It's been a particularly rich time to eat with Il Nostro Inviato, who is a whiz in the kitchen.In the past month or so, he's prepared homemade pasta, baccalà and pizza (he's also pickled beets, and baked an apple pie but I don't think that's Italian).
The latest entry: the dish you see above, linguine with littleneck clams and mussels. A later iteration of the dish included wild Georgia shrimp, which were truly a revelation.
He's thoroughly mastered the basics, by which I mean the foundations upon which to build countless dishes. The base sauce for this pasta dish, for example, is a rich combination of olive oil, garlic and peperoncino, sauteed to perfection.
I love the way you can see the steam rising up from the pot!
Add a solid Italian wine -- in our case, almost always red, even with seafood -- and a salad or more substantial second dish, and you have a great meal.
I will have more photos to share, and I hope they inspire you to cook Italian.
Buon appetito!
