped. Add the garlic and shallot until slightly caramelized. Season with salt and pepper. Deglaze with a quarter to half a cup of dry white wine. Toss in the clams and stir until well coated. Cover the pan until the clams start opening, about 4-8 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta per directions (most Italian noodles work well with this dish). When the clams are all opened, throw in the cooked pasta along with some pasta water if the sauce is dry. Toss together well. Garnish garnish with red pepper flakes, parmesan, and parsley. 

Lobster Soup

I had an indulgent lobster dinner the night before, but sadly (and shockingly) I couldn't finish it all. As I was brainstorming about what to do with the pile of shells and claws that were left, soup popped into my head. I'd never made a seafood soup before, but I figured it couldn't be that difficult. The soup stock consisted of the basics - onion, celery, carrot, peppercorns, and a bay leaf - as well as the leftover lobster shells and bodies with the gills and most of the tomalley and roe removed. The stock was excellent, not fishy at all, and the perfect base for my "leftover" meal. I threw in some seafood, potatoes, and saffron and served it with some crusty bread and butter. I'm definitely making this again, especially when I go to Maine and there are more lobster shells and bodies than I could possibly ever use.


HOW TO:

Boil the above stock ingredients for a few hours, until the broth is richly flavored.

Soak a pinch of saffron threads for 20 minutes. Strain stock into a separate pot, add the saffron water, and boil halved yukon gold potatoes until just tender. Add the lobster claw and any additional seafood (I used scallops, rock shrimp, and cod). Cook until everything is just done, in this case 3 minutes or so. Garnish with parsley and serve hot with bread for dipping.

Grilled Lobster

I was in Maine for the 4th weekend, and I had a fantastic time. I spent a good amount of time doing the stereotypical Maine activity: eating lobster. Mmmm so good. Especially when I started grilling them, which is I think the only way I can eat lobster now. It takes the crustacean to a whole new level of deliciousness. 

HOW TO:

Boil a large pot of water and salt heavily. Throw in the 1 1/2 pound hard shell lobsters. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the water and let cool. When manageable to touch, cut the lobsters in half as pictured above. Spoon melted butter into the cavity. (A couple times I added a smashed clove of garlic to the butter while it was melting. It gave the lobster a very subtle garlic flavor, which is pretty awesome if you like garlic.) Throw the lobsters on a medium temperature grill until they are about fully cooked. Flip them over and spoon more butter onto the tail and into the body. Sprinkle some parsley and remove from heat when the claws are bright red on both sides. Eat, enjoy, and try to go back to eating regular boiled lobster.

Lobster and Scallop Ceviche

The Union Square Greenmarket on Saturday morning is one of the few reasons I will get out of bed before 10AM on the weekends. One of my first stops is always PE & DD Seafood. They have a great selection of really fresh fish that usually sells out by 2PM. I was in the mood for some ceviche and was originally planning to make a fish version, but nothing at the stand was calling my name. Their scallops are always a safe (and delicious) bet, except scallop ceviche just sounded boring, so I picked up a lobster as well. I've never made ceviche before, but I figured if people can sell it out of unrefrigerated carts in Central America I can definitely manage to put something together. The "How To" for this is pretty simple: just marinate the scallop and lobster together with cilantro, onion, tomato, avocado, Serrano peppers, lime and orange juice, salt, pepper, and a little olive oil. Two hours and some home baked tortilla chips later...ceviche!