Clam Sauce

All families have their standard meals, and one of the favorites in mine is my father's Linguine with Clam Sauce; a delicious, garlicky white-sauce served over pasta. However, while I do love eating this dish every time Dad makes it, I must say that my heart belongs to another... RED clam sauce! It all started one night when I found myself alone in the house with a bag of fresh basil, some tomatoes, and a few too many cans of clams in the cupboard...A half hour of pondering and a few glasses of wine later, a star was born.

CLAM SAUCE

(1 serving)
- Whole Wheat Spaghetti
- 2 fresh vine tomatoes
- roasted red peppers, diced

- 1 sweet onion , sliced thin

- 4 garlic cloves, minced (love the garlic)

- 1/4 cup white wine

- 1 can baby clams (save the juice)

- 1 can baby shrimp

- capers

- fresh basil leaves, chopped

- spices (onion powder, garlic powder, salt, oregano, tarragon, crushed red pepper)

- Pecorino Romano Cheese, grated

Pour a glass of wine. Drink half of it while reading this recipe... Finish it. Refill. Start cooking!

Boil some pasta water and add spaghetti. Slice onions and garlic, and heat a skillet with olive oil. Saute onions till transparent, then season with onion and garlic powders and salt. Throw in your red peppers, then add the wine, tarragon, oregano and crushed red pepper. Add clams, clam juice, shrimp and capers and let simmer until most of the liquid has cooked down. When pasta is done, drain it and return to pot and stir in your minced garlic and chopped basil. Put pasta on a plate, spoon clam sauce on top, pour yourself some more wine, and enjoy with copious amounts of romano cheese!

variations: swap shrimp for another can of clams or crab meat. or live dangerously and do all three!