By Al Milukas By Al Milukas
By Al Milukas Notes from the Cooker, Traveler, Master Gardener and Serious Sipper of Creative Cocktails Notes Notes from from the the Cooker, Cooker, Traveler, Traveler, Master Master Gardener Gardener and and Serious Serious Sipper Sipper of of Creative Creative Cocktails Cocktails
Al enjoys discovering great food, creative cocktails, and the people who make them. enjoysdiscovering discovering great great food, creative who make them. AlAlenjoys creativecocktails, cocktails,and andthe thepeople people who make them. Listen to him on the Paul & Al show, weekdays on 94HJY. For more blogs delivered to your e-mail, sign up at www.livethelive.com. Listento tohim himon on the the Paul Paul & Al show, weekdays e-mail, sign upup at www.livethelive.com. Listen weekdayson on94HJY. 94HJY.For Formore moreblogs blogsdelivered deliveredtotoyour your e-mail, sign at www.livethelive.com.
CLAMS CLAMS CASINO CASINO
PERFECT BANANA BREAD
I’ve had Clams Casino in many different forms. Back when I worked in Italian restaurants in New I’ve hadwe Clams Casino different forms.press Back when Italianwhole restaurants in New York, would makeina many breadcrumb mixture, it ontoI aworked freshlyinopened clam, and then York, wouldpiece makeof a breadcrumb onto a freshly whole and then placewe a small bacon on topmixture, before itpress wentitinto the oven. Itopened was good, butclam, the clam often place small piece and of bacon top before went oven. It wasclam good, butthat. the When clam often stuckato the shell, manyon people didn’t it want tointo gulpthe down a whole like it was stuck andmy many people didn’t want that to gulp downchop a whole clam like Wheninto it was time to forthe meshell, to make own recipe, I decided I would the clams andthat. mix them the time for me tomix, make my own recipe, I decided that I would chop the clams and mix them into the breadcrumb so that every bite was the same. Thisbreadcrumb is one of my favorites because notthe only tastes amazing, it freezes really well. mix, so that every biteitwas same.
Banana Bread Recipe What makes this banana bread special is that it uses whole wheat flour…less sugar…and no artificial extracts that make most banana breads taste like crap. It relies on very ripe bananas to give it its wonderful natural flavor. It’s not always easy to get bananas to ripen exactly when you’re trying to make your banana bread recipe. So I buy a large bunch of bananas and let them get very ripe at room temperature. I then take 5 at a time (for this recipe), peel them, Directions: Ingredients: and place the bananas in a Ziploc bag in the Directions: Ingredients: freezer. When it’s time to make banana bread, I Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onions, and sauté them unjust pull one of those Ziplocs 2 tablespoons olive oil out of the freezer, Heat the olive oil in a pan over heat.cook Addfor the10onions, andAdd sauté til they’re translucent. Add themedium garlic, and seconds. thethem wineunand 2 tablespoons olive oil let it thaw, and mash with a potato masher. tilsimmer they’re for translucent. Add the garlic, and cook for 10 seconds. Add the wine and athe minute. Add thedegrees. bread crumbs, and stir the mixture until it becomes Pre-heat oven to 350 1/3 cup finely chopped Vidalia or oth- simmer a minute. crumbs, and stir the mixture it becomes thicker,for like a paste.Add Addthe thebread parsley and oregano. Season withuntil pepper. (There’s 1/3 finely Vidalia oronion) oth-usedthicker, Since Roundup ischopped a (about very common er cup sweet onion a 1/2 herbicide an like aplenty paste.ofAdd the parsley and oregano. Season with pepper. (There’s going to be salt in the clam juice and bacon, so no salt is needed). Combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda and salt er sweet onion (about a 1/2 an onion) on wheat, and its cancer-causing characteristics going to be plenty of salt in the clam juice and bacon, so no salt is needed). in a medium bowl. Set it aside. are by squeezed now, I always use organic 2 widely garlic known cloves, through a Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool. 2garlic garlic cloves, wheat forpress my bakingsqueezed recipes. through a Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool. Combine the sugar and oil in a mixing bowl and mix at medium speed for 2 garlic press It’s time to open clams. you know how doeggs, that,one open sieve minutes. (I usethe whiskIfattachment.) Addto at athem time.over Beata until I 1/3 use organic cane sugar instead of regular It’s time to open thethe clams. Ifthat youthe know how tothe do that, open them over aDiscard sieve the cup dry white wine with a bowl underneath so clam meats and juices are captured. is light and lemon colored. sugar when I have it. wine I don’t use vegetable oils, with mixture 1/3 cup dry white bowl underneath so that the clam meats and juices are captured. Discard any abroken shells, but save the good ones. especially not canola, so I use healthier avocado any broken shells, but save the good ones. 1/3 cup unflavored bread crumbs With the mixer running at low-speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the oil olive oil. Eggs arebread pastured when I can get 1/3orcup unflavored crumbs Bring a largebeginning pot of water boil, and the clams intoBlend it, about at aeach time, andtoending withdrop the flour mixture. well10 ’em. Bananas are organic. And I rub the pans withBringbananas, a seconds. large potDon’t of water to boil, and drop thethe clams intowith it, about 10after at a time, for 30 let them open! Remove clams a slotted spoon and 1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, addition. Add the vanilla extract and blend some more to mix. coconut oil or I use an olive oil cooking spray.
Directions
1finely tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, chopped finely chopped 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano cups all-purpose flour Freshly• 3 cracked black pepper Freshly cracked black pepper • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 2 dozen medium neck clams • 2 tspneck baking soda 2 dozen medium clams 1/2intsp salt squares to 1/3 lb. bacon,•cut small 1/3 lb. bacon, cut in small squares to 1 1/4 cup sugar fit the clam• shells fit the clam shells • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
for 30 seconds. Remove thethis clams with abatches slotted spoon place them in Don’t a bowllettothem cool.open! Continue doing in small until alland the place them in a bowl to cool. Continue doing this in small batches until allmuch the clams have the2 water. You’ll makes opening the clams Pour the been batterininto loaf pans thatfind havethis been sprayed with cooking spray. clams in the easier.have Thenbeen proceed as water. above. You’ll find this makes opening the clams much easier. Then proceed as above. Bake for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out Once you’ve shucked all theinclams, letpan theon clam juicerack. sit forbundt a bit, so that anyas grit clean. Cool 15 minutes the loaf a wire works well. Once you’ve the bowl. clams, let the clam sit forA a bit,juice sopan that settles to theshucked bottom all of the Then pour offjuice the clean clam andany addgrit it to settles to the crumb bottommixture. of the bowl. Then pour off the clean clam juice and add it to your bread worry itthem looks soggy at this point.) the loaves from(Don’t the pans and if cool completely on the wire rack your Remove bread crumb mixture. (Don’t worry iflet it looks soggy at this point.) before slicing. I like to hand chop the clam meats instead of using a food processor. You want I tasty like toclam handchunks, chop the of using foodclams processor. notclam too meats big butinstead not mush. Adda the to theYou the want bread tasty clam chunks, too if bigthe butclam not mix mush. Addvery thesoggy, clams simply to the the crumb mix. At thisnot point, looks add bread a little crumb mix. At this point, the clam mix looks very soggy, simply add a little more bread crumb to dry ifit out. more bread crumb to dry it out. • 2 eggs Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Separate the clam shell halves and wash them, making sure you Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line largeclam baking sheet foil. Separate the mixture, clam shellmounding halves andthem washslightly, them, making sure you • 5 medium-sized bananas, and don’t have any shell fragments leftpeeled ina the shell. Fillwith them with the clam and placing each don’t have shellsheet. fragments left in the clam shell. Fill them with the clam mixture, mounding them slightly, and placing each one on theany baking mashed one on the baking sheet. • 2 tsp real vanilla extract Cut the bacon in small squares to fit the clam shells. Place a small piece of raw bacon on the top of each clam. Cut the bacon in•small squares to fit the clam shells. Place a small piece of raw bacon on the top of each clam. Cooking spray Bake until the clams are just cooked through, the topping is golden, and the bacon is cooked, about 30 minutes. Bake until the clams are just cooked through, the topping is golden, and the bacon is cooked, about 30 minutes.
Ingredients
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