Broiled Razor Clams

I find it interesting how hard it is to find variations on razor clam recipes. Even the seafood cookbooks I have in my kitchen seem to have overlooked these delectable, nutty-flavored shellfish. I've enjoyed razor clams since I was a young girl, mostly ordering in restaurants, pan-fried or chopped up and served in New England clam chowder.

Tonight, I tried something different. I made Rich's Broiled Baked Razor Clams from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife:

You will need: Razor clams, cleaned. (The fresher the better)

Eggs, beaten (however many you need for your egg wash).
Ritz Crackers, regular kind (not the low-fat or low-sodium varieties), crushed. Enough to coat the clams.
Butter, melted. (Margarine works)

Preparation: Turn your oven broiler on to high. It needs to be HOT.

1. Dip the cleaned clams in the egg wash.
2. Coat well with crushed Ritz crackers ( I used crushed sesame rice crackers (gluten-free).
3. Lay the clams out, single layer, on a greased baking sheet. (Lining the sheet with foil first makes easier clean up).
4. Drizzle the clams with melted butter, more or less to taste. (Without it you’ll get dry clams).

5. I sprinkled garlic salt and paprika over the top (optional).

Cooking:

1. Put the pan on the top oven rack under the HOT broiler.
2. Broil 3 minutes. Turn over. Broil 3 more minutes, and they’re done. Avoid over-cooking or the clams get rubbery.

The key is a HOT broiler or oven. You can do this in a HOT (500-degree) oven, without having to turn the clams over, but I’m not sure of the time. I prefer the broiler, thank you.

Done right, the clams are fork tender. And with no grease or oil spatter and mess from a frying pan, you’ll probably never want to fry a clam again!

Rich Daneker, KXRO Radio, Aberdeen, Wash.

It's true. I never want to fry razor clams again! They were delicious.

Earlier in the day, I received an unexpected gift box in the from a friend in Idaho... a half-dozen bottles of fine wine from Bitner Vineyards in the Snake River Valley appellation. The 2007 Reserve Riesling was wonderful to pair with our meal. I venture to say that it is the best Riesling I've ever tasted. I met Ron Bitner while doing business with him and his colleague a couple of years ago, and discovered that Ron is not only an amazing vintner, but an international bee biologist, educator and ecopreneur before it became fashionable. Bitner Vineyards has been named 2009 Idaho Winery of the Year by Wine Press Northwest.

Slow Food - Eugene

Thursday night, we attended our local Slow Food convivium's annual fall members' meeting and potluck at Eugene's Garden Club on High Street. What a turnout (I overheard a headcount of 75) and what a feast!

Thanks to the generosity of our kids, we were able to shop while we were in town earlier in the afternoon for fresh ingredients and baked a double batch of our Vegetable Strata in their oven in Springfield, as our kitchen was 20-miles away from our destination. Other members and guests contributed an array of fabulous entrees, side dishes and desserts. Fortunately for me, many of them were gluten-free and vegetarian! We filled our plates to overflowing with the bounty of colorful, savory and sweet foods made with mostly produce, meats and products grown or produced by members and bought from local natural foods markets: Polenta Pie, Homemade Bread Bowl filled with Cheese in Brie with Shitake Mushrooms, Kale and Quinoa Salads, Vegan and Mushroom Farro Soups, Lemon Chicken with Garlic Potatoes, Pizza, Yukon Potatoes with wild Mushrooms and Apples, Scalloped Potatoes and Potatoes (with milk and sour cream from chef's cow), Neapolitan Ragu,Vegetarian Pesto Salad, Beet Risotto, Carrot Date Nut Muffins, Hazelnut Tarts, Berry Cobbler and much more....

Members bring their own eating and serving utensils, plates and bowls, cups and goblets, beverage of choice and a potluck dish to share with the group to all gatherings. We enjoyed the evening with our new friends and members John Karlik and Lynn Cosby of Good Food Easy, a CSA located in Creswell, Oregon, who graciously shared their soup spoons and wine with us.

Education is an important feature of Slow Food gatherings. This evening was no exception. After introductions and announcements Tom Barkin awarded checks to several non-profits from fund-raising events this past year. We heard from Jim Crane about the Time for Lunch initiative - "It's time to provide America's children with REAL FOOD at school."  and the School Garden Project:

We also enjoyed learning about the Farm to Table Program and the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition. Nicki Maxwell explained the Seed Ambassador program and introduced Seed Ambassadors Sareh Kleeger and Andrew Steel of AdaptiveSeeds to share their seed saving story with us.

I hope you will be inspired to find a local chapter of Slow Food near you! Contact Slow Food USA.

About the Eugene Convivium

Slow Food Eugene: "The Willamette Valley Convivium was established in 2000 by Nonie Fish, food writer, restaurant reviewer, and cooking instructor. In 2002, a leadership board was established to sponsor educational events, form partnerships with other local organizations, and coordinate with Slow Food USA. Slow Food Eugene is a vibrant and diverse convivium whose members include restaurateurs, food purveyors, farmers, educators, and committed food-and-wine lovers from all walks of life.

Eugene, Oregon is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, one of the richest agricultural regions in the world. Eugene and the surrounding areas of Lane County are recognized centers of small-scale sustainable agriculture. Our markets overflow with organically raised vegetables, fruits, nuts, meat, poultry, and cheeses. Local wineries produce award-winning pinot noir, pinot gris, and many other varieties. The nearby Pacific Ocean provides the finest seafood. The Cascade and Coast Range mountains offer fish, game, and mushrooms. Slow Food Eugene is dedicated to the celebration and preservation of this bountiful heritage through events, education, and political action.

Membership: Interested individuals and families are also encouraged to join Slow Food USA, the parent organization, to support the important goals of the national and international Slow Food movement and receive Slow Food publications."

Great Friends, Local Wine and Spicy Moroccan Vegetable Stew with Rice and Mint Gremolata

Every year Chateau Lorane Winery hosts a fall wine club party at their tasting room overlooking Chateau Lorane's Lake Louise. Our friends the Stavers, also wine club members, took us as their guests. Roger scored, winning a bottle of Merlot for making the closest guesstimate of the weight of one of two giant pumpkins that greeted us. I believe it weighed 103 pounds!

Living less than two miles from the winery, we returned to our place for dinner. Although it was a busy afternoon, with very little time to prepare our meal in advance (a little over an hour), I got busy cooking up Donna Klein's The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Kitchen Moroccan Vegetable Stew made with scallions, carrots, chickpeas, tomatoes, peas and onions and spinach, served with rice (steamed with turmeric), while my husband set to work making the Mint Gremolata garnish to top the stew. Recipes are on page 47 and 48. I doubled everything but the salt, and  tripled the crushed red pepper flakes, cinnamon, ginger and coriander. Glad I did; made our taste buds happy!

I also had everything ready to go and chilling in the refrigerator to quickly  assemble individual salads of romaine, green onion tops, sliced mushroom and mandarin oranges with a  light vinaigrette.  For a cold beverage, I served the homemade Horchata de Arrzo I made a couple days before. A very tasty, sweet complement for most any spicy meal.

I got a laugh out of making this particular recipe the day after seeing the movie Cold Soul.  Paul Giamatti plays an actor named Paul Giamatti whose extracted soul looks exactly like a chickpea.

Thank you to Roger and Joyce for a lovely evening and the 2003 Chateau Lorane Cabernet Sauvignon with flavors of plum and blackberry with hints of spice and licorice.

Here's Donna's recipe for Mint Gremolata. I doubled the recipe, as follows:

4 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 large clove garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients until well-combined. Refrigerate up to one (1) day until ready to serve.

Note: Having a warming drawer is absolutely wonderful! While we were away for a couple hours with our friends, the stew and rice kept warm without over-heating or over-cooking, ready to serve as soon as the loaf of 10-minute bake-and-serve Pugliese (artisan recipe; not gluten-free) came out of the oven!