Until last April, I had never really tried clams or mussels. That changed when we stayed at the Winchester Inn in Ashland and our free chef’s choice appetizer coupon got us a big, steaming bowl of mussels and clams. And lots of hot bread. jwa and I both made slight faces and then each kind of shrugged and dug in.

Things I learned that night:

1. wine and butter make anything tasty
2. crusty bread is your friend
3. I like clams!
4. I am okay with mussels, but probably wouldn’t order a big plate of them

After being exposed to these four new tenets, I have been threatening to make some sort of clam dish at home ever since. jwa only encouraged this by getting me seafood forks as a stocking stuffer last Christmas. So, here’s some clams. But, it’s mostly salmon. But, hey, we’ve had it twice so far and both times it’s been pretty good.

The original recipe called for much more mint and saffron. I omitted the saffron the second time as I thought it overpowered the dish a little bit. I also decreased the mint a bit as it’s winter and I can’t get tons o’ fresh mint from the yard.

Salmon with Clams and Garlicky-Buttery Herb Broth
Influenced by a recipe by chef Michael Kornick of MK Restaurant in Chicago
2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
2 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
4 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped (separate into piles of four cloves and two cloves)
1/4 cup + 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 salmon fillets, 6-8 oz each
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium fennel bulb, stalks cut off and discarded, and bulb cored and thinly sliced lengthwise
1 medium sweet onion, such as Vidalia, thinly sliced
1 cup dry white wine
3 tbsp unsalted butter
8-12 littleneck or Manilla clams, scrubbed

In large re-sealable plastic bag, combine chives, basil, tarragon, parsley, half the mint, the 4 cloves of chopped garlic, and 1/4 cup olive oil. Add salmon and seal bag, pressing out air. Turn bag to coat salmon, then refrigerate, turning bag over occasionally, at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours. You can also marinate the fish in a large dish.

Remove fish from marinade. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Preheat a grill pan or large skillet and grill salmon, turning once, until just opaque in center, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to platter and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.

Now, I like to use the same pan that I cooked the salmon in, call me wacky. You could also, of course, use a new pan. Add the remaining olive oil, the fennel, onion and the remaining 2 cloves of chopped garlic. Sauté until just soft, about 2 minutes.

Add wine, butter, remaining mint, and clams, cover and bring to boil. Cook until clams open, about 8-10 minutes. Discard any clams that have not opened.

Place 1 piece salmon on center of each of 8 wide shallow bowls. Spoon clams, broth, onions, and fennel around salmon and serve immediately.

For an extra treat, cook some pasta or rice and place that in the bowl first, followed by the salmon and clams and sauce. Feta cheese makes a nice garnish, as does more fresh herbs. Also, (see lesson #2 above) you really can’t go wrong with slices from a crusty baguette on the side.

Winchester Inn
35 South Second St.
Ashland, OR 97520
541.488.1113

We typically go to Ashland every Fall — see some plays, eat some food, go on some walks, that sort of thing. We’re heading off there this weekend and I thought it would be a good time to post last-Spring’s-mini-trip-there pictures. We just stayed for one night with a deal through the Winchester Inn — tickets to a play, dinner discounts, a suite and breakfast the next morning.

Our night started with dinner and a complimentary appetizer. In this case clams and mussels in a spicy, garlicky, winey broth. I have to say, neither jwa or I would have ordered this on our own but since it was brought to us for free, we dove right in, With some crusty bread it was really, really good. So good that at some point, I am going to try Tyler Florence’s recipe for spaghetti and spicy, tomatoey clam sauce.

A big bowl full of mollusks

Next, I think I had some asparagus soup. I remember it being delicious. It had a rich, smokey flavor.

Here’s a picture of a salad. I bet jwa had the salad. That’s just the type of thing he would do…

Although, upon further inspection, that might be something else. Oh, but I know it was tasty!

For my main course, I got this amazing braised lamb over polenta with rosemary and vegetables.

I think they still currently have it on the menu. Yep — they do: Braised lamb shank, basil polenta, with a braising sauce and Tangerine Rosemary gremolata. Wow, that was so good.

Surf & turf

jwa got the surf and turf special — a beef fillet, it looks like something crispy on top, something round and crusty (I’m going to guess this was a risotto ball) and crabmeat. Oh and sauces! A couple of different sauces. It was so good. I know because I tried some and he was raving about it as well.

Dessert was a fried banana, caramel sauce and a pot of dark chocolate gelatto. So excellent. I hope that is still on the menu when we are there this weekend! Okay, I should probably go pack or something…

Oh, yeah — just a reminder about this month’s weekend cookbook challenge! Make something Fallish and/or Halloween-y and send your post to me by by October 21!

I think I totally forgot about last month’s Weekend Cookbook Challenge. That makes me sad as I think that’s the first one I’ve missed for the past year or so. I’m also going to blame it on my cold last month and rejoin WCC this month as if nothing had happened…la-la-la-la-la.

So, for WCC#16 the theme is “something new”. Perfect timing, as I just got a new book while in Ashland last month — Shakespeare’s Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook by Francine Segan.

It’s really a beautiful book and a lot of the recipes caught my eye but the chicken plum tart was the one I wanted to try first. I did change a few things, though (as is my way, it appears). The original recipe seemed kind of dessert-y with cinnamon, brown sugar and cloves. Instead, I opted to try adding fresh thyme and feta cheese. My changes are in the recipe below, but I’ve also listed the original ingredients if you want to make the authentic version.

Chicken Plum Pie
1 lb cooked chicken meat, shredded
2 plums, pitted and diced
1 plum, cut into slices
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup feta cheese
3 tbsp chicken stock
1 tbsp Parmesan cheese
Salt + pepper

Alternately, you can omit the thyme and feta and follow the real Shakespearean recipe and instead use a pinch of ground cloves, 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tbsp brown sugar and 1/2 tsp ground mace.

Renaissance Dough
2 cups sifted, loosely packed pastry flour (I admit I used AP flour for this)
1/2 cup ice water
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup butter, cut into small cubes
1 tbsp chives, snipped (my addition — if you’re making the sweeter version, omit the chives)

The actual recipe in the cookbook described a process where you mix the flour, egg, water and salt together on a cold surface and then roll the butter into the dough. Some people could probably have this work just fine for them. Me? I opted to make this dough how I make all my doughs — in a food processor. Quite honestly, the Renaissance was 500+ years ago and I have a food processor at my disposal and I am lazy. So there.

Pulse the butter into the flour, salt and chives. Add the egg, Pulse. Then add water until the dough comes together (although it’ll be a little crumbly). You can also use the above-mentioned rolling pin method or one of those wiry, pastry blenders, forks or your fingers. Whatever works best for you.

Gather up into a ball and refrigerate for at least an hour. When ready to use, divide in half and roll one half out for your tart. The other half can be refrigerated for a few more days and used later in the week for something fun. Or, you could also just make a half recipe of the dough for this tart. I opted for fun. But more on that later.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness and press into a round tart pan or even a square baking pan. Prick all over with a fork to avoid the air bubbles. Bake for 10-15 minutes until it starts to get a bit golden. If you have extra dough, you can always roll it out and use a cookie cutter to make fun shapes for the top.

Combine the chicken, thyme, stock, feta and diced plums in a bowl (or, omit the thyme and feta and add the cloves, mace, cinnamon and brown sugar instead). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spoon the mixture into the pie crust and drizzle the butter over the top. Sprinkle with the Parmesan (or brown sugar). Bake for about 40 minutes, until the crust is golden, the filling is all bubbly and the plums have caramelized a bit. Let cool for a few minutes, then slice and serve. We had ours with a spinach salad which was a wonderful combination.

It was really good. An interesting combination of meat and fruit. I liked the thyme and feta a lot, it made it seem more like a chicken pie with fruit rather than a fruit pie with chicken.

Since I made a full dough recipe, I had a ball of Renaisssance dough leftover. What to do? Well, I used it to make an olive, tomato, provolone and artichoke heart tart. I pre-baked the tart shell and then lined it with slices of provolone cheese. Then came a mixture of chopped artichoke hearts and olives, then I poured over a custard (1/4 cup evaporated skim milk + 2 eggs whisked together along with some salt and pepper) and tomato slices. Okay, fine, I also sprinkled Parmesan cheese over the top.

I baked it for about an hour at 350 degrees and it was another dinner (and breakfast the next day for jwa and I). Excellent. Thanks again, as always, to Sara of Weekend Cookbook Challenge and all around great blogger and cook.

Crap. Now I have to vaccum.

Ashland for the Shakespeare Festival
I recently got an e-mail from the Winchester Inn (which we call “The Winchester Mystery Inn”, having lived in the Bay Area), offering one night’s lodging, $30 coupon towards dinner in the dining room — hey, it’s about a free bottle of wine — tickets to a play for two and a hot breakfast the next morning. Needless to say, I picked a date, a room from the Web site, decided which play I wanted to see and called jwa to let him know about this mini-getaway all in a span of 30 minutes from getting the e-mail. I’m very easily convinced to return to places we like a lot.

On April 15th, while others are slugging away on their taxes (due Tues, the 17th this year) we’ll be kicking back in Ashland, enjoying a lovely dinner at the Winchester and seeing Tracy’s Tiger. This works out very well, as it is sold out for our traditional Ashland trip in October and I couldn’t get tickets, which made me very sad. Now I am happy.

Since we do go to Ashland every year, I figured I’d throw out a few recommendations. Although, be warned, lodging reservations should be made as early as possible. Depending on when you go, things might be booked up to a year in advance. Seriously. I know. I was shocked too when I had to scramble one year to find a place to stay. This is especially true for the first weekend in October.

Winchester (Mystery) Inn
A cross between a B&B and small hotel. Breakfast is included in the morning and is big and satisfying. Usually a choice between some sort of pancake/waffle option and a savory egg dish. Includes fruit, coffee and juice. We’ve only stayed in one room — The Sunset Room — which was very nice, albeit a bit small.

The Sunset Room

There is an awesome, private balcony though, so it was worth it. The rooms are a bit pricey though,$145 - $250, so you may want to save it for a special occasion.

Abbott’s Cottages
Our new favorite place to stay. They fill up very quick, though. Studio, one-bedroom and multiple bedroom “cottages” with kitchens, tile floors, balconies/patios and cuteness. Behind Al’s Pancake World. Okay, fine, Al’s diner. We’ve stayed in the Egret and the Duck. Rates are very reasonable, starting at $110 for a studio cottage and going up to $230 for a 3-bedroom rental house.

Casa Bella — Backyard Bungalow
We stayed here once and it was very, very cute but a little small. Lots of character. There’s a small kitchen, a small bathroom, closet and a bedroom/sitting area. The price is very good at $85-125/night (depending on season) and there is a parking spot located a few steps outside the kitchen door. It’s attached to a larger rental house, but still managed to seem pretty quiet and private. A good deal for Ashland. The Web site doesn’t seem to work anymore — not sure if this place is still available.

Fiddle Family Inn — The Cottage
Small one bedroom cottage, with a back deck and a soaking tub. We stayed here once and while it was nice, it was nothing special for the price of $150/night. Based on the outside, which is very cute, I was expecting more from the inside, which just looked like an ordinary, “first apartment” type interior. Also, there was no parking spot included. Not a big issue as we had no problem finding a spot on the street, but for $150 I’d like off-street parking. The owner was extremely nice though, so it’d be an okay choice if you looked and looked and everything else was booked.

Manor Motel
Ashland on a budget. We stayed here last year three nights and saved enough money to splurge and stay at the Winchester for one night. This is a very good deal. Rooms start at $65 a night and go up to $95 for multiple bedrooms. The website makes it look slightly nicer than it really is, though and the kitchens are very dated. That said, it was a perfectly nice place to stay as long as you’re not expecting a $150/night type of room. I did really like sitting at the kitchen table in the morning, having coffee and reading. There is also a picnic table outside and a back gate that leads out into the neighborhood.

I forget the room number that we had…

The owner was very friendly and out in the morning doing yard work on the property. I could not, however, stop myself from wondering how nice our room would be with new carpeting (or even better, hardwood floors), some bright wall paint, new artwork and a new, unstained chair. But then again, if you’re looking to save a few bucks and don’t care about fanciness or cuteness in your lodging, this is a great option.

Places we haven’t stayed at but I’d either like to or have heard good things about…

Ashland Springs Hotel
Right downtown, looks very nice. One day we’ll splurge and try it.

The Palm
We almost stayed here the first year we went but then I found a rental cottage to stay at instead (that place is no longer available). This looks like a great deal and people on Tripadvisor.com seem to like it too. It’s probably a bit longer walk to downtown than most places we stay at but then, walking is good for you so that’s not a bad thing. $64 - $169/night.

Restaurants coming soon…