Anthony Bourdain inspired me. I am sure that hundreds, thousands, perhaps millions of
people have drawn inspiration from the work of the noted chef, author and host
of the show "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" airing on the Travel Channel. During the show, the
irreverent Bourdain travels the globe searching for the most sensational eating
experiences – smoking, cursing and drinking along the way.
I watched the new episode filmed in Brittany, which
premiered Monday, January 25th (and will re-air regularly, of course
– it’s cable television!). Shot in
HD, the episode showcased the breath-taking natural beauty, ancient history and
scrumptious cuisine of that region of France. The James Beard Foundation award-wining Bourdain examines
the confluence of cultures and the region’s proximity to the sea that have
influenced its traditional foods – the incomparable salted butter, the “far” (a
food Bourdain describes as similar to Yorkshire pudding), the charcuterie, the
fresh bread and patisseries, the buckwheat crepes and the fresh seafood. My mouth
watered.
The episode concluded with Bourdain consuming what appeared
to be six-pounds of steamed fresh seafood. “For me, what it’s all about is a big, heaping, *bleeping*
tower of shellfish. Just
shellfish. You just sit there and
you pig out. I mean . . . it’s
what you do in these parts. And
I’ve been looking forward to this something fierce!” Bourdain crows in
anticipation of his feast.
Well, he got himself a big, *bleeping* tower of shellfish
indeed! A clip from the show reveals just how big. With an open bottle of wine in front of
him, Bourdain plows through the plate of lobster, flat-shelled oysters (unique
to the region), mussels, langoustines, local crab and shrimp -- mopping the
shellfish meat in drawn butter, and leaving only a few pieces uneaten. Yummmm.
Not able to resist the enticement of Bourdain’s shellfish
throw-down, I decided that my husband and I were going to have a shellfish
dinner last night. I’ve prepared
lobsters in my kitchen, but I wanted to serve a variety of shellfish. And I’ve cooked and enjoyed clambakes
in the outdoors during the waning days of summer on Martha’s Vineyard but it’s
the middle of winter in Norfolk and outdoor cooking was not in the cards. I had not previously cooked a clambake
on my stove top. And that was what
I set out to do.
I turned to another television chef for guidance and loosely
followed an Ina Garten recipe for a kitchen clam bake. Fortunately, my local Farm Fresh super market had all the ingredients
and I was able to collect everything in one stop. The preparation was fun and easy with the exception of
scrubbing clean the clams and giving them repeated brine baths. Here are some photos of the prep and the final product:
Littleneck clams soaking in brine.
Leeks and onions sauteed in butter (or but-tah).
On top of the sauteed leeks and onions, I layered small red bliss potatoes and smoked kielbasa sausage, sprinkled chopped garlic, salt and pepper, and ringed the pot with sprigs of fresh thyme.
On top of the sausage, I layered clams, shrimp and a 1.75 pound lobster. I poured into the pot 2 cups of wine and 1/4 cup of olive oil, put the top on the pot and cooked under medium high heat for 30 minutes.
I served hot french bread with the meal for sopping up the buttery seafood broth.
After the meal was plated and served, Baxter and I dug
in. I used a 2008 Sterling Vineyards Vintner's Collection Sauvignon Blanc for the base of
the seafood broth, and we drank the wine with the meal as well. Baxter said the wine held up nicely
next to the seafood, and I agree. The meal was delicious. We
didn’t have the Bay of Biscay or the English Channel over our shoulders but the
comfort of our home was pleasing.
Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to explore Brittany and its food very
soon. Thanks to Bourdain, we’ve
added a new destination on our list of places to visit.
