La Cucina Italiana’s Spaghettini in Little Neck Clam Broth with Cherry Tomatoes or “Umido di vongole con spaghettini e pomodorini”

Clamming, about as Long Island as you can get

         I am big fan of Linguine with Clam Sauce as our recipe search feature will confirm.  So when I saw this recipe for a variation on the theme in the July 2012 issue of La Cucina Italiana, I had to try it.  After all, the Little Neck clam, with which this lovely, light dish is made, is about as local as you can get out here on the East End of Long Island.  It’s especially appealing too because, unlike Linguine with Clam sauce, the recipe includes some great fresh vegetables --  carrots, leeks and tomatoes – and it’s light on the pasta.  In true Italian fashion, La Cucina lists it as a “Primo” or appetizer which is generally the role pasta plays in the Italian menu.  I served it as our main course.  It is a perfect summer pasta dish especially with those bite-sized morsels of heaven, the littlenecks.       

A Clamming Rake is as essential to digging
Little Necks as the beer which generally accompanies
Clamming on Long Island 

Neal Hartman’s Baked Butter Beans

Neal Hartman. Summer 2010

         Neal Hartman was an exceptional man.  He was truly and dearly loved and when he was taken from us a year and a half ago, his loss was felt all over his community of Sag Harbor.  Neal was a pillar of Christ Episcopal Church, a stalwart of the Historical Society, the Sag Harbor Tree Fund, The Bay Street Theater and his bridge club.  On top of that, he grew the sweetest tomatoes, made the most extraordinary Strawberry jam, cooked and baked and pickled.  On the morning that he died of an aortic aneurysm, he was scheduled for an all-day canning session with his and our dear friend Michael.  We were all bereft at his loss, aged just 64, and our heartbreak for his partner of 40 years, David, was unimaginable.  Neal left us a legacy of community service, deep friendship and incredible sorrow that he is no longer here.  And he also left behind something that alone would keep him in our hearts forever, his amazing recipe for Baked Butter Beans.