Seafood!

Its been a while since ive been on here but ive been doing alot...

This past weekend was Labor Day Weekend so i decided this was my chance to finally do my seafood thing. I decided on making Cherrystone clams (which are huge by the way), mussels and shrimp. I combined the shrimp and mussels together in a savory sauce with white rice and i made baked clams.

Seafood is not as easy as it seems. Its very tedious and very time consuming. You always need to make sure your dealing with fresh seafood because it can make you sick. You must make sure all shellfish are cleaned properly and tightly sealed shut when buying and when your about to cook them. Remember shellfish is alive before you purchase it so it may be that the shellfish may open and then close but if it doesnt close at all; its a dead one and not edible.

Cleaning them also on the inside and out buy letting them soak in cornmeal or salt allows the sand to be spit out by the live shellfish leaving you with sand less clams and mussels. Another thing is to make sure you have the proper tools necessary in opening your clams if your not going to cook them to open them. Sharp knives will only end up chipping the shell and damaging the knife, a dull knife or an oyster knife will work fine. Make sure you also hold your shellfish with a towel so that you dont slip and cut your hand.

Here are the recipes for the clams and mussels:

Baked Stuffed Clams (foodnetwork.com):

• 3 pounds Littleneck/Cherrystone clams
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 3 cups bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup Parmesan
• 2 lemons, zested and juiced
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons pesto
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 pound clarified butter

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place clams in a bucket of cold water with cornmeal and salt. Set aside.

Place bread crumbs, Parmesan, lemon juice, zest, garlic, pesto, parsley, and olive oil in a bowl. Mix all of the ingredients together with half of the clarified butter. Mix together until moist but not too wet. Use additional butter only if needed.

Open each clam and place mixture on top. Place in oven and bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

Thai Steamed Mussels and Shrimp: (allrecipes.com)

• 5 pounds fresh mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• 2 pounds fresh medium sized shrimp, deveined and shelled
• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 (13.5 ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 cups chopped fresh cilantro

Preparations:

In a large stock pot, combine the lime juice, coconut milk, wine, curry paste, garlic, fish sauce and sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar and curry paste and bring to a boil over high heat.

Boil for 2 minutes then add mussels. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until mussels are opened, 5 to 8 minutes.

Once mussels are opened, add shrimp and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat and discard any unopened mussels. Pour mussels and liquid into a serving dish and toss with cilantro.

Serve over white rice.

The clams were good but i was a little heavy with the breading. The Thai sauce with the shrimp and mussels was so good. It had such a good flavor, i was a little upset that it went so quickly. The mussels were rubbery or overdone and neither were the shrimp. DELICIOUS. I am definitely going to try this again.

Yes, shellfish can be time consuming but i think you can have your shellfish cleaned up and opened on a half shell if your looking to stuff them by the fish butcher. Thats definably a big recommendation if your trying this for the first time at home. Enjoy those yummy flavors..............