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.

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!