Shellfish, English TV.

I am not sure what started me thinking about clam chowder this weekend, but I started remembering living in North Carolina and that Matt would go out clamming, often selling his catch, but I would use some and make clam chowder. Only trouble is, I don't exactly remember the recipe any more, we use a lot of clams, potatoes, bacon, onions and milk but I really don't remember - I was looking at some recipes on line but they none of them seemed the same, a lot appeared to have too many

ingredients to me. Of course the ones I found all used canned clams. I remember one time an Indian who was a friend of a friend took clams home and then came back with one of the best chowders I had ever tasted, but he wouldn't actually give me his recipe and although I tried to guess at it, mine didn't taste the same. I remember one time - around my birthday I think - Matt caught clams, someone else caught clams and another person bought clams. They all converged on us and we ended up with clams coming out of our ears, we made chowder, fried them and I don't know what else. I do know that after that weekend Matt never ate clams again and wasn't very keen on any other shellfish either any more. I have never eaten something so much that I wouldn't touch it again. He did build me an oyster steaming fireplace in the back yard though. From someone who wouldn't touch oysters to someone who discovered them steamed, I changed rapidly and ate them by the bushel. Then at Heathrow Airport in England, I ate two gorgeous raw oysters in a seafood plate and have never looked back. Unfortunately oysters and clams are no longer readily available to us, certainly not at a price we can afford very often, if at all. Just remembered  we are going back to the Red Lobster for supper next week, with a friend, whilst the Crabfest is still going on.

I started watching The Great Fire on TV last night. made in England. A lot of it was set in Pudding Lane, where the fire actually started, amongst the poorer peoples of London. Their accents were probably modern day London, but I had difficulty with them again. If they had used the English of the time (1666) nobody could have understood them. The English of the court of King Charles II was easy enough to understand though, although once again I have no doubt that the court English of the time would have been incomprehensible to us today. Pity in a way, thought I would enjoy it. Odd really because I seem to be getting on OK with Poldark which is set in Cornwall.

Ok, you thought I was going to give you a clam chowder recipe - wrong, here is a salmon recipe I found today. I had never heard of Sidewalk Shoes before but this is the recipe from there. I will definitely be trying it next time I cook salmon.

Grilled Salmon with Tomato Caper Vinaigrette

Spicy grilled salmon gets topped with fresh tomato caper vinaigrette.

Vinaigrette
3 ripe beefsteak tomatoes cored, seeded and diced
1/4 red onion finely chopped
2 Tbs capers drained
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp finely chopped thyme leaves
2 Tbs chopped basil leaves
salt and fresh ground black pepper
Salmon
4 8-ounce salmon filets with the skin
canola oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Combine all the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a medium bowl. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. If made in advance, store in fridge and remove and let come to room temperature and mix well before serving.

2. Heat the grill to medium-high heat.

3. Brush the salmon on both sides with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill skin side down for 3-4 minutes (this was enough for me). Turn and move to a cooler part of the grill to cook for 3-4 more minutes.

4. Serve the salmon with the vinaigrette over the top.

Servings: 4

Source: Sidewalk Shoes

Have a great day