By Chef David “Smitty” Smith ·
I recently spent two weeks on the East Coast and reached the pinnacle of the food experience for the trip. I spent a week traveling around the Boston area seeing friends, and then it was up to Stowe, Vt., where I spent most of my time between college and Tahoe.
The, I went to the Cape Cod and Nantucket phase of the trip and that means great seafood, which is why I’d say it was the best food portion of the trip. California, being on the Pacific Ocean, has got some pretty good seafood, but for me, there is no comparison with the East Coast seafood. New England rules supreme in this category.
Of course, when it comes to New England seafood, the first thing most people think of is lobster. I love lobster and try to have at least one when I get back here, but for me, it’s the fried and steamed clams. I have yet to find or even hear of anywhere in California that serves real fried clams, although I know there must be someplace that does.
As soon as I get to the Cape Cod Canal, I don’t even wait until I cross the bridge to get onto the Cape. I go straight for an order of fried clams at one of the shacks on Highway 6. Once on the Cape, there are a couple places I have to go for more of the fried clams, as well as the fried seafood platters, which combine clams with other fried seafood like shrimp, scallops, calamari and scrod. Of course, whenever you have fried seafood, you need a good tartar sauce and the bottled stuff just isn’t going to cut it.
There are a few variations of tartar sauce, but most of the ingredients are pretty standard. One of the main ingredients in some versions that I do not use is dill. So, if you are a dill fan, by all means add some to your sauce.
With that, I will also remind you that this recipe can have a pretty strong flavor, so even if you use all the ingredients, again, use this as a guide for your own taste buds and add things a little at a time so as not to overpower the sauce.
Tartar Sauce
1 C mayonnaise
2 T red onion, small diced
2-3 T dill relish
2 T capers
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 lemon for juice
1 t hot sauce
2 T chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all the ingredients together, again adding each a little at a time to taste.
Smitty is a personal chef specializing in dinner parties, cooking classes and special events. Trained under Master Chef Anton Flory at Top Notch Resort in Stowe, Vt., Smitty is known for his creative use of fresh ingredients. To read archived copies of Stir it Up, visit chefsmitty.com or TheTahoeWeekly.com. Contact him at smitty@chefsmitty.com or (530) 412-3598.
