Spaghetti with Red Clam Sauce

Apologies in advance to anyone trying to eat kosher. Or to Curtis and Jenny, who don't like spaghetti and red sauce, respectively. MORE FOR THE REST OF US.

SPAGHETTI WITH RED CLAM SAUCE
2 cans (each 7½ oz.) chopped or minced clams
¼ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 T. chopped parsley
¾ t. dried oregano leaves
¼ t. dried basil leaves
½ t. salt
¼ t. pepper
1 can (1 lb. 3 oz.) tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 lb. dry spaghetti

Drain clams, reserving 1 cup clam liquid; set aside.

Slowly heat oil in medium saucepan. Add garlic and cook until golden.

Remove saucepan from heat. Add parsley, oregano, basil, salt and pepper, tomatoes, tomato sauce and reserved clam liquid; mix well.

Simmer, uncovered, 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. 15 minutes before the sauce is done, start the spaghetti in salted boiling water with a bit of oil on top. (Or just follow the package directions for how long to cook the spaghetti. I dunno, I'm not a mind reader.)

Add clams to sauce and heat through. Drain the spaghetti and serve hot with sauce on top (don't mix it in! What are you, a Philistine?), dusted with fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Goes very well with a fresh lettuce and tomato salad or marinated vegetables.

Contributor: Soozcat (who stole it from her mom's '60s-era McCall's cookbook)

Salmon or Tuna Patties

Curtis didn't like fish patties growing up. His mom would make them for a quick meal on busy nights and I think he thought they were gross. But V loves these, and Curtis actually likes them too. Try them on a busy night!

SALMON OR TUNA PATTIES
1 small onion, diced
1 T. butter
15 oz. salmon or tuna, drained and flaked, any bones or dark skin removed
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup breadcrumbs (preferably panko)
¼ cup parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 T. oil

In a small frying pan over medium heat, cook onion in butter until soft but not browned, about 6 minutes; remove from heat. Transfer onion to a large bowl to cool completely, then add salmon or tuna, eggs, breadcrumbs, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well and use hands to shape the mixture into 4 to 6 patties about ½" thick.

Heat oil in large frying pan over medium heat. Add patties and cook until browned on one side, about 5 minutes, then carefully flip and cook the other side until browned, another 5 minutes. Serve hot with tartar sauce. Goes especially well with creamed potatoes and peas.

Makes 4 to 6 patties.

Shamelessly stolen from Look and Cook by Tina Davis.

Pickled Herring

I know you're all keen to find out how to make pickled herring from scratch. (And if you're not, I don't want to hear about it.) This is the recipe straight from Grandpa Eriksson. He didn't bother to give much information by way of proportions, but if you've ever looked over a jar of pickled herring, I'm pretty sure you can figure things out.

PICKLED HERRING
salt herring fillets
water
white vinegar
sugar
carrots
red onions
fresh root ginger
whole allspice
whole mustard seed

Soak salt herring in cold water 6 hours or overnight, changing the water every two hours. Drain herring, pat dry with paper towels and cut into neat bite-sized chunks.

Make a brine of about 4 parts water to 1 part vinegar (for a small batch: 1 quart water, ½ pint vinegar). Saturate brine with sugar (it should taste sweet). Bring brine to a boil, then allow it to cool completely. Get out a large, clean glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Cut carrots and onions into thin rounds. Slice ginger very thin and place a thin round at the bottom of the glass jar. Layer in herring chunks, allspice berries, carrots, onions and mustard seed; repeat until jar is full. Add brine to jar, completely covering herring, and pack down to make sure no air bubbles remain. Tighten lid and let herring pickle in the refrigerator for at least five days before eating.

When not scarfing down nommy silver fish, store in the fridge.

Contributor: Karl Eriksson

Crab Cheeseball

Look, we're all big cheeseballs over something. Why not over crab? Mmm, crab!

CRAB CHEESEBALL
½ lb. crabmeat, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons onions, finely minced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
pinch cayenne
sprinkle of salt
8 oz. softened cream cheese
⅔ cup walnuts, finely chopped

Mix together everything except walnuts, stirring until all ingredients are well incorporated. Dump cheese mixture on waxed paper, using the paper to form the cheese into a ball, then roll cheeseball in nuts. Serve with crackers.

Makes 1 cheesy cheeseball for appetizer goodness.

Contributor: Karin Buck