Linguine with Seafood and Citrus

I swear I’m not going to get emotional…I swear I’m not. Not gonna do it! Why am I getting all sentimental? Because I haven’t been inspired to write for a long time. But this weekend, I got the chance to hang out with some amazing friends, some old and some new, and throughout the day when the conversation turned to food, I began to miss cooking for the purposes of sharing recipes.

I don’t often get to share the actual dishes I create—but I can always share my recipes, and I love sharing food with others, even if it’s just through typed words on a page. It’s time to get back to what I love. So here goes. I don’t know how often I’ll get to post, I don’t know if anyone will read my recipes, and I don’t know if anyone will try to cook them…but I get to do what I love—cook, write, and share. Mangia, bitches!


Linguine with Seafood and Citrus

16 oz. linguine
2 oz. butter (1/2 a standard stick)
3-4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 bulb fennel, sliced
2 T. capers
1 t. dried oregano
½ t. crushed chile flakes
Rind and juice of 1 large lemon
Rind and juice of 1 orange
½ c. dry white wine
1 lb. calamari, tubes sliced into rings*
½ lb. large scallops, sliced into bite-sized pieces**
2 cups roughly chopped parsley
2 large handfuls arugula
Salt and pepper to taste
Splash extra virgin olive oil

Cook the linguine in heavily salted water. In the meantime, melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, being careful not to let it burn. When the garlic starts to become fragrant, add the fennel, capers, oregano, chile flakes, and lemon and orange rind (save the juice for the next step). Stir gently, stirring every few minutes, until the fennel slices have softened but are still firm.


Timing is important for these next few steps – when the pasta is about 2-3 minutes away from being cooked, add the lemon and orange juice and the wine to the pot with the fennel and seasonings. Turn the heat to high, and stir until the mixture is bubbling.  Add the calamari and the scallops, and cook for about a minute, stirring constantly. Add the parsley and arugula to the pot, stirring just until it is blended in.  Add the salt and pepper to taste.

Immediately after adding the parsley and arugula, drain the pasta and add the cooked pasta to the pot. Add a splash of olive oil, then toss to coat the pasta. Serve piping hot preferably with wine.


* If tentacles give you the willies you can use all tubes, but tentacles add texture and make for a more interesting presentation.

** Always use “dry” scallops—the texture and flavor are superior. They’re more expensive, but you get what you pay for, and you won’t be ingesting a chemistry project.

Baked Haddock Fillets with Dill Pesto, Polenta Cakes, Oyster Mushrooms, and Roasted Carrots

Face it.  If it wasn't for the fact that I post photos on this blog, much of the food I cook would end up haphazardly mushed together in a bowl - all function, no form.  But sometimes, human beings are inclined to make the world a prettier place.  Much like the way we decorate our homes, create works of art, or put on makeup for special events, sometimes I like to take my everyday glasses-and-ponytail plates and turn them into prom queens. 


oyster mushrooms

In the recipe below, I've taken three very simple dishes - baked haddock, polenta, and baked carrots - and I've given them a special presentation with a bit of elegance.  Fresh dill is the glue that holds the recipe together.  Originally, I bought a large bunch of fresh dill for use in another recipe, but there was so much of it left that I needed to put the rest to use.  What better way than to transform it into a garlicky pesto?  The dill pesto's flavor complements each element of the dish, especially the oyster mushrooms, whose mild flavor and delightful texture add an earthy element that keeps this presentation grounded.  Try this recipe sometime when you're feeling artistic!




Dill Pesto

2 cups fresh dill (fronds only - discard the stems)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil*, plus more if necessary
pinch salt

Combine the ingredients in a blender or food processor.  Blend until the mixture is consistent and creamy. 


* This is probably the only instance in which I will ever encourage you to NOT use an extra-virgin olive oil.  Oils labeled "pure olive oil" or simply "olive oil" will work best with this recipe; flavorful virgin olive oils will overpower the other flavors in this recipe. 


Polenta Cakes with Dill

1 cup instant polenta (I prefer Pastene brand)
5 cups water
2 t. salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
2 T. butter
1/2 cup grated pecorino romano

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, bring the water, salt, and dill to a rolling boil.  Next, add the polenta in a steady stream, stirring quickly and constantly (this prevents lumps from forming).  Continue stirring, and once the polenta has thickened up considerably, add the butter and the pecorino.  Stir until they have melted into the polenta. 

Pour the polenta into a buttered 9x13 baking dish.  Set the polenta aside to cool for about 20 minutes, then using a round cookie cutter or the lip of a pint glass or tumbler, cut the polenta into round cakes.  Serve the extra polenta as leftovers. 


Baked Haddock Fillets with Dill Pesto, Polenta Cakes, Oyster Mushrooms, and Roasted Carrots

4 3-oz. haddock fillets
4 slices fresh lemon
4 T. butter
4 sprigs fresh dill
4 polenta cakes will dill (see recipe above)
4 very thin carrots with tops, tops trimmed to 1", halved lengthwise
1 bunch fresh oyster mushrooms, divided at base into 4 portions
1/4 c. dill pesto (see recipe above)
2 T. olive oil
splash lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350.  Place the haddock fillets skin-side down in a baking dish lined with foil (the foil doesn't aid the cooking, it just makes cleanup much easier).  On each fillet, place 1 T of butter and a sprig of dill, and top each with a slice of lemon.  Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. 

Once the fillets have baked for 10 minutes, add the carrots to the dish.  Bake for an additional 5 minutes.  In the meantime, place 4 polenta cakes in a separate baking dish.  Once the carrots have baked for 5 minutes, add the polenta cakes to the oven to warm them.  Bake for 5 more minutes, adding the oyster mushroom portions to the dish alongside the polenta rounds for the last two minutes of cooking. 

While the fish, polenta, carrots, and mushrooms are baking, thin the dill pesto with the olive oil and a splash of lemon juice. 

When you are ready to plate the recipe, spoon the thinned pesto into the center of each plate in equal proportions, reserving about a teaspoonful.  Place a polenta round in the center of the pesto.  Next to each polenta round, place one of the oyster mushroom portions, and finally, top the polenta cake with a fish fillet.  Use two of the carrot halves to border the polenta and fish.  Finally, dot the edge of the plate with the remaining pesto.  Serve with a chilled white wine.

Ingredient Spotlight - Skate Wings

It is not often that I will use the words "skate" and "wings" in a sentence that has nothing to do with a hockey team from Detroit - but today, I will do so as I write about a new seafood item that I tried recently.  Skates, those weird, flat, diamond-shaped, bottom-dwelling sea creatures that you may have touched during a visit to an aquarium's touch pool, make a pretty delicious main course!  

Previously thought of as a "trash fish," meaning a fish with little market value in the food arena, skate has gained popularity in recent years.  Similar in flavor to a mild whitefish, such as haddock, but firmer in texture, skate wings are extremely versatile and compatible with many flavor combinations and cooking methods.  Last time I visited my mom's house, I spotted these at the local fish market and decided to see what the fuss was all about.  

There are many different forms and flavors my skate wings could have taken, but when I cook with a new ingredient, I like to keep the recipe as simple as possible so I can experience the flavor and texture of the ingredient as close to its natural state as possible.  If you spot skate wings at your fish market, pick up a few and try them simply prepared with a little butter, lemon, and capers, as I did in the recipe below.   


Skate Wings with Lemon & Capers
2 T. butter
2 skate wings
juice of 1 lemon
1 T capers, chopped
salt & pepper, to taste

In a heavy-bottomed frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add both skate wings, flat side down, then add the lemon juice and capers. Cover, then cook for about 5 minutes, or until the skate wings flake easily with a fork. Remove the wings with a spatula, transfer to serving plates, then add the salt and pepper to the pan juices. Stir a few times, then pour the sauce onto the plated skate wings.

Homeless for the Holidays Bake Sale, Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Beginning tomorrow, the MSPCA Animal Care and Adoption Center is holding its “Homeless for the Holidays” bake sale to raise money for the shelter animals.  Thursday 12/9 – Sunday 12/12, from 9-5, delicious baked goods will be available to the public, including some bearing the Bacon, Butter & Booze logo!

After exhausting myself baking gazillions of treats for the shelter’s Howl-O-Ween bake sale, I swore I wouldn’t do this again unless I had help, but alas, I got down to business and baked my little heart out.  After all, it’s for the animals, and they don’t understand the concepts of being too busy or too tired.  So, I dropped the gloves (OK, oven mitts) and squared off to fight my fatigue in order to bake Roasted Garlic Focaccia Bread (click here for recipe), Canine Crumpets (click here for recipe), and several batches of delicious, moist, almost cake-like Lemon Ricotta Cookies (recipe below). 

If you are in the Boston area and able to swing by South Huntington Ave., you can sample some of these fabulous treats along with other homemade goodies and donations from some of Boston’s best bakeries.  If you cannot stop in, do try this yummy cookie recipe at home! 

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 2/3 cups whole milk ricotta cheese, drained if necessary*

Zest from 2 large lemons

Juice from 2 large lemons, separated

1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 375.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter and the sugar.  Use an electric mixer, mix for approx 3-5 minutes, or until the sugar and butter are consistently combined.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well. 

Next, add the ricotta, lemon zest, and juice from one of the lemons.  Beat this again until well-mixed, then add the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Mix until wet and dry ingredients are fully incorporated and a sticky dough is formed. 

Using a spoon, portion approximately 2 tablespoons of the dough (roughly golf ball size) per cookie onto a baking sheet, leaving enough room between cookies for them to expand (they will end up about 3 inches in diameter).  It is best to prepare each baking sheet just before it is to go in the oven; if you prepare the sheets ahead of time, the dough will ‘melt’ and your cookies will turn out flatter, less fluffy, and may collide with each other on the sheet.   Bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown slightly. 

While the cookies are baking, prepare the glaze.  In a small bowl, combine the juice of the 2nd lemon and the powdered sugar.  Stir until a smooth glaze forms.  Set aside.

Once you remove each round of cookies from the oven, give them about 20 minutes to cool a bit.  Using a small brush (silicone ones are best, as you don’t have to worry about bristles falling out), brush each cookie with the glaze and set aside to allow the glaze to harden for at least 2 hours. 

OPTIONAL:  Channel your inner artist - sprinkle the glaze with colored sugar while the glaze is still wet, or, once the glaze has hardened, use colored icing or glaze in a small-tipped tube to draw fun shapes or designs.

*  Use a high-quality ricotta (I prefere Dragone brand) – some brands tend to be watery, which will affect the texture of the cookies. 

Linguine al Limone

Boys and girls, pasta doesn’t get much simpler than this. Next time you’re looking for something quick, refreshing and satisfying, give this simple pasta recipe a try! Because it makes use of basic pantry ingredients, this is the perfect dish to make when you have to work late or when it’s raining like crazy outside and you don’t want to run to the store.




Linguine al Limone

½ box linguine
Splash olive oil *
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
½ - 1 cup grated pecorino romano
½ t. cracked black peppercorns
Pinch crushed red chile flakes
Pinch salt

Cook and drain the pasta. Add the olive oil and stir so that each strand of pasta is coated and pasta does not stick. Add the remaining ingredients, mix well, and serve.

* For a richer flavor, use half olive oil and half butter!

My Favorite Things

Bacon and butter and whiskey and vino
Indian and Polish and most things Latino
Fresh fettucine and fried onion rings
These are a few of my favorite things

Boiled Maine Lobsters and hot Texas chili
Stacked Philly cheese steaks and Long Island iced tea
Real New York Pizza and Buffalo wings
These are a few of my favorite things

When my day sucks
When my friends bail
When I'm feeling sad
I cook up a few of my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad!

Rodgers & Hammerstein bastardizations aside, there are several ingredients that make their way into 90% of my recipes.  Without further ado, here is my list of foods for which I'd sell a vital organ before giving them up:

• Bacon - I'm not that different from the dog on the "Beggin' Strips" commercial.
• Butter - Not going to lie, I eat it plain.  Two pats for the pan, one for my mouth.
• Pasta - I'd be a pretty half-arsed Italian if pasta didn't make it in my top 10.  Pasta is one of the most versatile basic ingredients available, and using it allows the cook a tremendous amount of creativity.  It's the culinary version of a blank canvas.
• Sushi - from plain old California maki rolls to more exotic sushi and sashimi choices like eel, flying fish roe, and sea urchin, there's something for everyone.
• Oysters - stay tuned, I'm learning how to shuck oysters on Saturday!  Although I generally prefer mine with nothing but a squirt of fresh lemon and a quick grind of black pepper, I have an interesting twist on a mignonette on deck. 
• Scotch - Johnnie Black was my gateway scotch.  I graduated to single malt after buying a bottle of Ardbeg 10-year, which I diligently hunted down simply because Bon Appetit referred to it as "liquid bacon."
• Lemons - when life gives me lemons, I believe it's God's way of dropping a subtle hint that he's craving chicken piccata. 
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil - cooking with anything else is like funneling O'Douls.
• Chiles - chile flakes?  Always.  Chipotles?  Yes, please.  Habaneros?  Thank you for making my vodka sting and my bloody marys kick.
• Anchovies - don't say "eew!"  They're fantastic.  I dare you to find flavor in a a Puttanesca or Caesar dressing made without them. 

Honorable mentions:  hardneck garlic, bottarga, lacinato kale, heirloom tomatoes, basil, heavy cream, jicama, and roasted red peppers. 


What are your favorite foods and ingredients?  Leave a comment!