Mussel Power

By Brianne Harrison

When I need to do a quick, lean, satisfying meal at any time of the year, I find myself grabbing a bag of mussels. Mussels are rather brilliant creatures. They’re inexpensive, cook in minutes, and practically create their own sauce. They can be eaten on their own, in a white wine sauce, or with chopped tomatoes and herbs. Like chicken, the possibilities are nearly endless, but this is my favorite preparation:

Steamed Mussels
1 lb mussels, cleaned and debearded
½ yellow onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
½ cup dry white wine
a few sprigs of thyme

Pick over the mussels and discard any that are open and don’t close when lightly tapped.

In a large pot with a lid, heat just enough olive oil to cover the bottom over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and sauté for a minute, until the onion starts to take on a creamy color.

Add the mussels, white wine, and thyme. Cover the pot and let steam for about 5-7 minutes, shaking the pot occasionally. Check the mussels; if they’re open, they’re done.

I usually serve this over whole-wheat spaghetti, with some garlic bread to sop up the juices. If you want a slightly more robust sauce, remove the mussels from the pot after they’re done and whisk a knob of butter into the juices.

Healthy Roundup
Mussels are fairly low fat and are good sources of protein, vitamin C, Thiamin, riboflavin, folate, potassium, zinc, vitamin B12, iron, phosphorus, manganese, and selenium.

Garlic has been said to reduce cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure. It’s also an excellent source of vitamins B6 and c and a good source of selenium

Jambalaya Fest 2009

By Pat Tanner

I apologize if I have misled you into thinking Jambalaya Fest is an upcoming public event. In fact, Jambalaya Fest is an annual private party thrown by my good friends Helen and George. And the 5th one took place a couple of weeks ago.

So why am I telling you this? First, to inspire you to devise some sort of annual entertaining event that includes, as does Jambalaya Fest, good food, good drink, good music (preferably live), and a reason to reconnect a group of friends (or friends of friends) who may see each other only once a year and who enjoy catching up.

Guests at Jambalaya Fest have come to expect top-notch jambalaya, cornbread, and cole slaw, to name just a few of the treats provided by our hosts. We also enjoy the music of a jazzy/bluesy local band. (You can preview their work at cdbaby.com/cd/thisoldhouse/from/payplay)

Some guests bring wine or beer, some bring dessert. Which brings me to the second reason. This year I dredged up a decades-old recipe for a confection that turned out to be the hit of the dessert table. These crunchy-sweet nuggets are easy to make, store well, and make a great hostess gift. Use the largest, freshest pecans you can find.

PRALINE NUGGETS (from Gourmet Magazine?)

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar, whisked or sieved to remove lumps

2 tablespoons ground pecans
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon bourbon or dark rum
1 large egg white, at room temperature
Pinch of cream of tartar

Pinch of salt
2 cups pecan halves

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Butter two large baking sheets. In a bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, ground pecans, and cornstarch. Add the bourbon and whisk the mixture until well blended.

In another bowl, beat the egg white with the cream of tartar and salt until it holds stiff peaks. Stir one-third into the sugar mixture and fold in the remaining whites. (The mixture will become more liquid.) Add the pecan halves, stirring to coat them well. Arrange them individually, rounded side up, two inches apart on the baking sheets. (You will have batter left over.) Bake for 12 minutes or until they are puffed and golden brown. (It sometimes takes longer.)

Let the nuggets cool on the sheets for one minute. Transfer them to racks and let them cool completely. The nuggets will keep in airtight containers for five days. Makes about 100 nuggets.

Crabby About Crabs

By Pat Tanner

When I was young my father would take me crabbing in Barnegat Bay each summer. I loved being out on the water in a rowboat. I loved that he was a stickler for using a baited line – never a cage! – for the sport of it. I loved the sweetness of crabmeat so much that I never complained about the effort it takes to extract it.

The fate of our blue crabs never varied: they were destined for my mother’s marinara sauce, always served over spaghetti. And that’s where I parted ways with my parents and six siblings. While the dish was a special summertime treat to them, I thought it was an insult to both crustacean and tomato, resulting in acrid, watered-down sauce.

Much more to my liking are these Thai-style crab fritters that employ another summertime treat: fresh corn kernels.

SPICY THAI CRAB & SWEET CORN FRITTERS

Slightly adapted from riasbaixaswines.com

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce or soy sauce

2 teaspoons bottled Asian chili garlic sauce

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

6 ounces lump crabmeat, drained, flaked, and picked over for cartilage

1-1/2 cups fresh (or frozen but thawed) corn kernels

1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or Thai basil

1/2 cup flour

Canola or other mild vegetable oil for shallow frying

Thai chili garlic dipping sauce or other favorite dipping sauce

In a medium bowl combine eggs, fish or soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, and ginger. Stir in crabmeat, corn, scallions, and cilantro or basil. Add flour; stir until ingredients are combined.

In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1/2-inch oil until hot. Carefully spoon crab mixture by rounded tablespoonfuls into hot oil, flattening slightly with spoon. Do not crowd. Cook fritters about 2 minutes on each side until golden brown and crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve immediately with dipping sauce.

Makes 6 appetizer or first-course servings.

Big Fish in a Small Mall

By Millicent K. Brody

Last Saturday proved to be a nice day for a drive, so we met friends at the MarketFair Mall on U.S. 1 at Meadow Road, in Princeton. We decided to browse, and dine at Big Fish. MarketFair is considerably smaller than the Mall at Short Hlls (my usual shopping destination) but nonetheless houses a discerning collection of shops: Smith & Hawken, White House/Black Market, Chico’s, Restoration Hardware, Anthropologie, and Barnes & Noble.

For the foodies, MarketFair also has a Williams Sonoma and Harry and David. If you hurry into Harry and David before July 31st, you’ll be able to mix and match from the following categories:Gourmet Relishes, Savory Salsa, Premium Preserves, Snack Mixes, Moose Munch Confection, chocolate truffles, fruit chocolates, Mondo Malt Balls, gummies, licorice, nuts, and more! The deal is, buy 3 and get the 4th Free. Villeroy & Boch, an excellent stop for anyone looking for attractive dishes, is also having a sale: save an additional 25% off their regular savings price. Available patterns include :Petite Fleur, Vieux Luxembourg, Design Naif, Switch 3, Manoir, Flora, and Cascara.

After dashing in and out of all the shops, we were starving, so we headed for one of only two restaurants actually inside the mall: Big Fish Bistro (there are also a few restaurants just outside the mall building). To celebrate the bistro's name, there's an enormous splash of color spanning the wall that is designed to resemble a BIG FISH. Adding to the decor are gigantic, blown glass globes of light, patches and swatches of color, and crisp table settings.

You’ll like the menu. Hitting various price points, it offers something for everyone. Starters included Tuscan shrimp marinated in garlic and herbs, paired with a tomato and cannellini bean salad, ($9.99); a crab cake with mustard sauce and roasted corn salsa, ($10.99); and shrimp mango spring rolls, or a mixture of shrimp, mango relish, Napa cabbage, cucumbers, and carrots in rice paper, served chilled with peanut sauce, ($8.99). You can choose a salad or cup of soup for an additional $2.99. We all started with a fresh and delicious Caesar salad. I moved to cedar planked Atlantic salmon, roasted with a tarragon-mustard glaze and served with a gaggle of roasted vegetables and redskin potatoes ($19.99). My friend Phyllis enjoyed the potato-encrusted tilapia, served with fresh vegetables ($17.99). My husband ordered the crab-stuffed sole with lemon butter sauce ($21.99), and Stan chose salmon Rockefeller stuffed with bacon, jumbo lump crab, and classic Rockefeller stuffing, ($21.99). A blueberry-hazelnut crisp with Hammonton blueberries, served with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce ($6.99), was enough for each of us to share. Both food and service were a fine contribution to a delightful Saturday.

Seafood Success

By Millicent K. Brody

It’s not always easy to guarantee a great meal in a restaurant, especially after not visiting the premises for more than a year. But, I’ve never been even slightly disappointed in Snappers, which we make sure to visit every time we’re down in Florida. Located at the end of a strip mall where several stores have been vacant for quite a few months, this particular restaurant takes pride in doing what they do best: serving “honest” fresh fish, daily. The menu also states that all entrees arrive with a house salad, crusty garlic and/or plain rolls, a choice of baked potato with butter and sour cream, a huge nest of French-fried potatoes, crabby fries, cole slaw, or a fresh vegetable. (Take note: The full-size sides and huge salad are included in the price of the entree.)

Although you must call ahead and make reservations for lunch and dinner, you can never assume that even with a guaranteed reservation, you’ll be sitting down to dinner at that appointed time. The restaurant is always jammed. I mean, not just a few people standing by the front door awaiting their table, or jamming one another at the entrance appointment desk, or needling the hostess for an exact seating time, or blocking the aisle with hopes that they’ll be next to be called...no!

By six p.m. this worthy establishment has at least one hundred people hanging about the front door, waiting for those beloved words. "Table for Jon and Michael X!' And as you pardon your way through the enormous crowd, you wonder, how do they do it?
Meals are priced to suit every customer’s purse. The so-called “Free” Caesar salad served with the entree is much more than plentiful, and adds just the right touch to a reasonably priced bill.
Yes, the menu is loaded with lobster, shrimp, crabmeat, and mahi mahi served many different ways. But it also contains well-priced house favorites like Macadamia-crusted snapper; pistachio-crusted salmon; sole almondine dipped in a light batter, then rolled in almonds and broiled; and baked stuffed scrod with seafood dressing. Our all-time favorite is the cedar planked halibut-served with smashed potatoes. It’s priced at $21.95. Seafood entrees start at $15.95 and top-off at $21.95. Add a glass or two of house wine priced at $7.00 each, and excluding tax and tip, you've dined well for less than $65.00.

You simply cannot walk in on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday and expect to get a table. You can plan ahead and call for reservations. Once seated, you’re apt to see the owner (who is also the executive chef), carrying a tray or two of food, cleaning the tables, carpet-sweeping the floor, and kibitzing with his clientele. He has discovered the secret of a successful restaurant. Great food served with style, friendly, courteous service, and prices that say, “We consider ourselves fortunate that you’ve found your way to our dining establishment.”

Tip: When visiting your favorite restaurant, try the seafood special of the day. That way, you're guaranteed to be eating the freshest fish!