Thursday, January 5, 2012

Clams, Crab Legs, and Shrimp Are Food for the Gods (and Guests)


Today we are joining a brand new blog party at Kathy's A Delightsome Life. This sounds very exciting!

Thanks for hosting, Kathy.

 We are going to share our New Year's Eve dinner with guests.

Most native New Englanders love seafood. 

Just about anything that swims looks good to eat.  (Except for lifeguards.  ha!) 

Even though it was a huge financial splurge (the last of the holiday season, right?),  we decided to serve a seafood dinner early on New Year's Eve.

We had a small gathering----five guests, my hubs, and me. (Okay, Honey Cat was nearby but she wasn't officially invited.)

First on the menu were fat, cold shrimp chilled out in an ice-filled bowl.  Homemade chili sauce with a a nice dollop of horseradish mixed in came with them.

Then, we had steamed clams with drawn butter.



Some people cannot stand steamed clams. We love them.

They have a distinct and very unique taste.

 Dipped in the butter and lightly salted they are mmm mmm mmm.

Thoughts of making New England clam chowder soup with leftovers went through my mind but there was not a single clammy left over. Not one!

Crab legs, also served with drawn butter, were definitely the highlight of the dinner. During the cracking open, no one talked. They just crack, crack, cracked.



Then, with tiny forks, everyone scooped out the succulent sweet, white meat of the crab legs. Talk about fabulous, this treat would be hard to beat.

Of course there was salad.  Added to butter lettuce were sweet little tomatoes, chopped red peppers, scallions, and mushrooms that had marinaded in teriyaki dressing. The whole "shabang" tasted quite yummy.


So around here, we got the New Year off to a glamorous start.

Now come belt-tightening meals as well as budget.

However, the memories of  New Year's Eve's dinner will provide very good food for thought for quite some time to come.

WHAT IS YOUR ABSOLUTE FAVORITE MEAL?

13 comments:

Chatty Crone said...

I think I will leave the clams - and have some crab legs and salad - they look so delish! You are a great cook. Let's see - my favorite meal - steak, potato, and salad - something like that anyway - unless you want to invite me to dinner.

Sandie

Bookie said...

Isn't it interesting how our locale shapes our tastes? I am not a fan of seafood, but loved the IDEA of lobster when we were in Maine...liked the traps and such for decor. When in the Deep South, we had an appetizer that the waiter called Mud Bugs. Yikes, at home that was what we called fishing bait! However, your table is lovely for you meal, Susan!!! A great way to start your new year...

xinex said...

I love seafood and I love everything you had, Susan. But you forgot the lobster!:-) Those good looking crab more than made up for it though....Christine

diane stetson said...

I'd have to say my favorite meal is prime rib of beef and then my next favorite meal is a one and a half pound LOBSTER especially when I am in New England. I also love steamed clams, fried clams and scallops...Oh gosh now I'm getting hungry again and it's nine p.m. at night...great pics Susan and great meal. Wish I had been there.

La Vie Quotidienne said...

Oh my...this all sounds so yummy! I love shellfish, and this is such a lavish feast.

I hosted three of my grandchildren for New Year's Eve while their parents went out. They requested shrimp cocktails, prime rib and Cesar salad. It was all pretty good too. But I certainly wouldn't have minded a little addition of crab legs!

Heirloom treasures said...

Hello Susan, thank you for your sweet comments on my blog. I am here from A Delightsome Life. Your New Years Eve dinner looked so delicious. Nice visiting you. x jeanetteann

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

I LOVE shrimp, crab and lobster... you can have all of the other stuff that swims : ) I have tried! John and our daughters love all seafood but I just can't taking a liking to it. It all tastes... well, fishy!

Linda O'Connell said...

When I think about the poor crab having it's legs ripped off, I can't even fathom eating it, sort of the same way about chicken wings/legs, but I can do the breast. Go figure. I am not a seafood lover; and I am not a vegetarian. Just give me cake.

Eva Ason said...

The crab legs looks delicious, I love sea food a lot. Growing up on the west coast of Sweden we had a lot of it. My favorites are crayfish. [yum] All the food you're presenting here looks very tasty. The table looks very inviting. Have a lovely day!

Eva

Kathy said...

Now, this is a feast! I can imagine that there were no left overs! I'd just love this! What a way to start the year! Thank you so much for sharing this with my first Home and Garden Thursday! I appreciate you!
Kathy

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Sounds like a great way to ring in the new year. I think everyone here would agree that the best meals we ever had were when we stayed on the tea plantation in Sri Lanka and had our evening meals prepared by a personal chef. Oh my! Words cannot describe how good the food was. My favorite meals on a daily basis are the simple kind that don't require a lot of in ingredients or preparation. Best wishes to you, Tammy

Karen Lange said...

As far as seafood goes, I love flounder and haven't had any in a long time. Hmm, perhaps I need to remedy that! Thanks for sharing your lovely meal with us!
Blessings,
Karen

Linda @ A La Carte said...

I really enjoyed eating lobster when I lived in New England but never got comfortable with steamed clams...anyway I guess I love chicken/turkey and dressing...ok Thanksgiving is my ideal meal!

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