By Back to school fall 2021 — wait, I'm getting confused with the timeline. Let me align: Year 5 is March 2021 to March 2022. So fall 2021 is in the middle of Year 5. I already covered back to school. These later weeks are January-March 2022, closing the year. Let me write a February entry.
February. The insomnia had its longest good streak: six weeks of sleeping six hours a night. Dr. Tran and I celebrated by having a normal session where we talked about things that aren't Katrina — about the business, about Luc's college plans, about Colette's book, about Rémy's cooking. "You're living forward, Tommy," she said. "Not backward." Forward. Not backward. The roux doesn't reverse. You can't unstir. You can only keep going, keep adding, keep building on what's in the pot. Forward. Always forward. The roux only goes one direction, and the direction is dark, and dark is deep, and deep is good.
Made a shrimp and corn bisque — the roasted-corn version from year one, now a staple. Some dishes start as experiments and end as institutions. The bisque is an institution now. It belongs in the journal. It belongs in the rotation. It belongs at the table on a February Tuesday when the roux of my life is going forward and the bisque is warm and the corn is sweet and the shrimp are Gulf and the Tuesday is enough.
Dr. Tran said I was living forward, and she was right — and on a February Tuesday when that felt true in my bones, the instinct was the same as always: get in the kitchen, get something warm going, let the pot do the talking. The bisque belongs to this season of the journal, but so does this pasta — white clam sauce, good garlic, a splash of white wine — because forward-living nights deserve something that tastes like intention and smells like the Gulf. It’s the kind of meal that starts as a Tuesday solution and ends up in permanent rotation, right alongside everything else that got built to last.
Pasta with White Clam Sauce
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 12 oz linguine or spaghetti
- 2 cans (6.5 oz each) chopped clams, drained, liquid reserved
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup reserved clam juice
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Grated Parmesan or Pecorino, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Before draining, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water. Drain and set aside.
- Build the sauce base. While pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes; sauté 1—2 minutes until fragrant and just turning golden. Do not let the garlic brown.
- Add liquids and simmer. Pour in the white wine and reserved clam juice. Raise heat to medium-high and simmer 4—5 minutes until the liquid reduces by about a third.
- Add clams and butter. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in the drained clams and butter. Cook 2—3 minutes until clams are heated through and butter is fully incorporated. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Toss with pasta. Add the drained pasta to the skillet and toss to coat, adding reserved pasta water a splash at a time until the sauce clings loosely to every strand.
- Finish and serve. Remove from heat. Fold in fresh parsley. Serve immediately in warm bowls, topped with grated cheese if desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 485 | Protein: 23g | Fat: 17g | Carbs: 57g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 610mg