It’s time once again for Food For Thought, you know, where you read a book and then take food inspiration from it. So far, I have been extremely creative (as in completely breaking) with the rules. This time around, I am pretty pleased with myself, it actually all goes together.
See, my latest book was, Remarkable Creatures
This is the fictionalized account of Mary Anning, an unjustly forgotten, real-life figure in 19th-century paleontology. Mary helped support her family by looking for “curies” - or curiosities or fossils that would be sold to gentlemen who collected them. She was the inspiration behind “she sells seashells by the seashore.”
This was a pleasant book, not earth-shattering, but a nice story. It showed how Mary did all the work, and then the men collectors got all of the glory, because that’s how things were. Even though I may fantasize about how charming it would have been to be living then with all the quaint ideas, I see that there was plenty not too charming about it. All in all, a nice read.
Now, on to the amazing part of this post. Again…another TOP RECIPE. This clam dish was seriously amazing. This was one of those dishes, where my husband and I stopped chewing every so often to spontaneously praise it. You know what I’m talking about, right? The flavors of the sauce melded together perfectly. I’m not going to post the recipe, since you can find it here: Spicy Asian-Style Noodles with Clams.
The only thing I did different, and it’s one of my tips to you, is how I handled the ginger. I keep my ginger stored in the freezer in knobs about 2-3 inches long. When recipe calls for chopped or minced ginger, I bring it out, still frozen and grate it on my microplane. This creates a fine ginger that incorporates more readily into the dish. I don’t really like the sharp ginger flavor when I bite into a chunk so this allows me to have the ginger flavor evenly in every bite.
Be sure and check out all the Food For Thought entries!!
26 comments:
It looks wonderful. :-) I've never cooked with clams but this makes me want to try!
Your photos are incentive enough to try this dish..Beauteeeeful!
I know what you mean when you and your husband are eating a particularly grand dish..it wasn't one of those nights here last night..:) and quite of ten it is.. I look forward to his dishes..and he mine..I made a big flop last night~
Oh well..
And we do our ginger frozen too:)
The book sounds nice..I am in the mood for a great book since the last several I have read have left me wondering if more books are dull than not~:(
These spicy noodles with clams look amazing! I would love the wonderful ginger flavor!
g o r g e o u s !!!!!!!!!!!!
oh my....this looks so good i could scream !
This looks excellent! That's the best when you have to stop to praise the dish - but don't really want to stop eating for a moment cause it's so good. I do the frozen ginger pieces too, it goes bad so fast.
oh what a beautiful post! i am in line for this book at the library, it looks like something i will love! i love quiet little books, and mary sells shells by the seashore, be still my heart, you did a fantastic tie in! it all looks mouthwatering... i love the frozen ginger idea, although i love it and can eat huge hunks happily~
thank you for sharing, and i will even let you do mr linky all by yourself this time! ;-)
ps how scary is little stranger, could me the scaredy cat handle it?
This looks delicious. I'm with you on the ginger, I like just a nice suttle flavor.
Mimi
After two days of having to eat "Business Dinners" it is nice to get back to doing things myself! I'm not sure how the kids will react to the spicy side of it so I may make two batches... spicy and "kid friendly". I will let you know how it goes!
Sounds like a good book, and I'd enjoy your clam dinner!
i say that if this were truly a TOP recipe, you wouldn't even pause your devouring of the dish to praise it. :) it's a looker, that's for sure!
Pam, skype is great! you can make free calls/video calls online!
here's link!
http://www.skype.com/
I so love the idea of this series... as always, you take such excellent photos... The ginger here is abundant and cheap, so I will be stealing your idea for grating.
Great post
Such a cool idea to make a recipe inspired from a book. It looks gorgeous!
I know exactly what you're talking about and I love those dishes that we just stop and say OMG! Great post.
What an awesome way to do your ginger! I'm all over this! Great dish! Thanks for the book review too. :)
That sounds like an interesting bok to read and the pasta and clams look as delicious as you say it is . I can imagine MMMMM LOVELY REVIEW! ^^
Beautiful! You know, I have never cooked with clams.
I just got an email from one of your group members today, I should check it out - serendipity.
I really do love this event. It's great that you can take completely non-food related books and find a way to associate a recipe with them. So creative! This pasta dish looks fantastic. Mary would have been proud.
I love these flavors together--and I love clams! Looks so delicious.
I love how these exotic flavours that once were only eaten at a restaurant are now pulled-off in the comfort of our homes.
I'm a fan of Tracy Chevalier's work, so I'm happy to read a review on this one which I've not yet read. Thanks for the tip on freezing the ginger. Love clam chowder, so I think I'll give this a try. Thanks!
Thank you for doing this review! I had never heard of Mary Anning but as an RN who trained in the era when we were taught to stand up & give our seats to the doctors who walked onto the floor, I can totally relate to the men getting the credit for work done by women! Good nurses have saved many the butt of physicians! I will request this book from my library today.
Your clams & pasta look delectable & the tip about grating frozen ginger is good to know. I will keep it in mind.
You take some incredibly beautiful photographs!!
fondly,
Rett
Your photos are so enticing...the cilantro with the pasta... I'll be on the lookout for fresh clams next time I'm at the store!
This looks amazing. Scott and I love clams and will try this when Line has another plan for dinner.
(I know...a Norwegian that doesn't like clams...strange, right?!)
Thanks for sharing the Link.
Take care ~Natalie
Made this for dinner tonight. I changed the prep slightly, but otherwise stayed true to the recipe. Really good and hit the spot.
This is a beautiful post! I just love it. Thanks for sharing.
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