Seafood Meatballs and Spaghetti

Yeah that's right seafood meatballs and spaghetti. Let me guess when you clicked on the link you were expecting something simple, boring and slightly disgusting looking. It's okay, you were wrong, we all mistakes in life. You can redeem yourself by drooling over these fantastic photos that Katy took and by giving this recipe a shot at home. 

Seafood Meatballs

• 1/2 lbs cooked Salmon
• 1/4 lbs cooked Crab Meat
• 1/4 lbs cooked Clam Meat
• 1/2 cup Breadcrumbs (1/4 cup goes into the balls and 1/4 cup use to roll the meatballs in)
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Tablespoons Mayo
• Spicy Brown Mustard
• 1 Lemon zested and juiced
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 Tablespoon Olive oil

1. Odds are that you'll be able to find cooked crab and clam meat at your local grocery store, but unable to find cooked salmon. To cook the salmon I just heated the oven to 375, cut the salmon fillet in half and coated it in olive oil, salt and lemon juice. I found these cool cedar wraps next to the seafood section of my grocery store that worked well to keep the fish moist while it cooked. Bake the salmon wrapped in the cedar for about 10 minutes or until fully cooked.
2. Add all the ingredients listed above into a large mixing bowl and mix with your hands. No you can't use a spoon. 
3. Form the mixture into a small balls about an inch in diameter. Once the meat is balled, roll the little spheres in the remaining breadcrumbs. Place the balls in casserole pan and bake at 375 until golden brown. Should be about 20 minutes, be sure to turn the balls halfway through cooking.
4. Plate the balls of seafood on top of cooked spaghetti (use the instructions on the box, but add way more salt to water than what they recommend) and drizzle on these sauces. 

Pesto

• 1/4 cup Pine Nuts
• 7 sprigs of Fresh Basil
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 lemon zested and juiced
• 3 Cloves Garlic
• 1 teaspoon Salt

1. Throw all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smoothish. Should be about 45 seconds or so.

Sweet Onion Tomato Sauce

• 1 large Sweet Onion
• 6 Roma Tomatoes diced
• 2 cloves Garlic minced
• 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup Wine (I recommend a full bodied red wine, and not a sweet wine)
• 1 Lemon (you'll never guess what you're going to do to the lemon) zested and juiced
• 1 teaspoon Molasses
• 1 teaspoon Poppy Seeds
• 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 1 heaping teaspoon Italian Seasoning

1. Add the olive oil, onion, and garlic to a medium sized sauce pan. Cover and sweat the onions until tender while stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients cook for another 10 minutes and stir occasionally to avoid burning. 
3. Use a hand mixer to blend all the large pieces of tomatoes and onion together. Blend until all the large chunks are pretty much gone. Let the sauce simmer until the meatballs are done. Once everything is plated, I recommend squeezing a lemon on top of the dish.

Sure I could have just made regular meatballs and spaghetti, but that would have been boring. This blog is all about having fun with food and trying new things out. In the same vein of thinking, I could have just made one sauce to go on the meatballs, but the flavor contrast between the two couldn't be replaced with anything else. Enjoy!

I need to step up my writing and cooking skills a peg or four, because Katy Weaver keeps knocking it out of the park with all these photos.

Beer Steamed Clams

Because the last post was such a hit, we're keeping in the theme of cancelled TV shows that have been brought back. This week's inspiration is Firefly. Just kidding, Internet, you're never going to get that show back on the air.

Summer is creepily hiding around the corner wearing cut-offs and espadrilles while holding a super-soaker. All personifications aside, Summer in my mind means fresh seafood. Sure you can get seafood literally anytime of the year, but every summer seaside trip has cemented the idea center in my mind that seafood is Summer fare.

Clams are essentially meat-filled rocks. When it comes to cooking these little meaty rocks most use water or wine to steam theirs, but I decided to go down a different path with this recipe.

Beer Steamed clams

2 Servings

• 1 lbs Clams
• 1 bottle of Beer (I suggest a blonde ale)
• 1/4 cups chopped Onion
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon minced Garlic
• 2 tablespoons Butter
• juice and zest from half a lemon

1. Pour the olive oil in a sauce pan, be sure it has a lid. Heat the oil over medium, add the onions and garlic; cook until slightly caramelized. 
2. Pour in the beer and turn the heat up to high and cook until boiling. Once the beer reaches a boil add the lemon juice and zest. Oh and the clams.
3. Cover with lid. Once the clams have opened their shells then they're cooked.
4. Scoop out the clams with a slotted spoon and place in the bowls you're serving them in. Add the butter to the liquid that's in the pot and stir until the butter is melted. Once melted pour the briny mixture over the clams in each bowl. Serve and garnish with, uh lets say parsley. 

I'm not adding to my already embiggened ego when I say this is the best kale recipe I've ever came up with.

Whiskey Cooked Kale

2 servings

• 1 bunch of Purple kale chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup sliced Onion
• 1 tablespoon minced Garlic
• 1 shot of Whiskey
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• a pinch Salt
• a pinch of Pepper
• juice from 1/2 Lemon

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat and add the onions and garlic; cook until slightly caramelized.
2. Add the kale to the pan, stir a few times to coat the kale with the oil, then add the lemon and whiskey.
3. Cook until the leaves are wilted.

Garlic Parmesan Bread

2 servings (but if you're not as hungry as we were then I guess this could yield 4 servings) 

• 1 loaf sliced French bread
• 6 tablespoons soft butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of minced fresh parsley (About 2 sprigs)
• 2 tablespoons of minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese grated

1. Pre-heat oven to 375. Mix the butter, olive oil, parsley, garlic, and the spices in a bowl. Use pastry brush to apply the garlic butter to the bread. Top with parmesan cheese.
2. Place in oven until cheese is melted. 

All three elements of this meal work well together. Both the texture and taste vary between each piece, but support one another as if they were a part of a three-piece band. If you're looking for a simple-to-make dish for a quiet summer evening to eat out on the porch then I would recommend making every component of this meal and letting it meld together in your stomach. Enjoy!

As always this blog wouldn't be half of what it is without the fantastic Katy Weaver and her ability to take amazingly beautiful photos.