Block Island Seafood Co.: Block Island to Martha's Vineyard

The first place I took a step was on Martha's Vineyard. So it's fair to say the place holds some significance. This past weekend I got the chance to head back to see Cousin Jude. She's a great cook and we have more fun than people should be allowed to have. I mostly shadow her in the kitchen trying to pick up her cooking tips while trying not to annoy her too much. I managed to annoy her some on this trip, with the help of Mosey, but also managed to pick up a few tips. It was a good trip and AB even managed to find some pearls, even though we didn't have oysters.

Each day was a great meal and each dinner included some seafood. We started with a shrimp rosemary over linguine. A tasty dish that mixes a scampi style shrimp with rustic tomato flavors and just a touch of fresh basil to lighten it up. It was great.

We also had some Martha's Vineyard Bay scallops. These were just shucked at the Menemsha Fish Market. Stanley hooked me up on price and quality. They were so sweet; just a touch of butter, salt, pepper and a quick saute in the orange pan of Jude's and they were like candy!! Never pass up the opportunity of fresh bay scallops. Nantucket, Vineyard or Peconic, I've had them all and they are all great! Prices can sky rocket, so get em while they're abundant.

We also dined on some garlic-mayonnaise codfish. When off of Cape Cod, you better have fresh cod, and the guys at the Net Result hooked us up. Judy baked it and topped it off with some bread crumbs. Like all good cod, it flaked into perfect bites.

On the clam front, again from Stanley up island at the Menemsha Fish Market, we did clams ala Jude and Moira and Dan did a white clam sauce pie. The Clams ala Jude are great. Shuck em, drizzle melted garlic butter on them and top with bread crumbs, then bake till the clams are done and the crumbs are crisp. Call Mosey for instructions on how to grate the crumbs. The Clam pie needs fresh shucked clams and fresh pizza dough. Roll out the dough and cook till almost done. Then take your white clam sauce (recipe available at www.blockislandseafood.com) and spoon it over the dough. Put it back and let it finish cooking. This was fantastic.

I'm hungry just thinking about the food again.

Growing up watching people cook and then trying it on my own was fun, and I've learned that as I've gotten older, nothing has changed. I still like to watch and then try on my own. Thanks Jude.