Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

I know I've been a bit MIA lately. It's not that I haven't been eating or cooking.  I've been busy. I went to California twice for work related things. I have to report on that too. I had some fantastic meals there. But until I get to that (if ever)... I thought I might be able to get a little smokey-ness into the clams if I used the grill to cook my clam sauce. I'm not sure that it really worked but it did come out delicious. 1 T butter 1 shallot, minced 4 clove garlic, whole 2 dozen small clams* 1 - 1/2 c white wine salt/pepper 1lb linguine 2 T parsley, chopped Parmesan cheese Start to cook pasta in boiing salted water. Place cast iron dutch oven on grill (or on stove top). Let it heat up a little and then add the butter. When it's almost melted add shallots, garlic, and a good pinch of salt.  Cook until fragrant. Add clams and pour enough wine so that the clams are almost covered. Close lid of grill or cover with pot lid. Let cook about 3-4 ...

2 lone lemons I've patiently been waiting for the lemons on my lemon tree. We've had the "tree" for about 4 years. Every year I get real excited because it gets tons of flowers and then gets tons of little baby lemons. Then they all fall off one by one and we end up with 2 lemons. They usually are ripe anywhere between November or December. I always try to make something special with them since they are such a scarce commodity. Something where lemons are center stage. They have a very thin skin and are very lemony. Look how thin the skin is So this year it was a classic dish - Spaghetti al Limone. I came upon this via Smitten Kitchen who came upon it via American's Test Kitchen. Spaghetti al Limone 1lb spaghetti, linguine,  angel hair pasta 1/4 c olive oil 1/4 c heavy cream 3 lemons or about 1/3-1/2 c lemon juice zest from 3 lemons 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup fresh parsley Fresh basil (optional) salt/pepper Boil pasta in salted...