Summer Grilling: Snapper with Plums, Clams dunked in Butter and a Chipwich Masterclass

Summer Menus for Poolside Fare

stick around for details on all this good stuff

Good morning! I hope everyone enjoyed a lovely holiday weekend. Dropping in here to remind you that simple cooking is the best kind of cooking. Especially when you have access to a grill during the summer.

This past Saturday my family and I sat by the pool as we grilled dozens of littleneck clams until just opened before promptly dunking them in melted butter with a little squeeze of lemon. Summer home cooking at it’s finest.

Then, I had originally purchased some beautiful fresh snapper with the intention of making crudo preparation, but after a day in the fridge I pivoted to grilling the fillets and topping with a shaved fennel and stone fruit salad, with more toasted fennel seeds to top. Simple, savory-sweet, and so refreshing.

And then for dessert, homemade chipwiches using my Rye brown butter chocolate chip cookies as the base and homemade vanilla ice cream swirled with the almond, lemon, and vanilla creme I brought home from Italy. SWOON. Below are all the recipes you need to recreate. Happy July!

Grilled Clams

are one of my favorite northeast summer delicacies. Each summer on Martha’s Vineyard, my sisters and dad and I go clamming in the Edgartown Bay. We wade into the shallow waters, pull clamming rakes through the sand, and the bravest among us wiggle bare toes into the mud in search of as many round little guys as we can find (and avoiding pinches from the giant crabs hiding beneath the seaweed). It’s one of my favorite summer traditions, but even if you don’t catch them yourself- they taste just as delicious thrown on the grill.

What you need (serves 4-6 as an appetizer)

• 3 dozen little neck clams (ask the fishmonger to skip the largest clams, I find them too big and chewy. The small and medium guys are single bite sized and succulent)

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

What you do

Fire up your grill and preheat for ~10 mins on high heat. While the grill preheats, give your clams a good rinse to remove any sand or debris stuck to the outside of the shell. Take care to discard any cracked or broken clams, as this indicates they are dead and not good to eat.

Once the grill is hot, create two heat zones on the grill by turning two of the burners down to medium heat, and the final burner down to low.

Distribute clams across the area of the grill with medium heat. Close the grill and cook undisturbed for 4-5 mins. Open the grill and check to see if any of the clams are beginning to open, indicating they are cooked. As the clams open, shift them over to the low heat zone. Alternatively, you can remove them from the grill and serve as they open and finish cooking! Continue cooking the clams, checking every 1-2 mins, until all shells have opened.

Serve clams while still hot, piled high in a bowl with the melted butter divided amongst a few small bowls across the table, and lemon wedges on the side. Use a fork to remove the meat from the shell, dunk in butter, squeeze with lemon, and enjoy! Summer in a bowl.

Grilled Fish with Fennel and Plums

A note on grilling fish. Last summer while private cheffing in the Hamptons, I discovered the magic of copper grill mats. These unassuming, thin, flimsy mats can be placed directly on the grill grates to create a flat surface and cook more delicate foods… like fish!!! If you don’t have them, don’t worry. I didn’t have them at home either- we’ll chat about how to have the most success when grilling fish without them.