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December 12, 2006
Sahadi's, Stinky, and Despaña
Mom put us in charge of hors d'oeuvres for Thanksgiving, so we got to visit Sahadi's and Stinky and buy our hearts out. We stuck to the usual olives, feta, hummus and babaganoush at Sahadi's, but I'm new to Stinky so I asked for suggestions. We took home a wonderfully, powerfully stinky hard cheese and I'm sorry to say I didn't write down what it was. I do, however, have the label for another cheese we loved -- a soft cheese that comes in a plastic bag since there's no rind -- crescenza (ours was from Bellwether Farms in CA). You expect it to have a standard camembert flavor, but it's got an extra kick. We were also surprised to find many Spanish food items at Stinky, including jamon serrano still on the bone and ready to be sliced.
Which reminds me -- we finally made it to Despaña -- the Spanish food importer at Lafayette and Broome. When we got back from Spain, we headed over there as soon as we could to see how closely we could replicate Spanish meals we'd had. I was very happy with what we found -- Cola Cao (like Quik, but Spanish), white anchovies, lomo, good cheeses, blood sausage (morcilla), and good roasted peppers. What made my day, though, was that at some point, my conversation with the sales people switched to Spanish -- it was just easier to talk about Spanish food that way. It felt so good -- like we went back to Spain for ten minutes.
As far as replicating Spanish dishes, some worked and some didn't, but I think Derek should get some sort of prize for the clams he made. They tasted just like the ones with had over there.
The recipe is simple. You soak the clams in salt water for half an hour to get the sand out. Then you cook them, covered, until they open. In another pan, you sautee a few minced cloves of garlic, then add the clam broth with a teaspoon of flour to thicken it, and a bunch of chopped parsley, and then add the clams back in and mix it all together. Derek made this all one evening before I got home, so I might be forgetting something, but that's the basic idea. It makes for a great communal bowl of finger food.
Posted by csageday at December 12, 2006 12:10 AM