Last night after a long day of trying to get myself ready to rejoin the work force, I found myself wandering the grocery store on tired, achy feet, trying to find something that I could make quickly when I got home. I could've gotten take-out or have something delivered, sure, but the only places I was interested in getting food from were on the other side of town and doesn't offer delivery.
Salad sounded really good, but after I had grabbed all the ingredients I'd need, I realized I'd be cutting and chopping for a while, and... I didn't want that. So back to wandering I went, when I caught sight of this out of the corner of my eye:
![[Image: 55804b5622c3921028bb4509.jpg]](http://cdn.guildwork.net/albums/images/55804b5622c3921028bb4509.jpg)
Seafood sounded good. I looked over at the actual counter, and it was several people deep ordering (living in New England, most people here have an appreciation for fish so the seafood counter is always busy). I looked at the package again. The only things in it that I knew 100% I'd like were the shrimp and clams. I had always wanted to try mussels, but for reasons I never had the opportunity. Squid... eh. I'd had bad squid more often than good, but whatever. Worst to worst, I could pick it out. Consulting the back of the package, I see that not only is everything pre-cooked, but there is absolutely no additives. Further consulting the package, I see that I already have everything else at home to make it according to suggested method.
Plus, it's only $4. If I were to get the ingredients fresh from the counter, I'd be spending at least $15. If it ended up being inedible, I wouldn't be wasting a lot of money.
Get home, and discover that I'm last in line to make dinner (my mum and I have similar diets, but there are a few things I can't eat and last night was one of those nights where we couldn't share a meal. My brother's diet is completely incomparable with my mum and I, so he always eats something different), so by the time I get a chance I'm exhausted and not really reading directions well.
![[Image: 55804b7522c3921028bb451f.jpg]](http://cdn.guildwork.net/albums/images/55804b7522c3921028bb451f.jpg)
Oil goes into a pot.
![[Image: 55804b7e22c3921028bb4522.jpg]](http://cdn.guildwork.net/albums/images/55804b7e22c3921028bb4522.jpg)
And then I add some grated garlic (I'm tired and lazy, it's just easier to run the garlic cloves over a grater than to chop/dice them)
... At this point, I was looking to just sweat out the garlic a bit in the oil. This usually takes at least five minutes even on high, because the stove is old and it takes a bit for the coils to come up to temp. So I wander down the hall to grab something from the room I'm using. By the time I'm on my way back to the kitchen, no more than two minutes have elapsed but I can smell burning garlic. I had literally claimed the burner from my brother the moment he was done cooking, so the coil didn't need it's normal warm-up time. Oops... time to start over. But at least it happened at this point.
![[Image: 55804b8722c3921028bb4525.jpg]](http://cdn.guildwork.net/albums/images/55804b8722c3921028bb4525.jpg)
According to the package, all the seafood goes in at the same time. But I remembered that the one time I had squid and really liked it, it had gotten a bit of a sear on it. So I toss in the squid, hoping that it'll get a little bit of a pan-fry browning. Nope, the squid releases a LOT of liquid, making that impossible. Oh well.
![[Image: 55804b9722c3921028bb4528.jpg]](http://cdn.guildwork.net/albums/images/55804b9722c3921028bb4528.jpg)
Clams go in next. Now... there was another version of the frozen package on the shelf that included more shrimp and no squid, but everything was still in the shell. I get it that the shells are supposed to add more flavor, but having to pick them out of the food... ugh.Â
![[Image: 55804ba522c3921028bb452c.jpg]](http://cdn.guildwork.net/albums/images/55804ba522c3921028bb452c.jpg)
In goes the wine. The package didn't specify anything beyond 'white wine', so whether or not this is the correct type for this dish is up in the air. Did I mention I was tired before this? If not, I was tired. And I misread the package. I eyeballed 8 ounces (1 cup)... package only called for 2 ounces. Ooooops..
![[Image: 55804bb222c3921028bb4530.jpg]](http://cdn.guildwork.net/albums/images/55804bb222c3921028bb4530.jpg)
Tomatoes. Package called for 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes. Well, if I'm not going to spend time chopping veggies for the salad that I really wanted, I'm not going to spend time chopping tomatoes for something I might not like. So I grab a small can of petite-diced tomatoes and dump that in.
![[Image: 55804bbd22c3921028bb4533.jpg]](http://cdn.guildwork.net/albums/images/55804bbd22c3921028bb4533.jpg)
Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and fresh basi-- oh, crap. I forgot to pick some basil from the garden... aaaand it's dark and raining out by this time. I'll just use some dried basil.
![[Image: 55804bc922c3921028bb4536.jpg]](http://cdn.guildwork.net/albums/images/55804bc922c3921028bb4536.jpg)
I let what's in the pot simmer/boil for five minutes to cook out the alcohol before adding in the still-frozen mussels and shrimp. Package says everything is pre-cooked, so I'm just really waiting for these to thaw and get hot again. These add more liquid to the pot, and as I stir it I'm realizing I have something more like soup than sauce...
![[Image: 55804bd422c3921028bb4537.jpg]](http://cdn.guildwork.net/albums/images/55804bd422c3921028bb4537.jpg)
So instead of boiling a batch of standard dried pasta in another pot, I beg a little bit of the 'fresh' linguine that my brother is fond of and toss that into the sauce to cook, and hopefully thicken it up. Which... didn't really happen. Too much wine, and probably too much juice from the canned tomatoes. Oh well...
The end result was this:
![[Image: 55804be022c3921028bb453a.jpg]](http://cdn.guildwork.net/albums/images/55804be022c3921028bb453a.jpg)
Lots of what I'll call broth, so I was very glad I had gone and made the decision to only use a half-portion of pasta (hard to tell with how the pasta clumped in the bowl, but there isn't that much there). Floated a bit of butter in it for extra richness, squeezed the juice of some of these tiny lemons I found in the 'exotics' section of the produce department, and grabbed some slices of baguette to sop up the broth... altogether, it was a tasty experiment, even with the mistakes. Only two of the clams opened by the time I was done cooking, so that was disappointing. The squid part was... interesting. They almost mimicked the pasta. The mussels were delicious.
I'll be making this again... though I think I'll just skip the pasta part and go straight for the bread -- as a soup, it was wonderful.
Salad sounded really good, but after I had grabbed all the ingredients I'd need, I realized I'd be cutting and chopping for a while, and... I didn't want that. So back to wandering I went, when I caught sight of this out of the corner of my eye:
Seafood sounded good. I looked over at the actual counter, and it was several people deep ordering (living in New England, most people here have an appreciation for fish so the seafood counter is always busy). I looked at the package again. The only things in it that I knew 100% I'd like were the shrimp and clams. I had always wanted to try mussels, but for reasons I never had the opportunity. Squid... eh. I'd had bad squid more often than good, but whatever. Worst to worst, I could pick it out. Consulting the back of the package, I see that not only is everything pre-cooked, but there is absolutely no additives. Further consulting the package, I see that I already have everything else at home to make it according to suggested method.
Plus, it's only $4. If I were to get the ingredients fresh from the counter, I'd be spending at least $15. If it ended up being inedible, I wouldn't be wasting a lot of money.
Get home, and discover that I'm last in line to make dinner (my mum and I have similar diets, but there are a few things I can't eat and last night was one of those nights where we couldn't share a meal. My brother's diet is completely incomparable with my mum and I, so he always eats something different), so by the time I get a chance I'm exhausted and not really reading directions well.
Oil goes into a pot.
And then I add some grated garlic (I'm tired and lazy, it's just easier to run the garlic cloves over a grater than to chop/dice them)
... At this point, I was looking to just sweat out the garlic a bit in the oil. This usually takes at least five minutes even on high, because the stove is old and it takes a bit for the coils to come up to temp. So I wander down the hall to grab something from the room I'm using. By the time I'm on my way back to the kitchen, no more than two minutes have elapsed but I can smell burning garlic. I had literally claimed the burner from my brother the moment he was done cooking, so the coil didn't need it's normal warm-up time. Oops... time to start over. But at least it happened at this point.
According to the package, all the seafood goes in at the same time. But I remembered that the one time I had squid and really liked it, it had gotten a bit of a sear on it. So I toss in the squid, hoping that it'll get a little bit of a pan-fry browning. Nope, the squid releases a LOT of liquid, making that impossible. Oh well.
Clams go in next. Now... there was another version of the frozen package on the shelf that included more shrimp and no squid, but everything was still in the shell. I get it that the shells are supposed to add more flavor, but having to pick them out of the food... ugh.Â
In goes the wine. The package didn't specify anything beyond 'white wine', so whether or not this is the correct type for this dish is up in the air. Did I mention I was tired before this? If not, I was tired. And I misread the package. I eyeballed 8 ounces (1 cup)... package only called for 2 ounces. Ooooops..
Tomatoes. Package called for 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes. Well, if I'm not going to spend time chopping veggies for the salad that I really wanted, I'm not going to spend time chopping tomatoes for something I might not like. So I grab a small can of petite-diced tomatoes and dump that in.
Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and fresh basi-- oh, crap. I forgot to pick some basil from the garden... aaaand it's dark and raining out by this time. I'll just use some dried basil.
I let what's in the pot simmer/boil for five minutes to cook out the alcohol before adding in the still-frozen mussels and shrimp. Package says everything is pre-cooked, so I'm just really waiting for these to thaw and get hot again. These add more liquid to the pot, and as I stir it I'm realizing I have something more like soup than sauce...
So instead of boiling a batch of standard dried pasta in another pot, I beg a little bit of the 'fresh' linguine that my brother is fond of and toss that into the sauce to cook, and hopefully thicken it up. Which... didn't really happen. Too much wine, and probably too much juice from the canned tomatoes. Oh well...
The end result was this:
Lots of what I'll call broth, so I was very glad I had gone and made the decision to only use a half-portion of pasta (hard to tell with how the pasta clumped in the bowl, but there isn't that much there). Floated a bit of butter in it for extra richness, squeezed the juice of some of these tiny lemons I found in the 'exotics' section of the produce department, and grabbed some slices of baguette to sop up the broth... altogether, it was a tasty experiment, even with the mistakes. Only two of the clams opened by the time I was done cooking, so that was disappointing. The squid part was... interesting. They almost mimicked the pasta. The mussels were delicious.
I'll be making this again... though I think I'll just skip the pasta part and go straight for the bread -- as a soup, it was wonderful.
