An amazingly fancy appetizer that is sure to impress your guests! Baked clams has been a favorite of mine since I was a little girl. I remember my mom making them for special occasions / family parties. I'm excited to have my own recipe to share with you all!
Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
1 dozen cherry stone clams (can use little necks)
1 cup panko
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup white wine
1 teaspoon dried oregano
juice of 1/2 a lemon
Recipe:
Scrub the clams under cold water to remove any sand.
In a large pan, bring the wine to a boil, then add the clams & cover the pan. Reduce the heat to a simmer.
Allow the clams to cook just enough to open up, about 7 minutes.
Remove the clams from the heat, remove the meat from the shells, and set the shells aside.
Use a knife to chop the meat into smaller chunks.
Peheat oven to 450.
Transfer the meat to a mixing bowl & add in all the other ingredients above. Mix to combine. Tip: use whatever you feel like using to spice this up! I added chopped Jalapeño slices for a little kick.
Fill the half shells with the mixture, then place them on a cookie sheet & bake for 10 mins or until the filling is golden brown. Voila!
A gorgeous Spanish dish! Paella seems so intimidating. I tried making it for the first time yesterday and I have to say... it's really not that hard! If you have good quality ingredients & a good paella pan, you're golden. my take on it is a little spicy & packed with incredible flavor.
Time: 45 mins, serves 2
Ingredients:
2-3 cups jumbo shrimp, peeled & deviened, tail on
2-3 cups cooked mussels (can use uncooked but it's a pain to wash & takes longer to cook)
1 cup paella rice (can substitute any short grain rice)
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes & green chilies (this is where the spice comes in, if you don't want it spicy you can use plain canned diced tomatoes)
1 cup fresh parsley
1 teaspoon saffron threads
1/2 cup sweet green peas
3 cups chicken stock (can use 1 chicken boullion cube with 3 cups of water)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
salt & pepper to taste
1.5 tablespoons safflower oil (or any high-heat oil)
1/2 lemon
Recipe:
Tip: The best way to do this is to get a Paella pan. To serve 2 people, I bought a 13.5 inch paella pan from Amazon. Worked wonders!
Heat the oil & onion in the paella pan on medium heat. After 30 seconds, add the garlic, then give it another 30 seconds before adding the tomatoes.
Pour in the paella rice & toss to combine.
Sprinkle on the smoked paprika & the saffron, then add the chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover. I used my pizza stone to cover the paella pan because I don't have a large enough pan cover. Reduce the heat to let the mixture simmer while it's covered.
After about 20 minutes, uncover the pan & use a spatula to stir. You may notice some rice sticking to the bottom of the pan, that's okay. Paella should have a nice crust at the bottom. Not a thick crust, but a nice crunchy layer.
Add in the seafood and green peas then cover to allow it to cook for 5 more minutes. Keep the heat on medium.
Once the seafood is cooked, add in the parsley & lemon wedges & serve! Squeezing the lemon juice over the paella before eating it gives it a wonderful fresh taste!
