SUMMER AND SEAFOOD

 

                                        Summer and seafood

 

          Summer finally has come in full bloom as we approach our nation’s 250^th birthday celebrations. Exhibitions, parades, fairs, concerts, barbeques and fireworks are on schedule for everyone as we proudly celebrate this memorable event in history on the 4^th of July, that continues to shape our everyday lives. One of my fond memories is celebrating the 4^th of July at a concert in front of the US Capitol Steps, with Aaron Copleland conducting the National Symphony Orchestra, and the fireworks bursting overhead at the finale.  

          For the cook it is easy to adapt to this celebration with blue, red and white accents on the table. Even a red, white and blue potato salad is effortless as many of our stores carry small potatoes in all those colors. However, summer in Maine has the added advantage of plentiful seafood, providing easy and lighter fare for hot summer days when some meals are likely to be taken al fresco dining, which we get from the Italian habit of eating outdoors when it is warm.

                                       Smoked salmon sandwiches

          Local smoked salmon can be the basis for a leisurely lunch attractively presented on open-faced sandwiches and takes very little effort to construct an appetizing plate.

          Start with slices of a baguette or thin slices of roggenbrot (dense rye), spread with butter or cream cheese, cover with a piece of thin sliced salmon, onion and capers. Serve with sliced hardboiled egg, olives, pickles or grape tomatoes and garnish with dill if desired. Seve with lemonade or another cool drink in the shade to relax and savor the day.

           My recent encounter with a very recalcitrant lobster started innocently enough. My very good friend Dan generously offered me a lobster from his first haul. I have been the grateful recipient of such a gift now for many years and was looking forward to cooking it at home that evening. Alas, when I removed the seaweed from the cooler in which the lobster arrived and picked him up to dunk in the pot, I almost dropped the enormous angry creature from surprise as it poked its long antennae toward my face and waved furiously it’s barnacle encrusted claws. It barely fit the pot, requiring force to keep the lid down. It was extremely hard shelled, required garden shears to cut open the tail and 20 minutes of pounding with a hammer on a cement floor to break the claws, but that bigger than a dinner plate sized lobster had a lot of delicious meat, some of which ended up in the following salad.

                                                 Dilly lobster salad

          Cutup 2 cups bite size lobster meat from claws and/or tail. Prepare the dressing by mixing: 1/3 cup sour cream, 2 tsp. chopped capers, ½ tsp. salt, 1 tbsp. lemon juice, 2 tsp. juice from dill pickles, 2 tbsp. chopped dill and ¼ tsp. lemon pepper.

          In a bowl gently mix the lobster with 1/3 cup finely chopped celery and the dressing, Chill for a couple of hours and serve on romaine lettuce with crusty bread.

                                                            Summer snapper

          This tender and colorful fish dinner for two comes together easily and quickly. Prepare the vegetables ready to sauté in one pan and have another medium pan ready for the fish.

Vegetables: ½ thinly sliced onion, ½ red and ½ green or yellow pepper seeded and chopped, 1 diced Roma tomato and 1 tbsp. chopped capers.

          Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. butter in a medium pan and sauté onion for 5 minutes, stir in red and green pepper, tomato, ¼ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper and capers and continue to sauté for additional 3-5 minutes.

           Cut 1 lb. skin-on snapper in half, season with salt and pepper, dredge in flower shaking off excess. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. butter to hot but not smoking, fry the snapper on medium heat for 2-3 minutes on each side and remove from heat.

          Serve fish with a side of the vegetables and a steamed ear of corn. Garnish with lemon and dill.

          Happy 4^th of July!

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day…”and “Uncharted Journey from Riga”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)