Easy To Prepare Lobster Clambake

By Sherry Shantel

The clambake dates back to the days of the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Settlers witnessed Native Americans cooking seafood over hot stones and seaweed and thus the famous New England clambake was born. The Lobster clambake has become a summer tradition not only in New England but also all over the country. Now, with the Internet, you can have Maine live lobster shipped from New England to anywhere in the United States.

The main stars of the clambake are of course, the lobsters. They come in many sizes - the smallest kinds which weigh around 1 - 1.25 pounds are called the chickens, 1.25-pound lobsters are called Quarter, and 1.20-pound are Half lobsters. Those people who have small appetites will be glad with chicken types to be served with another main course. However, for those who prefer to have a hearty meal, they'll be happier with Quarter or Half lobsters.

Shellfish and clams also have several different types. But before you get confused on which types to choose, any shellfish will actually go well with lobster bisque. And if you really want the best authentic clambake, then have the New England steamer clams instead. These so-called steamers are large and have really soft shells. One pound of clams is recommended for each individual.

New England clambakes are most often served with corn on the cob and red bliss potatoes. They add to the delicious distinct flavor and presentation of the clambake. Both can be steamed, boiled or grilled in a similar fashion to the lobsters and steamers.

Clambakes have historically been cooked in holes dug in the sand with seaweed and hot stones. While this makes a nice presentation, the truth is that our typical ovens and pots do a much better job. The recommended way to cook live lobsters is to have them steamed. You're going to need a large pot, a steamer basket, and some salt.

Next, pour 1 and inches of water to the large pot and for every quart of water, add an approximate 1 tablespoon of salt. Bring it to a boil and then put the lobsters and steamer basket inside the pot.

Cooking time for one-pounder lobsters is about 12 minutes, while for 1.5-pounder lobsters, 15 minutes. Have the pot checked periodically to make sure the water has not boiled off. Add more water if needed. Remove each of the lobsters and have one of their small legs pulled off. If you want to check the meat to see if it is already cooked, break open one of its legs.

For a more wonderful and tastier feast, you can opt to add mussels, shrimp, and clam chowder to your clambake. Add fresh vegetables for a more healthy presentation. Your homemade lobster clambake is now ready to be enjoyed by you and your loved ones.

About the Author:

You can easily get Atlantic salmon if you live close to the ocean, but if you live inland, it may be much more difficult. Of course the best place to always get seafood is from Quality Fresh Seafood.

Garlic Mushrooms, Queens of the Kitchen

By Ella Simmons

Almost all housewives know how to cook. Not all of them, though, use cooking recipes, but they rather base their cooking on gut feelings. Maybe this is why restaurants are full every night.

Learning creative ways of mushroom recipes is not that complicated. Beware though at forest mushrooms, because if you don't recognize them very well, you may pick poisonous ones and get sick.

If you are afraid of picking the wrong ones, just go to the store and buy mushrooms from there. Champignons, the white ones, are delicious, and you are safe. They are cultivated in special farms, not in the woods.

Cooks know that mushroom is a complete aliment, full of nutrients and especially rich in vitamin D. Vegetarians could eat mushrooms instead of meat and feel well and healthy. Mushrooms give energy.

Cook books with mushroom recipes are almost all over the place, in libraries, in bookstores, or even on the internet. Cooking sites can help housewives find new ways of cooking this delicious food. The additional ingredients can completely change the overall taste of a dish.

All mushrooms have to be thoroughly washed before cooking. This means that you need to take them one by one, and put them under a jet of water, until all dirt between the blades has been removed. Then you can let them stay in water for a few more minutes.

If there are any tiny insects hidden between the blades, they will get out and you'll obtain clean mushrooms which are ready to be cooked. If mushrooms are big, cut them in pieces. Smaller ones can be cooked as they are.

Cook the mushrooms very well. Eating them raw can make you sick. There are some restaurants which offer salads containing raw mushrooms, but I'm not sure that is a good idea. Besides, cooking kills part of the toxins, so do it well.

Mushrooms can be cooked in many ways. Grilling and baking are two of the most popular ones. Grilled mushrooms get a delicious taste from the charcoal and smoke, so many people love them. Too bad you need a courtyard to do this, because if you grill them indoors, you'll find it hard to get rid of the smell in your house.

About the Author:

Ella, the author of this article, runs her own cooking website, where she teaches people how to cook food, in step by step recipes. She offers free cooking recipes delivered to you by e-mail every day.

Lobster Clambake: Have Fun All-year Round

By Shannon Linnen

Summer is a great period for entertaining, and a very fun way to entertain is to invite your friends and family over for a clambake. Lobster and clams cooked over a fire, some exotic drinks, brightly colored decorations and appropriate music make for a great time for everybody.

But, when the weather is not fine, or even when winter hits, why not hold a lobster clambake indoors? What a great way to bring the illusion of summer to a cold winter day! And it's a fun, easy and healthy way of entertainment.

In place of just any old lobster clambake, consider having a super deluxe lobster clambake, which is sure to please a variety of tastes. For your indoor clambake, purchase some fresh lobster, clams, shrimp, mussels, and maybe even some crab. You might also want to include some lobster bisque or clam chowder on the menu, in addition to corn on the cob and roasted potatoe.

Besides the food for your super deluxe lobster clambake, you will want to have a good supply of lobster bibs on hand, claw crackers, lots and lots of napkins, and a good supply of pre-moistened towlettes. Seafood is delicious but it can be very messy indeed.

You may be wondering how you can have an indoor clambake, when the clams and other seafood at a clambake are traditionally cooked in a pit over an open fire. Easy! For this super deluxe lobster clambake you will be doing all of the cooking on the traditional indoor stovetop!

The only special equipment you need to complete the cooking is a lobster stock pot. These are available in a variety of sizes and some come with a steamer rack and basket. They can be found in many cooking supply stores and on the Internet. While looking for your lobster stock pot on the Internet, run an additional search for an indoor clambake recipe that sounds good.

To make preparing for you party and planning even easier, there are many super deluxe lobster clambake kits available. They can easily be found by searching the Internet. Many of the kits contain everything you need, including wetnaps, claw crackers and cloth napkins, in addition to the seafood itself. All you'll need to shop for are the vegetables and you'll be all set for the most popular party of the year.

So what is the next step with all of this? Well, to get your clambake ordered of course! The best place to research almost anything is the Internet, the Super Deluxe clambake is no different. Enter that specific phrase into the search engines and then visit with the top two or three entries. Call them if necessary to get a feel for how they do business. Once you have accomplished this, order up your clambake and get ready to invite over some friends.

About the Author:

Eating fresh seafood such as lobster can really make you hungry! You can often get seafood items from local stores and restaurants, but to make sure you are getting the best in seafood, visit Quality Fresh Seafood.

Seafood Combo Meals - A Healthy Alternative

By Shannon Linnen

Seafood is very healthy, and is available in such wide varieties that it's hard to go wrong! Everything you need to prepare delicious seafood combo meals can be found at your local grocery store. Seafood combo meals are delicious and very easy to prepare.

Don't fret about what type of seafood to get, with a seafood combo meal you don't have to worry about it. You will get at least two different seafood items or types of seafood. For example, you may get fresh lobster tails, or scallps, or possibly Alaskan King Crab. This will not only make your seafood combo meal more exciting but will also ensure that it will be a satisfying meal.

If you're new to cooking it's best to start with simpler items, such as shrimp or fish fillets. It's easiest to prepare things you already like, as your cooking instincts will be more accurate. Of course, if you're not an experienced cook and your favorite combo is two pound lobster and scallops, it may be best to start with something easier and work your way up. If you're not sure what kind of food you'd like the most, try to find a fresh seafood sampler at your local grocery.

While you are preparing any seafood dish, the easiest cooking method is pan-fry. One very easy starter dish is shrimp pasta. Start with your favorite pasta and a bag of cocktail, or frozen shrimp. It's fairly easy to find these pre-cooked, so you won't risk under-cooking the food.

Set out all the ingredients you'll use. First the pasta and a pot of water to boil it in, then the shrimp and a frying pan, and lastly your favorite oils and spices. For this dish, a good starting point is olive oil, basil leaves, and garlic powder. Start the pasta boiling and heat the frying pan. Pour a small amount of oil in the pan, and add the shrimp. Sprinkle the garlic powder and basil leaves on top, and stir the shrimp around the pan until they're lightly covered in oil and spices.

When the shrimp begin to sizzle you can turn the heat down slightly, so they quietly simmer in the pan. For added flavor you could add some vegetables, I often add chopped onions and tomatoes. While the pasta finishes the shrimp will simmer, absorbing the flavor of the oil and spices.

When the pasta has reached your preferred softness, strain it and put it on a plate. Add a side of garlic bread or a caesar salad and you've got a hearty, healthy seafood combo meal! There are an infinite number of seafood combo meals you could cook, the best way to learn is to keep practicing different kinds until you find your favorite! Pour the complete contents of the frying pan over the pasta, and mix them together.

No need to fret or worry about where to get your tasty seafood combo meal. The internet has brought online seafood vendors literally straight to your kitchen! Visit Quality Fresh Seafood to pick out your seafood combo meal. With such items as overnight delivery being such a readily available option, there is no reason not to be able to enjoy a delicious seafood combo meal.

About the Author:

Seafood is preferred fresh over frozen, there are various ways to obtain live lobster and King Crab in the best form even if you live far from the on Cape Cod. Quality Fresh Seafood is a great place to start.

Feast On Connecticut Clambakes

By Sherry Shantel

Traditional Connecticut clambakes aren't just a meal, it's an event - a social gathering that doubles as a very popular and delicious way to feed many guests, whether it be a wedding party, a corporate event, a family reunion or simply a romantic evening for two.

Due to its comfortable casual ambiance, this hands-on eating feast makes it an even better place to meet and talk to new people. Clambakes are indeed fun especially during those summer fun-filled beach events with family and friends.

Traditional clambakes were held at the beach as food was cooked over a steady fire. Nowadays, local laws prohibit beach fires, so clambakes are prepared over a more efficient propane burner, but the traditional atmosphere still exists.

Clambake may contain various foods. While some people may want to start off with quahogs (hard shelled clams), others prefer steamers (soft shelled clams) dipped in butter with a salty broth. Hosts can even serve shrimp, clam chowder and mussels. Some of the more traditional accompaniments include corn on the cob, salads, potatoes, slaws, and cornbread. How about having ice cream for dessert? With so many options to have your clambake as delicious and unique as possible, never forget to include lobster bisque, which is of course, the main dish.

Now, if you really want to follow the original clambake cooking process, you'll have to find a spot on the beach where you can dig a pit which is two or three feet deep. Then line it with rocks and build a huge fire on top of these rocks that would reach 400 degrees F. Line the hot rocks with wet seaweed, layer with potatoes, corn in the husk, and more seaweed. Cover the pit with a tarpaulin which is weighted down with rocks, and let it to steam for three hours.

A simpler method would have the shellfish and accompaniments steamed on a stovetop. You can also opt to place rocks in a large metal washtub across a couple of stovetop burners. Then layer it with clams and seaweed before pouring in a couple of gallons of seawater. Wait until it boils and then steam it for about twenty minutes to get the distinct clambake flavor.

But if you have neither seawater nor seaweed, you can have a clambake on a rack over hot coals on your grill. It helps to parboil potatoes and live lobster first, because they take longest to cook, but the corn and clams will cook thoroughly in the grill's heat.

For an even more stripped-down version of Connecticut clambakes, forget about the grill. Put the clams in a pot on the stove, perhaps with corn and chorizo, or with aromatics such as shallots and saffrons, and steam until they open. Though you won't probably experience the original cooking methods of Connecticut clambakes, the best part is that you still get to enjoy the healthy and unique way of partying.

About the Author:

If you don't live near Cape Cod - you can always go to the grocery store and purchase some lobster clambake. If you want to guarantee the ultimate in freshness, order from an online vendor such as Quality Fresh Seafood.