"Shell House" Clams with Baked Yam Fries

Here is my take on another way to do the traditional  French/Belgian "Moules F rites" better known as mussels and fries" (which I realize I will have to add to my recipes as well).

 

 

I stumbled onto this shell inspired house by artechnic while looking for a building to relate to my clams and yams.  Its sinuous surfaces bend and wrap the shape of the house while standing out from the landscape, quite lovely.

Ingredients,

• 1 large yam
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• Cajun seasoning (optional, I like to spice them up a bit)
• package of clams about 12 clams total
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 piece of celery cut into thin 2" strips
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup white wine ( I use chardonnay)
• dash of salt and pepper
• fresh cut Italian parsley

How to make it,

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Scrub yam then chop into thin slices keeping the skins and put onto a baking sheet, sprinkle with olive oil, salt, pepper, and Cajun spices, then bake for 25 minutes, flipping them every so often.
3. Clean clams under water discard any clams that are open!
4. In a medium pot saute the chopped onion and celery in a bit of olive oil.
5. Add the garlic, the clams, then add the wine.
6. Cover over medium heat for 10-12 minutes until you see they have opened.
7. I use the sauteed onion and celery as a bed for the clams to lay on top of, the add a bit of the juice from the pot. (do not eat any clams that do not open!)
8. Remove the yams from the oven, plate with the clams and enjoy, I ate the whole package of these myself so don't let the photo of  4 clams fool you, these are addictive!

"Dutch Pavillion" Zucchini and Mushroom Lasagna

When I was studying in Bonn, I went back to Hannover where I had lived a few years earlier, to attend the World's Fair 2000, where many different countries build pavilions to represent their country. This amazing pavillion by MVRDV was one of my favorites, so it came to mind when I thought of the layers in this lasagna.

Ingredients,

• lasagna (I use the Barilla flat no boil variety)
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon of finely chopped basil
• 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon of oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• mushrooms cut into slices
• zuchinni cut into slices

How to make it,

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 
2. Mix together ricotta, eggs, milk, cheese, basil, and a bit of salt and pepper in a bowl.
3. In another bowl mix the tomatoes, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper (you can also just use pasta sauce from your grocery store.
4. In a glass dish spread a bit of the tomato mixture in the dish.
5. Cover that with a layer of lasagna, then a layer of the cheese mixture, then a layer of mushrooms.
6. Repeat layering with one layer of zucchini as well. 
7. When you get to the top put a few zucchini slices coverd in a bit of the cheese mixture.
8. Sprinkle a bit of Parmesan on and bake for 50-60 minutes.

"Vienna Rathaus" Pork Chops with Apple Yams

While studying abroad in Vienna I ate a dish that was quite similar to this one and although it was pork it tasted like a little Thanksgiving. The City Hall or "das Rathaus" was one of my favorite buildings in Vienna which was clad in vibrant red flowers spilling out of the flower boxes.

Ingredients,

• 2 pork chops
• salt and pepper
• 3 slices of bacon
• 1 small red onion
• 2 sweet potatoes, sliced into small pieces
• 1 apple (I use a yellow apple), sliced into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

How to make it,

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 
2. Chop the apple, yam, onion with the brown sugar and blend in a blender until blended into small bits, this can take a little while (and try some shaking of the blender) if it is not so great like my blender...
3. Cook the bacon in a pan, then set aside. Save a bit of the grease from the bacon in the pan.
4. Season pork chops with salt and pepper then brown on either side in the same pan that the bacon was cooked in just a few minutes on each side.
5. Layer the yam mixture and then the pork chops in a glass baking dish and cook for 1 hour covered with foil until the yams are tender. 
6. Plate the yams then top with the pork chop, add a few bacon slices on top and enjoy this mini Thanksgiving.   

"Quai Branly" Cream of Broccoli Soup

I have always been a fan of broccoli, it is one vegetable I never get tired of. This tasty soup is one of my favorites but be sure to taste it to see there is enough salt in it otherwise it will taste a bit bland. This lovely green soup made me think of this "Green" project in Paris, the Quai Branly Museum, by the French architect Jean Nouvel, which features an amazing vertical green planted facade.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 8 cups broccoli florets ( about 2 big broccoli bunches)
• 3 tablespoons butter for the cream mixture
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ground black pepper and salt to taste

How to make it, 

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium sized stock pot, and saute onion until tender. 
2. Add broccoli and broth, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Pour the soup into a blender.  Use a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a medium pot.
4. In a small saucepan, over medium-heat melt 3 tablespoons butter, stir in flour and add the cream. Stir until it thickens a bit, and add to soup. Season with salt and pepper, bon appetit!