No Rules Allowed

In my opinion, cooking should be a relaxing, creative outlet, free from rigidity and rules. You should look at your ingredients and get excited because they are a palate for your creativity. Have fun, experiment, and be flexible enough to improvise and change your recipe based on what ingredients are available.

When I go grocery shopping, I just pick out what looks good in the produce section and what is a good price in the meat and seafood departments. I think it is fun to take my items home without a specific plan for them, and create new recipes throughout the week based on what was seasonally available.

A couple nights ago, my friend Courtney and I decided to make “Spaghetti Squash Gemelli” (twins) where each of us would provide a different sauce for the duo. Courtney made her famous “Creamy Deliciousness” and I was excited about steamed clams with basil and tomato.

I stopped by the store where the clams were on sale to find only five clams at the counter! Apparently many others had my same plan. No worries, the peeled and deveined shrimp looked divine so I grabbed a pound of that instead and headed over to cook with Court.

I used the same basic recipe and cooking method the clams called for and only had to change the amount of liquid so I could sauté the shrimp whereas I was planning to steam the clams.

As it turned out, the shrimp made a better half of the Gemelli than the clams would have because the sauce was a little thicker so it could stick to the spaghetti squash and could stand up to Court’s hearty selection. Plus, we got more bang for the buck with the meatiness of the shrimp versus the clam.

Italian Steamed Clams

Ingredients:
2 lbs. fresh clams
2 T minced garlic
2 T olive oil
2 tomatoes, 1” chop
2 cups dry white wine
2 T butter
1 bunch basil, julienned
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
Put oil, garlic, and clams in pan medium-high heat and cook for about one minute. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper and cook another minute or so. Add wine and stir around to deglaze pan. Cover and simmer on medium heat for about 5 minutes (until clams open). Remove clams and set aside. Simmer broth until it reduces by half. Remove from heat and stir in butter until it is melted. Add basil and stir. Put clams back in sauce and stir to cover.

Italian Shrimp

Ingredients:
2 lbs. fresh clams
2 T minced garlic
2 T olive oil
2 tomatoes, 1” chop
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 T butter
1 bunch basil, julienned
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
Put oil, garlic, and shrimp in pan medium-high heat and cook for about one minute and then stir the shrimp to flip them and cook another minute on the other side. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper and cook another minute or so. Add wine and stir around to deglaze pan and simmer another minute or so. Remove from heat and stir in butter until it is melted. Add basil and stir.

Courtney’s Creamy Deliciousness

Ingredients:
1 onion, diced
1 pkg. mushrooms, sliced
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 t. olive oil
1 pkg. Trader Joe’s hot Italian chicken sausage
1 jar Trader Joe’s Rustico Marinara
Splash heavy cream (to taste)

Directions:
Heat oil in pan on medium-high heat and cook sausage until brown then add onion, mushrooms and garlic and cook until onions are translucent. Add marinara sauce and simmer for 3-5 minutes on medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in heavy cream.