Hubby and I are kid-less this week for the first time in a long time. Son is at Scout camp and daughter is at the beach with a friend.
Although I’m not one who looks forward to the empty nest years (I simply love family life), I will admit that we’re having a lot of fun. For some reason, the absence of the children means hubby and I have enjoyed cooking TOGETHER the past few nights. (This is as opposed to me cooking ALONE while hubby lounges on the sofa on the screened porch.) We’ve been cooking a lot of recipes from Mario Batali’s great new grilling book that I got Hubby for father’s day. He came into town and took me to lunch…and then to a movie yesterday.
Our next-door-neighbor has teased us all week that we’re “newlyweds” and in all honesty, we are having a great time reconnecting without the distractions of delivering children to summer jobs, play practices or over to visit their friends.
I can’t wait for the children to return to their rightful places, but I’m also looking forward to a week in July when we’ll be “newlyweds” again.
Here’s one of the recipes from Mario Batali’s book “Italian Grill” that we made recently. Super delicious and pretty easy!
CLAMS IN CARTOCCIO Serves 6
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 4 ounces pancetta, cut into -inch dice (ask the butcher to slice the pancetta inch thick when you buy it) 2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into ¼-inch dice 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 2 to 3 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes 1 cup dry white wine ½ cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley 3 pounds New Zealand cockles or small clams, such as Manilas, scrubbed 12 ripe Sungold or cherry tomatoes, halved
Preheat a gas grill or prepare a fire in a charcoal grill. In a 10- to 12-inch sauté pan, combine the oil and pancetta and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the pancetta is starting to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers, garlic, and pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, just until the peppers are beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Stir in the parsley, remove from the heat, and set aside to cool completely. Cut six 12-inch squares of heavy-duty foil.
Lay out the squares on a large work surface and fold up the edges of each one to form a shallow bowl. Divide the clams among them, then divide the pancetta mixture, with its liquid, among them. Scatter 4 tomato halves over each pile. Bring the four corners of each foil packet up over the clams like a hobo sack and twist the top together securely, crimping the edges to create a tight seal.
Place the packs on the hottest part of the grill and wait until you can hear the juices bubbling, about 2 to 3 minutes, then let cook for 4 minutes longer. Transfer the packets to a large platter and serve, warning your guests of the piscatorial facial that awaits them.
FIND KARIN CALLOWAY'S RECIPES at www.augustachronicle.com/karin or www.thevikinglife.com.