How about a little Bundt pan history?

In 1950 Nordic Ware invented the Bundt® Pan; a ring shaped pan with fluted sides.   The pan sold somewhat slowly until the 1966 Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest winner used the little-known Bundt® Pan for her Tunnel of Fudge cake recipe. This prompted a mad rush for the pans, causing them to surpass the tin Jell-O mold to become the most-sold pan in the United States. Since their introduction, more than 50 million Bundt pans have been sold by Nordic Ware.

Oh, and by the way, National Bundt Pan Day is November 15th.  And do you remember the scene in the 2002 movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, when the mother of the groom-to-be comes to the home of the mother of the bride-to-be and presents to you a Bundt cake? Still makes me smile, HERE IS A LINK to a grainy video from You Tube.

This super moist yogurt cake is perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. So simple to put together and pop in the oven… seriously delish.

FYI: I used a decorative sunflower Bundt pan in place of the traditional Bundt that has the tube in the center, so it took about 20 minutes longer to cook than this recipe states.

Fresh Blueberry Yogurt Cake

2  1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons lemon juice, divided
8 ounces plain Greek yogurt
12 ounces fresh blueberries
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Generously grease and flour a Bundt pan.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon zest and set aside.

With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir the vanilla extract and only 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice.

Mix in half in the flour mixture, then the yogurt, then the remaining half of the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated.

Gently fold the blueberries into the batter.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Once cooled whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Drizzle over the top of the cake.

Serves 12

Bonus photo:  It takes a lot to dig to the back of the “baking” cupboard to get to my collection of Bundt pans!

Yesterday I did my dip picks for the Super Bowl, today we have the real contenders. I failed to mention on yesterday’s post that light cream cheese may be used in each and every one of the four dips, with virtually no taste difference. Please just don’t use the non-fat disgusting cardboard thing they call cream cheese. That stuff should be illegal! There are a plethora of lovely non-fat dairy products, but non-fat cream cheese is not one of them.

Thinly sliced and lightly toasted French bread, baguette, or sourdough work perfect for both dips.  For the pizza dip, the bread simulates a pizza crust and for the clam dip, it reminds me of enjoying clam chowder in a sourdough bowl on Pier 39 in beautiful San Fran. Which coincidentally, is where I am headed later today to visit my sweet Marissa – for a food and shopping filled weekend!

Happy Super Bowl Weekend!

New England Patriots Clam Chowder Dip

4 slices bacon, diced
5 green onions, thinly sliced
8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
2 (6.5 oz) cans chopped clams, drained
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Place the cream cheese in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a medium skillet, fry the diced bacon until crisp, transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but about 1 teaspoon of the bacon dripping and cook the green onions in the same skillet of medium heat for about 1 minute.

Add the bacon and the hot green onions to the cream cheese and using a fork, combine well.

Stir in the drained clams, Worcestershire, Sriracha and garlic salt. Taste and add more of any of the seasonings, if needed for your taste.

Serve with toasted French bread slices, or serve in a hollowed out sourdough bread round (as you would clam chowder) and cube the bread pieces you take out of the round and use as the “dippers”.

May be made up to one day ahead, bring to room temperature before serving.

———————-

NY Giants’ Pepperoni Pizza Dip

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided
1/3 cup pizza sauce
1 1/2 ounces pepperoni slices (about 15 slices), halved or quartered
2 green onions, thinly sliced.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Use a fork to combine cream cheese with the Italian seasoning and garlic salt.

Spread cream cheese in 9-inch glass pie plate.

Top with 1 cup of the Mozzarella. Spread the pizza sauce evenly over cheese, then sprinkle with the remaining cup of Mozzarella on top of sauce.

Arrange pepperoni on top and sprinkle with green onions.

Bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot with toasted thin slices of French bread or bagel crisps.

*Please note: I ran out of  green onions just before I made this dip, so I topped mine with some leftover caramelized onions I had in my fridge. And as much as I love caramelized onions… green onions would have been better.

The Super Bowl is in 3 days, so today and tomorrow, I’ve got a few party dips to share with you.  These first two represent the two teams I’d rather see in the Super Bowl. Number one is, of course, my Arizona Cardinals. And the second would be the Green Bay Packers. I do realize that these two teams could never be in the Super Bowl together, since they are both in the NFC (along with the New York Giants). But still, I’ve created a couple dips as my show of support for next year.

Tomorrow I’ll share the dips I created for the actual teams in Super Bowl XLVI, the New England Patriots and the New York Giants.

Here  in AZ, we love our heat and peppers. In Wisconsin they love their cheese and beer. And we all love bacon…

AZ Cardinals’ Bacon-Jalapeno Popper Dip

8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4-ounce can chopped green chilies, drained
1 large jalapeno pepper, minced
1/4 cup shredded Mexican style cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 strips bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an oven safe serving dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Using an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth.

Stir in green chilies, jalapeno peppers, and both cheeses. Spoon this mixture into the prepared baking dish.

Mix together the Panko, Parmesan cheese, bacon and sprinkle it over the cream cheese mixture.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the mixture is hot and the topping is lightly browned.

Serve hot with tortilla chips, I personally love Scoops.

GB Packers’ Cheddar Beer Dip

8-ounce package of softened cream cheese
1/2 package (1 1/2 tablespoons) of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing (dry mix)
1/3 cup beer (any brand, any flavor you like)
1 cup finely shredded cheese, divided
2 strips bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
2 green onions, minced

Whisk cream cheese and dry dressing mix until creamy.

Mix in half of the cheese, cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour to allow flavors to blend.

Top with the remaining cheese, bacon, and green onions.  Serve with pretzels or chips.

First off, a few disclaimers. The photo above and 2 more in the body of the recipe (you will easily spot them!) are not my own, but from an article in Fine Cooking. This recipe is inspired by the recipe in that article, created by the renowned baker and cookbook author, Rose Levy Beranbaum.  The reason for the snatched photos – yeah, I didn’t take enough while assembling the pie and when I served it at the lobster bake, I was in such a rush, I didn’t get a quality photo then either. No matter, this is one incredible pie~

Lattice-Topped Blueberry Pie

Dough
1  1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cold cream cheese, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Filling
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt
4 cups fresh blueberries (2 1/2 dry pints), stemmed, rinsed, and dried
Glaze
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Dough: Place the all-purpose flour, cake flour, salt, and baking powder in a food processor and process for a few seconds to combine.

Add the cold cream cheese to the flour mixture. Process for 20 seconds. Add the butter and pulse until none of the butter pieces is larger than a pea, about five 3-second pulses.

Add the cream and vinegar and pulse in short bursts until the dough just starts to come together; the dough will still look crumbly but if you press it between your fingers, it should easily come together. Turn it out onto a clean work surface. Gather and press the dough together.

Cut the dough in half and put each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. Loosely cover the dough with the plastic. Using the wrap as an aid, shape one half of the dough into a flat disk and the other into a flat rectangle. Wrap each tightly in the plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Remove the flat disk of dough from the fridge, keep the rectangle refrigerated.  Set the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap sprinkled lightly with flour. Roll it out to a 13-inch round, occasionally loosening and reapplying the plastic wrap.

Remove one piece of plastic and flip the dough into a standard metal 9-inch pie pan (it should and hold 4 cups of liquid). Fit the dough into the pan and carefully peel off the plastic. Trim the dough so there’s a 3/4-inch overhang. Fold the overhang underneath itself to create an edge that extends about 1/4 inch beyond the rim of the pie pan. Cover the dough-lined pie plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Filling: In a medium bowl, stir the sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt. Add the blueberries and toss to coat.

Top Crust: Remove the rectangle of dough from the refrigerator and set the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap sprinkled lightly with flour. Roll the dough into an 11 x 14-inch or larger rectangle; it should be no more than 1/8 inch thick.

Cut ten 3/4-inch-wide strips lengthwise down the rectangle, using a ruler to measure and mark 3/4-inch intervals and to cut a straight edge. If you want a crimped edge on the strips, use a fluted pastry wheel.

Stir the fruit filling a few times and scrape it into the pie shell. Arrange five strips of dough evenly over the filling, starting with a long strip for the center. Gently fold back every other strip (the second and the fourth) to a little past the center. Choose another long strip of dough, hold it perpendicular to the other strips, and set it across the center of the pie.

Unfold the two folded strips so they lie flat on top of the newly placed center strip. Now fold back the strips that weren’t folded back last time (the first, third, and fifth ones).

Lay a second perpendicular strip of dough about 3/4 inch away from the last one.  Unfold the three folded strips. Fold back the original two strips, set a third perpendicular strip of dough 3/4 inch from the last one, and unfold the two strips.

Repeat on the other side with the two remaining strips: fold back alternating strips, lay a strip of dough on top, and unfold.

Remember to alternate the strips that are folded back to create a woven effect.

Trim the strips to a 1/2-inch overhang. Moisten the underside of each one with water and tuck it under the bottom crust, pressing to make it adhere. Crimp or flute the edges, if you like.

Lightly cover the assembled pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. After 30 minutes of chilling, set an oven rack on the lowest rung and put a foil-lined baking stone or baking sheet on it. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Glaze: When the pie has chilled for 1 hour, brush the lattice with the milk and sprinkle on the sugar.

Set the pie directly on the baking stone or sheet. Bake until the juices are bubbling all over, 40 to 55 minutes. After the first 15 minutes, cover the rim with foil or a pie shield.  If the lattice starts to darken too much in the last 10 minutes of baking, cover it loosely with a piece of foil that has a vent hole poked in the center.

Let the pie cool on a rack until the juices have thickened, 4 hours.

Serves 8  (revised recipe inspired by recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum)

Good Tuesday morning! Thank you all for the lovely comments, the Facebook “likes”, and for encouraging your Facebook friends to also “like” LPG. The number of LPG “likes” went from 277 to 291, which is perfectly wonderful.

As I said yesterday, not one of the new 291 told me who suggested that they “like” LPG, but after some top-notch investigative work, I was able to determine the origin of several of the newbies. I discovered that the top two “saleswomen” were Jeanie Hays, who brought in at least three new people and Amy Kilpatrick, who brought in at least two new people. In addition, Amy posted 4 comments here on the blog and Jeanie posted 1 comment. So Amy and Jeanie had the most tickets in the drawing – with 10 each!

All in all, there were 23 different people’s names in the big salad bowl with a total of 63 tickets. This is high level math for me, so imagine the work involved – I believe that I  have a little tension headache from it! But alas…. we have our winners! And they are ~

Julie Stafford – new FB friend, brought  in by the lovely aforementioned Jeanie Hays. Thank YOU, Jeanie and welcome Julie!

Ginger Tunheim – longtime loyal blog follower and commenter, who left comments and became a new LPG FB friend – brought into that fold by her daughter, Kim!

and

Amy Kilpatrick – multi-ticket holder, as described above. Thanks Amy. xoox

Congratulations, Ladies! I shall be getting your awesome cupcake liners to you, ASAP. And thanks to ALL of you who played along!

We will return to our regularly scheduled recipes tomorrow. What’s coming up? Lattice Topped Blueberry Pie, Four tempting “Team Themed” Super Bowl dips, Fresh Blueberry Yogurt Cake, Coconut Jalapeno Shrimp atop Spaghetti Squash, and so much more!

Just a quick reminder that our CONTEST ends tonight at midnight.

Thus far, LPG Facebook followers have increased from 277 to 291! Shy of my 325 goal, but steadily increasing, which is so encouraging.

The only Problem – NOT ONE of the new followers has told me that YOU (or anyone else for that matter) told them to follow LPG, so how can I give you the 3 tickets you deserve?!? I suppose it is possible that all the new followers are already blog followers who are just now following LPG on Facebook, and either way, each of them receives two tickets in the drawing… but if you sent them there, I need to know… by midnight tonight.

You want to win one of the three Grand Prizes, don’t you? Take your credit where credit is due! Good luck to one and all…. oh, and thanks for playing!

Like just about everyone else I know, I love Mason jars! Check out my Mason jar Pinterest board to see just a few of the wonderful ideas clever people have come up with using these American icons. How about a little Wikipedia info on the beloved jars…

“A Mason jar is a glass jar used in canning to preserve food. It was invented and patented by John Landis Mason, a Philadelphia tinsmith in 1858. They are also called Ball jars, after Ball Corp., a popular and early manufacturer of the jars; fruit jars because they are often used to store fruit; “jam jars” or generically glass canning jars. While largely supplanted by other methods for commercial mass-production, they are still commonly used in home canning.”

I baked the cobblers for the clambake in wide-mouth (squat and fat) half-pint Kerr Mason jars and served homemade vanilla ice cream in regular-mouth (tall and thin) half-pint jars. Just as when using for canning, first sterilize the jars with boiling water – and when using for baking, place in a water bath to prevent the jars from cracking.

Mason Jar Peach and Berry Cobbler

1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup  plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened, divided
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
1 package frozen peaches, thawed and cut in half
1 package frozen mixed berries, thawed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (Sugar In The Raw)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and baking powder. Work the butter in with either your hands or two forks until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the milk in the well.  Use a fork to mix in milk until smooth.

In a medium saucepan, stir together the brown sugar, cornstarch, and water. Mix in the peaches and blueberries. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Mix in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and lemon juice. Continue cooking until the butter melts.

Place 8 sterilized half-pint (8-ounce) wide-mouth Mason jars in a large roasting pan. Divided the peach-berry mixture evenly between the jars. Evenly spoon the cobbler batter in mounds over the hot fruit. In a small bowl, mix together the turbinado sugar and nutmeg, and sprinkle over the batter.

Pour hot water into the roasting pan, coming up about half-way up to the height of the jars. Carefully place the roasting pan in the preheated oven. Bake cobbler for about 45 minutes, or until bubbly and a toothpick inserted into the cobbler comes out clean.

Makes 8

These potatoes are ridiculously easy and delicious. I used the milk solids that I’d skimmed of the pound of butter that I clarified for the lobster bake. Love being above to use something that might have otherwise been wasted.

Herbed Boiled Potatoes

4 pounds small red and/or golden potatoes, skins on
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash potatoes thoroughly. Place in a pot and cover with cold water. Season with a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and continue to boil until tender 15-20 minutes, or just until a paring knife inserts into a potato easily. Drain.

Return to pot and hold the lid tightly on the pan and shake a few times to fluff the potatoes. Toss with the butter, parsely, and garlic.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve piping hot.

Serves 8

Yeah, I’ve got a brand new thing that is totally wasting all my time… so much so, that I do not even remotely want to post another Lobster Bake recipe today… tomorrow, I promise! 

Instead, today I shall tell you about my addiction … AND… we shall have a little give-away.  Sound Fun? YES IT DOES!!!

So… my big new thing is Pinterest. I know, it’s been around for quite some time, but I’ve been avoiding it like the plague. Until. Now.

Now, I…. well, I basically – love it! The stuff you can find on it… totally and completely A – M – A – Z – I – N – G !  And the time you can waste… terrifying!

For instance, I stumbled upon (I know that is a whole other matter – and I will not succumb to stumbleupon.com, I will not!)… oh, as I was saying, I stumbled upon THIS…

Did you click on that link? Wasn’t that the coolest thing ever? How about numbers 3, 7, 8, 10, and 23?!? Go back and check them out again…. Yup, I’m going to do all of those, really, I am!

So, if you want to check out my Pinterest boards (they will grow, I’ve only been at this for two days now!) you can go to this LINK. And – if you join Pinterest, you can follow me, and I’ll follow you too.

Speaking of following (great segue – if I do say so) … here is the contest/give-away. 

Did you see that #22 on the great website I linked you to? That is a total coincidence. I swear! Yesterday I was returning something to Tuesday Morning and I spotted all these cute cupcake liners and I thought to myself, “These would make a great contest give-away.” Now when I say “great” I mean cute and cheap. So I picked up a few, mixed them up in their packages to make a better “Superior Quality” assortment and now I have 3 packs to give away.

Here is all you have to do to have a chance to win one…

Leave me a comment here on the blog between now and Monday. For each comment you leave on any post, you get a ticket that goes into the drawing. Leave 15 comments on 15 different posts … 15 chances to win! Now, you ask yourself, “Why and what could I possibly comment on?”  Hey, why not go back to the link again and then come back and share with me what fun and inexpensive crafty gift thingy you are planning to make with your own hands.

OR

Better yet. If you are on Facebook – you have even better odds. If you already “Like” Les Petites Gourmettes on Facebook – thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you don’t – do so now and you get TWO tickets or chances to win.  I currently have 277 followers. My goal? How about 325? Lofty, I know, but I have faith in you people!

OR

If you already follow – just get a friend to also follow, and you get THREE tickets or chances to win! That’s right, for EACH new friend YOU get to follow LPG on FB, you get 3 tickets! Just be sure to have them leave me a comment saying that YOU told them to follow LPG.  Plus… they will get 2 tickets as new followers. (If you’re thinking, “How can I get all my friends to follow it?” see the post script at the bottom)

Is this too complicated to just win a few ”Superior Quality” cupcake liners? NO, it’s good clean fun!  So to summarize …

1. Each comment left on this blog (on any post) between now and midnight (AZ time) Monday = 1 chance to win.
2. Each new “Like” on Facebook = 2 chances to win
3. Each time YOU twist a friend’s arm to “Like” it on Facebook = 3 chances to win

There will be 3, YES, as in THREE, grand prize winners. Drawn from a big salad bowl and announced on Tuesday, January 31st. Each grand prize winner will receive one of these AWESOME sets of  80 cupcake liners!

The value of this free give-away? Seriously, does that really matter? I think not. But if you must know, I spent $28 (plus TAX) on four sets, just to be able to mix them up into these freakishly awesome assortments…. so yeah, the value is about $7 each, but my actual cost to make them so awesome was over $10 each!

So get to commenting and “liking”, and getting your friends “like”…. let the games begin!!!!

P.S. You ask, “How am I gong to be able get my hundreds of FB friends to “like” the LPG page? That sounds like too much work.”

No, it’s easy.  Just click on “share” at the bottom of today’s LPG Facebook page entry. And write in your comment box something like, “Hey friends, go to this page and “like” it and both you and I will be eligible to win a super Sweet prize. Oh, and please just be sure to let them know that I’m the one who sent you there. Thanks and enjoy this fabulous FB page!“

Succotash is a hot bean and corn dish that was  popular during the Great Depression because of the ingredients were more readily available than most other foods and relatively less expensive. I’m not a fan of traditional succotash… but turn it into a cold salad with basil dressing, and I’m all in!

Succotash Salad with Basil Dressing

2 cups frozen baby lima beans, thawed
2 cups frozen shelled edamame, thawed
1 tablespoon salt
1 pound green beans, trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Two 15- to 16-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed, drained
3 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 cups peeled and diced sweet onion
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil, divided
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 Roma tomatoes, sliced

Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Add the lima beans, edamame, and salt and cook 2 minutes. Add green beans and cook until all beans are just tender, about 4 minutes longer. Drain. Rinse beans under cold water; drain well. Transfer to large bowl. Add kidney beans, corn, and onion.

Puree 3/4 cup of the basil, yogurt, mayonnaise, and vinegar in a blender or food processor. Add dressing to bean mixture; toss to blend well. Season salad with salt and pepper.

Transfer salad to a platter. Surround with tomato slices. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup basil over salad and serve.

Serves 8

These buttery rolls are surprisingly light, perfect for soaking up the broth from the lobster bake.

Downeast Dinner Rolls

1 tablespoon dry active yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
3 cups flour, plus more for rolling
1/2 cup warm milk
1/2 cup canola oil, plus more for greasing proofing bowl and baking pans
1 teaspoon salt, plus more for sprinkling on top
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in water.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Mix in 1 cup of flour.  Add milk, oil, and salt.  Mix until evenly blended.  Add remaining flour and mix with a dough hook on low speed until dough is smooth and pulls into a ball, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Lightly grease a large bowl and add dough.  Cover with a towel and set in a warm place.  Let dough rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.  Punch dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured board.

Roll dough into a log about 23-inches long and using a bench scraper or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 18 even-sized pieces (each about 1 1/4-inch wide).

Roll each piece into a round shape and place into a greased Pyrex rectangular baking dish.  Place rolls so that they are just barley toughing each other.  Cover rolls with the towel and allow to rise for 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Brush beaten egg on top of rolls. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.  While rolls are still warm, brush with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with salt.

Makes 18

Along with the “stars” of the night… the actual lobsters, the clambake was the main course of the lobster bake evening.  The lobsters can be cooked right along with the whole “bake” but I, for one, don’t have a pot big enough to hold everything. As a result, the lobsters were boiled separately.

Since I wasn’t sure of any of the guests’ dietary restrictions, instead of the kielbasa I would generally use, I found a fabulous spicy chicken and spinach sausage at Costco and used that.  I also separated out the corn and served it next to some potatoes on the buffet, just because this time it fit better that way. But for that added pop of color, I would usually leave the corn in the “bake” as I have pictured above.

Classic Clambake

2 pounds kielbasa or other spicy sausage, sliced
12 corn pieces (from about 5 or 6 ears)
4 pounds littleneck clams, scrubbed
4 pounds mussels, cleaned and debearded
3 pounds large shrimp, deveined, peels left on
2 peeled and thinly sliced onions
10 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
2 Fresno chilies, sliced
4 fresh or 2 dried bay leaves
2 lemons, quartered
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons whole toasted coriander seed
1 tablespoon chili flakes
2 teaspoons salt
2 bottles dry white wine

In large stock pot (fitted with strainer, if available) layer in this order; first kielbasa, then the corn.

Next clams, mussels, shrimp, onions, garlic, Fresno chili, bay leaves, and lemon.

Sprinkle on the cumin, coriander, chili flakes, and the salt.

Now pour in the white wine, turn the heat to high and cover.  Cook for about 30 minutes.

Lift out strainer and dump onto serving platter. Provide plenty of towels or cloth napkins. Paper napkins won’t cut it – this is a fun and downright messy affair!

Don’t forget the lemon scented damp-warm towels to finish it all off with.

In all honesty, I am not fully recovered from the big weekend lobster bake… still putting away all that stuff I dragged out of storage. Plus, I have been busy making lobster stock from all those shells.  Therefore, we’ll start the week of recipes slowly and begin with clarified butter. This was used for dipping the lobster and other seafood into.

Clarified butter is what is left when melting unsalted butter – after the water evaporates, some solids float to the surface and are skimmed off, and the remainder of the milk solids sink to the bottom and are left behind when the butter fat (the clarified butter) is poured off.

Drawn butter is an American term for clarified butter. It has a higher smoke point than regular butter, which makes it much better for sautéing. It also has a longer shelf life than fresh butter and since is has negligible amounts of lactose, it is more acceptable to people with lactose intolerance.

And just in case you’ve heard of it before and have been wondering… ghee is the East Indian form of clarified butter.

Also note that there is about a 25% loss in the quantity of butter, after clarifying.  You may clarify any amount of butter. I started with 2 sticks (1 cup) but realized that would not be enough for the dinner party, so I ended up clarifying another 2 sticks, or a full pound of butter.

Feel free to save the milk solids you’ve skimmed off.  They can be added to rice, polenta, soups, popcorn, or even your morning toast or oatmeal.  I used them in the boiled potatoes at the lobster bake ~ that recipe will be up in a few days.

Clarified Butter

Place unsalted butter in a heavy saucepan over melt over the lowest possible heat, until completely melted. Let simmer gently until the foam rises to the top of the melted butter.

Once the butter stops spluttering, and no more foam seems to be rising to the surface, remove from heat and skim off the foam with a spoon. Do not worry is you can’t get every little bit, it will be removed when it is strained.

Line a mesh strainer with a few a double layer of cheesecloth and set the strainer over a heatproof container or a Pyrex measuring cup.

Carefully pour the warm butter through the cheesecloth-lined strainer into the container, leaving behind any solids from the bottom of the pan.

Clarified butter will keep for about 6 months in the refrigerator.

2 sticks (1 cup) of butter will yield about 3/4 cup clarified butter