Fried Clams To Die For

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Clams

There are fried clams and then there are fried clams!!  This past week I attended a conference in Freeport, ME.  I asked at the Harraseeket Inn where we were staying who had the best fried clams in the area where the locals ate.  I was told it was the Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster on Casco Bay. The weather was quite lovely on the evening we went. The lobster shack was like so many other lobster and clam shacks along the coast of New England. Visitors had the choice of dining in or out, but since there was quite a breeze we decided to eat in the dining room which was simple and immaculate.

Harraseeket_home2_r1_c3

At the window we ordered fried clams and learned you could have them with a choice of batters, crumbs or batter. My friend and I went with the crumbs and it was an excellent choice. The clams with the batter option would have been more batter than clams in my humble opinion. The fried clams with the crumbs were light with just the right amount of batter. One could actually enjoy the taste of the clams. It didn’t hurt that these were most likely the freshest clams I have ever eaten. Literally right off the boat! The order came with fries which were hot and crispy and the order was large enough for the two of us to share one order.

Batter choice

Crab Cakes

As an appetizer, we tried the crab cakes.  Again they were made with Maine crabs and were light and absolutely delicious. If you are heading to Maine this summer, it is a mere 3 miles from L L Bean on Main Street. Just head down Bow St (right across from the main entrance), take a right on South and continue until you see the sign for Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster right on Casco Bay.

Clam Cakes

Fried Clams at Janine’s in Ware, MA

Believe or not, Janine’s in Ware, MA serves delicious fried clams and an excellent lobster roll.  Whenever I have had their fried clams I have requested a light dusting of flour which make them similar to those at Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster.

Fried Clam Recipe from Woodman’s in Essex, MA

For the recipe from the inventor of the fried clam, check out our blog at http://tasteandtales.com/books/chubby-and-the-clam/.

 

Bar Harbor Inn Lobster Mac & Cheese

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From A Taste of lobster and some tales too – this is delicious!!  

Bar Harbor Inn Lobster Mac and CheeseLobster Mac and Cheese

2 cups uncoooked elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons floor
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups milk or half-and-half
8 ounces Cabot’s grated Sharp Cheddar cheese
12 ounces cooked cleaned lobster meat cut into bite size pieces
4 ounces cracker meal
1 teaspoon paprika

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Bring large pot of water to boil. Add macaroni and cook until al dente, about 10-12 minutes.
  3. While macaroni is cooking, make white sauce by melting butter in saucepan and stir in flour to make a roux. Cook the roux for a few minutes, stirring continuously.  Gradually add the milk; add 6 ounces grated Cheddar cheese, stirring constantly until melted.  Add lobster to sauce.  Add sauce to cooked macaroni.
  4. In a separate bowl mix cracker meal and paprika. Place macaroni mix in glass or ceramic casserole dish and top with cracker meal mix and remaining cheddar cheese.
  5. Bake for 1 hour or until top is golden and bubbly.
  6. Serve with fresh field green salad and crisp white wine.

Serves 4

Best View of Nauset Beach

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Ocean from Nauset KnollImagine waking up in the morning and looking out and seeing this view of the Atlantic Ocean from all 12 rooms at the Nauset Knoll Motor Lodge in Orleans, MA.  In June I make my annual tour around Cape Cod with the cookbooks and since I changed my usual route I needed to stay further out the Cape and since I wanted to see water, I located this motor lodge built in the 50s. Fortunately, someone had cancelled and I was lucky enough to get room.

I had heard about the “Best Onion Rings” in the world were at Liam’s at Nauset Beach which was on the other side of the shrubs so I made sure I would get there by 4 p.m. However, the wind was blowing as you can see by the flag and the weather was headed downhill.  I had to literally hold on to my hat when I signed in.  Instead of walking down I drove and the young man at the booth let me through as there was literally no cars in the parking lot and Liam’s was closed.  The only vehicle in the parking lot was a satellite truck from a TV station in Boston who I guess thought that the shark (named Freckles) lurking off-shore was going to come in for an interview.nausetknoll windmill

Since Liam’s wasn’t open and I wanted my annual meal of whole belly clams, I headed to Sir Cricket in Orleans.  They have been voted best on the Cape several times. Dinner was quite tasty, but I regret not being able to have those from Liam’s.

Below is a recipe telling how you can steam a lobster at home.  Recipe is courtesy of Sir Crickets.

How to Steam the Perfect Lobster

Fill a large pan with 1-2 inches of water, and bring it to a boil.
Place the lobster(s) in the pan*, and cover.
Keep the flame on high, and when it begins to steam, start your timer!
– 12-15 minutes for 1¼-1½ pounders
– 20 minutes for 1½-2 pounders
– 25 minutes for 2-3 pounders

*If this makes you squeamish, place the lobsters in the freezer for a minute to stun them before steaming!

Introducing new website

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Today, begins a new era with this beautiful website designed by Erin Sweeney.  It is crisp in its design, fresh looking and easy to use.   Though the years you might say I’ve had a bit of an identity crisis.  While the books are published by Bass Pond Press, customers do not connect the name with the books.  To be more confusing the name of Phoebe’s Kitchen is also connected to the books.  This past fall when I was at the Harvest Festival in Rockport, a woman said to me, “Oh, you are the author of the taste and tales series.”  A light bulb went off, that is who we are.  From now on our blog will reflect not only on good food, but on tales about a restaurant, museum, city, etc and will have a recipe
 that goes along with it.MA front cover 6-08a

For instance, the two previous blogs talk about Woodman’s in Essex and introduces their new cookbook that celebrates their 100th anniversary, but also tells the history of Chubby and the fried clam. This recipe can be found in the Taste and Tales of Massachusetts.  The next one talks about Cortez Fishing Village in Bradenton, FL.  Though I have been going to and living in Florida since the early 70s, last year was the first time I had actually visited the village.  It is one of the last old Florida fishing villages left in the state, Cedar Key being another on the west coast of Florida.  While it does n0t have a recipe, I have to say it was the best cole slaw I have ever had at the Star Fish Market.  Wish I could get the recipe for it. I’ll try when I go this year.

 

 

Cortez Fishing Village’s Star Fish Market

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Historic_fishing_village_of_Cortez,_Florida (1)Cortez village is one of the last remaining fishing villages on Florida’s southwest Gulf coast.  The area was originally settled In the 1880s by families from the southern edge of the Outer Banks in North Carolina who came to the area known then as Hunter’s Point to escape the Atlantic hurricanes. Records indicate that by 1887, Cortez was a thriving fishing village with a store and school.  A hurricane in 1921 destroyed virtually all the buildings, but the residents, in true Florida fashion rebuilt.

Many of the descendants still live in the village. The residents called the eastern shore of Sarasota Bay south of the village “The Kitchen” as its wealth of fish, scallops, and other seafood made it possible for them to feed their families in hard time.

Docks 1The Village comprises homes, stores, marinas, and restaurants.  I have been hearing about the village for decades, but finally decided to explore some of it this year.

My neighbor was celebrating her 87 birthday and I decided we needed to have lunch at the Star Fish Market.  We arrived around 11:45 a.m. figuring we were ahead of the lunch crowd – wrong!!  I stood in line for 45 minutes to place our order and then waited another 30 for the meal to be delivered in a white box.  Nobody complained about the wait because the meal was well worth it.                                                                              Grilled Haddock

I had my usual, grilled grouper from the best flat top grill in the area and the birthday girl had crab cakes.  This was by far the freshest grouper I have ever had, most likely caught within 24 hours.  The meals come with fries, hush puppies and the absolutely very best cole slaw I’ve ever had.  They chop the slaw into small pieces and it had a wonderful flavor.  I took home a Stone Crab and Corn Chowder and more slaw to have the next evening.  There was enough to serve 3 of us.

Seating on the dock watching all the activity was fun.  Seems that the waters off the docks are the home to a flock of white pelicans.  I have spent years trying to add this bird to my life list, but Pelicanshave never located them in the area.  Imagine my surprise when I look out and there they are.  While eating a pod o f dolphins also swam by.

So the next time you are visiting the west coast of Florida stop by and grab a bite.  Also in February they also have the Cortez Fishing Village Festival which attracted 25,000 attendees this year.

 

Chubby and the Clam – Woodman’s celebrates 100 years

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6a012876db717c970c01a3fd11bc5d970b-320wi“The ubiquitous fried clam was invented on July 3, 1916 at Woodman’s in Essex. Whether on purpose or by accident, Lawrence “Chubby” Woodman dropped a clam or two into a fryer while he was making a batch of french fries and lo and behold, the fried clam was born. To true New Englanders, a fried clam must have the belly and they must be Ipswich clams; those small, yet ever so succulent, bivalves (shells consisting of two halves, or valves). The Ipswich clam is really a bivalve king, monarch of the mollusks. Dug from tidal flats along the Essex River, the clams must, by law, be taken only by a hand rake and not dredged.”  Taste and Tales of Massachusetts

On Sunday, I saw an article about a new cookbook, Woodman’s of Essex — Five Generations of Stories, 100 Years of Recipes.  Immediately e-mailed a fellow food, Heather Atwood of Gloucester, who said it was great.  It came today and has all the famous recipes that countless thousands have enjoyed throughout the years, but one!  I figured it would be the fried clam recipe and I was wrong, it is the fried onion recipe.  So whether it is Nannie Woodman’s, Lemon Pie or the great cole slaw, they are all here.

Chubby and Bessie’s Fried Clams

  • 26 ounces whole belly clams
  • 12 ounces evaporated milk
  • 4 cups corn flour
  • Lard (Crisco can be used). Do not use olive oil.

 

  1. In a 4 quart saucepan, melt 2 3/4 pounds lard or vegetable oil to a depth of 2-inches in the pan. Heat to 350 degrees F. Using two bowls, pour evaporated milk into one, and corn flour into the other. In small batches put the clams in a hand-held strainer, and submerge into the bowl of evaporated milk to coat. Remove the strainer from the bowl and shake off the excess milk.  Next dredge the clams until they are well covered with corn flour (you may want to use a clean dry hand-held strainer to shake off the excess flour).
  2. Carefully place the clams into hot lard or oil. Be careful, because lard will spatter.  Cook in small batches, turning to cook both sides, until they are golden brown.  Using a slotted scoop remove from oil. Shake gently to remove excess oil. The clams will take approximately 1 1/2 minutes to cook. The color is the most important. They should be a golden brown.  Serves 8 (appetizer-sized servings).

For those few who have never been to Woodman’s, the restaurant is located on Main Street (Rt. 133), Essex, MA.

Courtesy of Woodman’s of Essex — Five Generations of Stories, 100 Years of Recipes