After a couple of nights at Killarney Mountain Lodge, we headed to Covered Portage or Portage Couvert, if you are using the proper French name. We had taken care of laundry, swam in the pool, ate lovely meals at their restaurants and put a significant dent in our sailing budget. Covered Portage is only 3NM from Killarney, so the trip was neither long or stressful. As long as you ignored the weather reports of thunderstorms and squalls.
We left Killarney in a major downpour but settled into Covered between storm fronts. We usually skip Covered Portage if there are more than ten boats in the anchorage but we found a nice, sweet spot recently vacated by two rafted boats. The thunderstorms rolled in making a great ruckus and giving the boat a good wash. Although the area weather warnings predicted potential squalls with winds up to 50mph – they didn’t materialize in our secure little anchorage.
After a wee siesta, Dan prepared an amazing dinner. Based on an old favorite of Spaghetti with Clams, he put a twist on it by using some of our fresh herbs from our shoe bag herb garden. The basil was starting to bud, time to trim it back a bit! As usual, Dan’s recipes start with a base from ‘somewhere’ and then evolve into his own creations. The new recipe has been added to Dan’s recipe collection – Clams a la Gaviidae II.
Wine: Pinot Grigio/ Chardonnay blend followed by a nice Viognier. Music: Paris Combo – Live album.
Canned Clams a la Gaviidae II
Ingredients
- 1 can baby or minced clams reserve juice
- 8 oz tortiglioni or other tubular or twisted pasta
- 1/2 cup onion chopped
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter, unsalted
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley minced
- 4 cloves garlic up to 6, minced
- 2 tsp flour or cornstarch
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- splash white wine
- 1/4 cup fresh basil minced
- splash Red Boat fish sauce
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or dash cayenne pepper
- pepper to taste
- parmesan cheese shredded
- pinch french thyme, dried
- pinch oregano, dried
- 1 bottle clam juice
Instructions
- Drain baby and minced clams, reserving juice; set clams and juice aside.
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- In a large skillet, sauté onion in oil and butter until tender. Add parsley and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add drained clams; sauté 2 minutes longer.
- Combine cornstarch and clam juice, mix until smooth. Stir into skillet along with wine/broth.
- Bring to a boil; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the basil, fish sauce, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Serve sauce over pasta; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Better like garlic and basil for this one!
July 5, 2021 Covered Portage 45°59.994’N 81°32.785’W 286.19 Nautical Miles
Was good to hear from both of you. Had been wondering. Good memories there. Wedding and weekend were fabulous. Crazy herding 41 people but it all worked out. Got home yesterday as overnighted in Madison. My eyes were closing while I was driving. Stayed in a new Holdiay Inn Express. It was amazing. Now home watching the drizzles come in. Looking forward to your next post. Lots of hugs. Printed the recipe. Thanks for making it easy to print. Thinking of you.
Ilona