Fourth of July salmon and peas

Amelia Simmons, author of the first American cookbook, American Cookery (1796) called salmon “the noblest and richest fish taken in fresh water.” Landlocked salmon were once plentiful in New England. Steamed or poached salmon served with the season’s first peas and potatoes was traditional Fourth of July fare in Early New England. In a nod to the rabble-rousing patriot, I steamed salmon in Samuel Adams Boston Ale. The result was moist fish, delicately perfumed with ale. Traditionally, the salmon would be served with an egg sauce, like a hollandaise. I served mine without, atop a bed of mashed potatoes with steamed homegrown sugar-snap peas, but I thought the flavor might be improved by drizzling the whole with a bit of lemon butter. The result reminded me of a deconstructed English fish pie.

*Ale-steamed salmon

1 to 1-1/2 pounds salmon, preferably wild

1 12-ounce bottle of ale

Salt and pepper to taste

Place salmon filets on a rack, skin side down, in a baking pan in which you have poured the ale. Season filets with salt and pepper. Tent pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake in a 325-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until fish is pale pink and flakes easily.

*Ale was readily available in the colonies. It was the preferred beverage of the Pilgrims. Even children drank it.

Easy peasy scallop stir-fry

When the temperatures reached 90 degrees last week, I was looking for a quick but healthful meal incorporating the sweet snow peas my garden is now producing. A stir-fry medley of locally caught sea scallops, store-bought red pepper and homegrown snow peas filled the bill. Cautionary note: All ingredients should be in place (mise en place) before you fire up the wok because this recipe cooks up faster than Rachael Ray can say “30-minute meals.”  In fact, I begin cooking the rice and then prepare my ingredients for stir frying. Time your meal according to the type of rice you’re using.

Scallop and pea stir fry

½ pound scallops
a clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
½ cup sweet red pepper, julienned
2 cups snow peas or sugar snaps

sesame oil

1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in ¼ cup water

In 2 tablespoons of canola oil, pan sear scallops with crushed garlic. Remove when opaque. Add peas and red pepper to the pan. Stir fry and add soy sauce. Lower the heat, place a lid on the pan and steam briefly until vegetables are tender but bright. Add scallops and stir. Lightly drizzle with sesame oil to finish. If a thickened sauce is desired, add the cornstarch dissolved in water. Serve immediately with rice. Makes three to four servings.

Fiddlin' around with fiddleheads

For those of you who are really interested in DIY/frontier living, and not some silly made-for-TV pioneer construct, roll up your sleeves and get back to the land, which is yielding fiddleheads. Fiddleheads are the new shoots of fern before they unfurl into fronds. They are so named because they look like the top of a violin, or fiddle. In New England, they can be found along streams in woodsy areas in late spring. You don't have to harvest them yourself, though; you can now find them in the produce section of the supermarket.

Fiddleheads have an earthy taste like asparagus or broccoli. But they are a bit tough and tasteless when steamed. They are best boiled in salted water for about five minutes. To prepare fiddleheads for cooking, cut off any brown ends and dump them into a bowl of cold water. Slosh them around and rub off any brown leaf-like coverings. Drain and rinse again. Continue to rinse until the water runs clear. Place them in a pan and cover them with water. Add a pinch of salt. Heat them until they begin to boil. Allow them to boil for about five minutes or until tender. Serve them buttered, with a squeeze of lemon, if desired.

Chowing on clam chowder

A friend went clam-digging and shared some quahogs (pronounced "co-hogs"). Joy! Mollusks with pretty purple on the inside of their thick shells, quahogs make tasty chowder. The native Wampanoags used the purple and white shells as wampum, a form of currency. Polished, it makes attractive jewelry. Of course, the Wampanoags ate the clams, as did the Pilgrims. Local shellfish, plentiful and fresh, figured heavily in the early Colonial diet.

Everyone has a favorite chowder recipe. Mine is very old-fashioned, a distant relative of restaurant chowder. It's not as thick, and it has more flavor. The best part: It calls for steaming the clams instead of opening them live. This yields the clam broth you need for the chowder and eliminates opportunity for injury. It also lets you know definitively if a clam is good to eat. Clams should be alive until cooked. Their shells should be closed before cooking and wide-open after cooking.

New England clam chowder

About a dozen medium to large clams

Two ¼-inch slabs of salt pork, finely diced

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 cup crushed plain crackers (such as Saltines)

2 cups clam broth (leftover from steaming the clams)

1 bay leaf

2 large potatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks

1 to 2 cups half-and-half

Scrub the clams and place in large pot with two cups of water. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to steam the clams. This takes only a few minutes. Discard any clams that did not open. Remove clams and strain broth through cheesecloth. Set aside. In a large pan, try out (render) salt pork over medium-high heat. When the bits are crispy and there’s fat in the pan, add onion. Cook until soft. Add crushed crackers and then the clam broth and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender. While potatoes are cooking, remove meat from clam shells and chop. Add chopped clams to chowder and heat through. Lower heat and add milk, half-and-half or cream. Heat to serving temperature. Avoid boiling. Serves four to six. This tastes even better the next day.

Boiled dinner: corned beef and cabbage

Corned beef goes on sale in the markets this time of year because in New England corned beef and cabbage is traditional St. Patrick’s Day fare. This resulted when Boston Irish adopted the traditional New England boiled dinner to celebrate the saint--and their heritage. In Ireland, folks don’t know a thing about this tradition. They’re more likely to eat stew or bangers and mash on March 17. Whether you’re Irish or not, a sale on corned beef provides a great excuse for an easy and delicious New England boiled dinner. While the meat is simmering, you are free to do other things around the house or garden. New Englanders traditionally use the gray corned beef, which is cured without sodium nitrate. If the corned beef you buy comes with a spice packet, you can use it in place of the spices listed in this recipe:

New England boiled dinner

2 - to 3-pound gray corned beef brisket

6 peppercorns

6 coriander seeds

½ teaspoon thyme or dill

½ teaspoon celery flakes

1 bay leaf

1 small head of cabbage, quartered

4 large carrots, peeled

4 medium potatoes, peeled

Rinse corned beef. Place in a large pot, fat side up, along with herbs and spices. Cover with water. Bring to a boil; then reduce to a simmer. After about 15 minutes, skim any scum. Cover and cook on low heat for about three hours. Then add potatoes, carrots and cabbage. Boil on low for another 30 minutes or until the vegetables are just tender. Serves four.

Shaker Sunday pot roast

This pot roast recipe is attributed to the Shakers, a religious sect that flourished in the 19^th century practicing celibacy and communal living. The last surviving Shakers (three of them) live in the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Gloucester, Maine, not far from our summer camp. I enjoy stopping by to purchase the herbs they grow. I first ate Shaker Cranberry Pot Roast about a dozen years ago at the New England Inn in Intervale, NH. New Hampshire once had a thriving Shaker community in Canterbury. When the New England Inn closed its dining room, I decided I needed to make this pot roast at home, so I researched some recipes and developed this one. Served with creamy mashed potatoes, this is a real New England "mommy meal."

Shaker Cranberry Pot Roast

1 cup fresh cranberries

½ cup sugar

½ cup water

2- to 3-pound chuck roast

2 tablespoons oil

Ground pepper to taste

1 large onion, chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1 cup beef broth

3 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

In a small saucepan, cook cranberries, sugar and water for about 10 minutes. Set aside. In a Dutch oven, sear the beef in hot oil. Remove. Add chopped onions and carrots. Cook until tender. Return beef to pot and sprinkle with pepper. Add beef broth, cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaf. Pour cranberry sauce over beef. Place lid on pot and bring to a boil; then lower the heat to simmer. Allow beef to braise for at least 2-1/2 hours, or until it is meltingly tender. Allow meat to rest for 15 minutes before serving. Serves six.

Hamaroni: meaty mac and cheese

When you bake a ham, you inevitably end up with leftovers. How do you use them? Strata is one option. Another is ham and macaroni casserole, which appears in several old cookbooks, including Fanny Farmer’s Boston Cooking School Cook Book. I’ve read multiple versions in various cookbooks, mentally digested them and devised my own recipe based on ingredients I had on hand. My version, which the family dubbed “hamaroni,” is like a smoky macaroni-and-cheese casserole. It can be assembled in advance and placed in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap until you’re ready to bake it. Allow extra time for baking in this case.

Hamaroni

2 cups dry elbow macaroni

½ cup chopped onion

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)

3 cups milk

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

2 cups diced ham, fully cooked

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup bread crumbs

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Cook the macaroni according to package directions. In a large saucepan, cook onion in three tablespoons melted butter until tender. Stir in flour, pepper and parsley. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir on medium-high heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in grated cheese. Stir in cooked macaroni, ham and frozen peas. Transfer mixture to a greased 9- by 13-inch baking dish. In a small saucepan, melt one tablespoon butter; toss in bread crumbs. Sprinkle crumbs over macaroni mixture. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the casserole is bubbly. Serves six to eight.