SHELLFISH edition
I have a shellfish obsession. So we spent a delicious and exhilarating weekend on cape cod, exploring shellfish in its many glorious forms, including a visit to my favorite oyster farm, moon shoal.
We soaked up the last golden sunshine of summer digging a clambake, slathering crusty bread with good butter for a champagne brunch, and drinking spritzers with our tinned fish picnic.
Visit the journal for shellfish inspiration & recipes!
HORS D’OUEVRES : tinned fish with crackers, n’duja and marco’s cocktails
We start the weekend with an early evening of tinned fish and spritzers. I love tinned fish- especially the silky, richly flavored tuna belly called ventresca. Our picnic is a no prep required, perfect Friday evening that perfectly follows a great motto- do less, better. I wish more people knew how easy it can be to create an elegant and lustily delicious spread with the right products and a little trick or two.
Recipe for a tinned fish Apertivo: open fish, eat with crackers, drink sherry.
BRUNCH: shellfish
champagne
bread
butter
Jon martin’s moon shoal oysters are the centerpiece of our courtyard brunch. Wake up and dine. Nothing here takes much work, yet the sum of its parts is pure magic.
I often think of food and flavors in terms of magical pairings, how a few ingredients together can create something really extraordinary (think tomato + cheese + herbs). I have been dreaming of this brunch for a long time, it’s a combination of shellfish + champagne + bread and butter. It really works because champagne is fantastic with shellfish, but is maybe even more incredible with bread and butter!
Champagne Tastes on a Cava Wage
by Scarlett Carassco
Sure, champagne gets all the glitzy cameos, but have you heard of its much more approachable and affordable Spanish counterpart, cava?
It is likely you have, cava has been having a “she’s all that”, laney boggs took off her glasses-esque moment for a few years now.
Winemakers placing greater emphasis on quality over quantity, have resulted in high quality wines with rich nutty brioche notes, subtle fruity flavors of apple and peach and a minerality. READ ON..
Dinner: cape cod clambake with lobsters, mussles, clams, sausages and dinner rolls.
We gather rocks on the beach and build a fire to get them lava hot. Our delicate shellfish won’t need any direct heat, an oven of rocks and seaweed surrounded by sand will yield incredible results.
Next we dig a pit in the sand and bury our gems with seaweed and on top a piece of soaked burlap. While the seaweed and rocks do their magic, we use the lingering fire to cook more clams.
For me the highlights of our visit to the cape were touring Island Creek Oyster's hatchery and taking a boat out to Jon Martin's 2 acre farm, moon shoal. Jon is a firefighter, oyster farmer, surfer and one of the most full of life people I've ever met. He also has a seagull named charlie that follows him everywhere. On the car ride back from a day with him, we were like kids... "remember when Jon said this...he's so funny, he's so cool.." Seriously, it was total full circle to have loved his oysters from afar for over a decade, and then get to learn that the reason they taste so good is because he truly puts love and hard work into what he does. 
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN OYSTER
Joseph Flannery explains the astounding two year journey your oyster took to get to your plate.
Pt. 1 Consuming the ocean
I see you sitting there, glowing from too much Rose. You slurp meat and brine from a craggy shell. The flesh is cool and soft and textured ever so slightly. You chew and consider. Maybe close your eyes for a moment, the best way to enjoy the bite. Flavors develop as you chew. Sugar, seaweed, ocean water. You wash the briney-sweet liquor down with a sip of whatever happens to be in a glass in front of you (I hope it has bubbles). You get that subtle ocean breath across your palate, mingling with whatever you just drank. But you are not full yet. After all, you have only had six bites. You only feel refreshed, and your palate stimulated. You are ready whatever else your meal will offer, as well as the rest of the night. READ ON…
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Moon Shoal oysters
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How to cook a perfect lobster
Seaweed Mignonette
There are plenty of ways to eat a raw oyster: purists think it’s sacrilege to put anything on an oyster while others favor a squeeze of lemon and a small dab of horseradish or cocktail sauce. But we think mignonette is the perfect accompaniment for the perfect food.
Our favorite trick is to use a French vinegar that is infused with umami rich seaweed, them we infuse it with even more umami (kombu). The result is delicate and intense at the same time. Dang. I need to go find an oyster to eat…
PORTUGUESE CLAMS: The best recipes are so simple, you can pass them on with story.
The vessel comes from isabel’s photo studio prop room. It’s portuguese. So is she. Isabel tells me the copper pot with loopy handles is used to cook clams over live fire. The portuguese, she explains, start with a generous douse of olive oil and sliced onions. Next comes clams, paprika and water from the sea. I immediately packed the vessel and committed to cooking clams isabel’s way.
That’s it, thats the recipe.
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Call your friends, we’re having a party!
How to throw a new england-style clambake in your backyard fire pit
A new england-style clambake is a traditional way of steaming seafood in a fire pit dug in the sand using seaweed, hot rocks and hot coals- typically done on the beach (think: beach-style “backyard bbq” party).
