Steamed Periwinkles

As a kid in Rhode Island, I always found hundreds of periwinkles covering big rocks at the beach. We would pull them off and hum into the openings, forcing the snails out of their shells. I never knew you could eat them, however, until I saw them at the fascinating fish markets in Chinatown. Curious, I bought some and immediately consulted James Peterson’s Fish and Shellfish: The Definitive Cook’s Companion when I got home. Using his directions as a guide, I used some homemade vegetable broth I had in my freezer and steamed the periwinkles. They created the most delicious sauce for bread dipping. The meat was so difficult to get out of the shells that we had to use safety pins to do it. Periwinkles would add a great flavor tossed into any seafood soup.

Steamed Periwinkles
1 large shallot, sliced
1/2 tbsp butter
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 tbsp peppercorns, crushed in mortar and pestle
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Place the periwinkles in a collander and rinse thoroughly. Give each one a sniff, and discard any that smell like something other than seawater. Also throw out any that are broken and the meat is exposed. In a large pot with a tight fitting lid, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and sautee until lightly browned. Add the vegetable broth, wine, thyme, peppercorns, and bay lead and turn up the heat to high for 10 minutes so that the flavors meld and the liquid reduces. Turn the heat down to a simmer, add the periwinkles. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chopped parsley and serve with plenty of french bread for dipping. Pull the steamed periwinkles out of their shells using the end of a safety pin.

French Toast with Summer Fruit

I’ve been making this recipe almost every Saturday morning after a late night out because I always seem to have tons of overripe fruit in the apartment. Sometimes I take home leftover peaches from the farmers market where I work, or I get carried away visiting other markets around the city. The measurements for this recipe aren’t precise; I just use whatever fruit, bread, and spices I have around. Also, you may need to adjust the batter depending on on the thickness and freshness of the bread. The weird fruit haters out there claim to enjoy it just as much without the peaches, but I think they are integral to the dish.

For french toast
4 slices bread
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsps cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/2 tbsp butter

for fruit
2 peaches (can also uses apricots, nectarines, plum, pluots, or other stone fruit), sliced
1/2 cup blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries
2 tbsps brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup of white wine or water
pinch of salt

Ricotta, cream, or goat cheese

Crack the eggs into a pie plate and break them up with a fork. Pour in the milk and add the vanilla and spices. Heat a large cast iron or non stick skillet over medium heat and add the butter. While the butter is melting, place a slice of bread face down in the egg batter for one minute for fresh bread and up to three for stale bread. Repeat on the other side. When the butter is sizzling, place the slice of bread in the skillet and cook until well browned, about 5 minutes. Repeat on the other side.

Continue the process for the remaining three slices of bread. Spread the cheese on two slices of french toast and put on separate plates. After the french toast has been made, wipe out the skillet with a clean towel and return it to medium high heat. Melt the butter in the skillet. When it is sizzling, place the peach slices face down in the skillet and cook until just browned. Add the berries, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt, stir the fruit around, and cook for a few more minutes, scraping off anything that sticks to the skillet with the bottom of a spatula. Pour in the white wine or water and raise the heat to high. Cook until the liquid reduces to a syrup.


While still hot, pour the fruit and syrup over the slices of french toast with cheese. Place the other slice of french toast on top of the fruit, like a sandwich, or simply leave on the side. Serve with maple syrup.

The Mysteries of Papalo

Right now some of the community garden plots located in the neighborhood where I work in the Bronx are filled with papalo, a mysterious Mexican herb. Now that I recognize if, I’ve noticed it in several of the Mexican groceries in my neighborhood too. The herb looks appealing with its thick, velvety leaves and gently scalloped edges, but some customers at our farmers market are violently repulsed upon smelling it. I think they’re just being dramatic because I find its odor and flavor pleasant. Its more pungent than cilantro, with undertones of citrus and onion.

So I get to take some papalo home to experiment with on occasion. As soon as I got the chance, I looked it up in Diana Kennedy’s The Art of Mexican Cooking, but I was shocked to discover that she doesn’t mention it anywhere in her book! Internet research and questions asked of one of the gardeners yielded little information besides suggestions to use it in Mexican sandwiches and tacos. So I’ve been using it in place of cilantro, and I think that’s the general idea. I get the feeling that its a substitute for cilantro during the summer when its too hot to grow that particular herb.

Pintxos & Friends

Ever since I returned from Spain in January, I’ve been dying to try making Basque pintxos for myself. Dustin put me to shame by having a rival Pintxos & Friends party and preparing octopus! I planned to make a very tasty tortilla española served on toast with fresh roasted red and green peppers and aioli. Those ingredients were easy enough to find, but I traversed Greater New Orleans at will looking for specialty ingredients for the other dishes. For example, I couldn’t remember ever seeing boquerones, the white anchovies preserved in vinegar that are widely available throughout Spain, sold anywhere in the GNO. I was pleasantly surprised to find some at Martin Wine Cellar’s flagship store in Metairie. I served them on toasted baguette slices accompanied with a salsa-like vinaigrette that is common throughout the Basque Country. This recipe from Anya von Bremzen’s The New Spanish Table is very similar to what I ate several times on pintxos in Spain:

Whisk together ½ cup Spanish olive oil; 1/3 cup white wine vinegar; and 1/3 cup each finely diced green pepper; red pepper; and white onion.

In Bilbao, I ate fried quail eggs placed perfectly on tiny baguette slices with smoked salmon and aioli. I thought to myself “so that’s what you do with quail eggs!” So cute and small, I had picked them up several times at Hong Kong Market and always wanted an excuse to buy them. I planned to make a trip out to the giant Asian grocer ASAP to pick some up.




I rounded everything out with some quick herbed goat cheese-stuffed pepadews and some Spanish olives.




I also went to a variety of wine stores in search of a txakoli. After all that, I learned the only place that sold it was a wine shop right by my house that I pass almost daily on my stroll- the Magazine Street branch of Martin Wine Cellar. I really felt like I was living it up when I forked over the $16 for it (I’m more of an $8 bottle type), but I’ve come to learn in reading The Basque Table by Teresa Barrenchea that “because txokoli are artisanal rather than mass-produced wines, they are rather expensive.” I also learned that they are “nice summer wines, and their low alcohol content make them good with lunch or aperitifs,” so I probably looked pretty lame when I was drinking them in San Sebastian at night in the middle of winter. Oh well.

Thanks to Caitlin for the photography!