Our waitperson told us that they simmer the shrimp in a special seasoning for ten hours. We could smell it from the harbor. It’s killer. Trust me. I was so enamored of this delectable brew, that I Googled the recipe and found the “unofficial version” at Epicurious. Here it is.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons dried rosemary
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 3 ounces tomato paste
• 8 ounces clam juice
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 pounds peeled shrimp, with tails
• French bread for dipping.

Partially break up the rosemary, thyme, and fennel seed with fingers. Place all ingredients, except wine and shrimp, in a large pot.
Simmer for about 30 minutes and add wine. Continue to simmer for a total cooking time of no more than 2 hours. Just before serving, add raw shrimp. Simmer until shrimp is done, stirring, about 2 minutes.  Serve. Each bowl should contain a serving of shrimp and a lot of broth, which should almost completely cover the shrimp.

The whole experience was extremely gratifying to me as I was flabbergasted by the overwhelming response to my chowder. My sister Jill worked the booth with me and gave me reports that the line at my booth was the longest, about 200 people deep. Amazing. When it was announced that I was the winner of the individual Manhattan Chowder I was both stunned and thrilled.

Tired and aching at the end of the day, I packed up my stove, table and tent and headed home. Alone. I was very satisfied with myself and yet something was missing. A month later I met Paul and I made him my chowder. He loved it. He was what was missing.

Here’s the winning recipe followed by some photos of my favorite booths today at the cook off.

Hot and Spicy Habanero Manhattan Clam Chowder

• ¼ to 1/3 cup (depending on taste) of Coeur D’Olives Habanero Infused Oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp or 2 tsp fresh thyme, crumbled
• 8 ounces of clam juice or seafood stock
• 2 14-16 oz cans chopped stewed tomatoes
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 1 large russet potato or 3 small new potatoes (I used purple.) peeled and chopped
• 1 4 oz can diced green chilies
• 2 6 ½ can chopped clams

In a large pot, over medium heat, heat the habanero oil and sauté onions, garlic, celery, bay leaf and thyme. Cook until onions wilted, about 7 minutes. Add clam juice or stock, stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, chilies and clams with their juice and bring to a gentle boil. Add potatoes and let simmer for about 45 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Serve with crusty bread and a dark ale. Watch sea themed movies like Beaches and Jaws.

The food was great, but the best part was the conversation. She described her dream dress and hair style for her upcoming 8th grade graduation and most importantly, about her mother’s recent remarriage this past weekend. Her mother married her boyfriend of 2 years, who had also been living with them for the past few months so, according to Cheryl, it was not that huge of a transition for her. As she described it, “I was already used to you, so getting used to one more parent in my life was not that big of a deal.” The obvious question from me was, “What about for him? He doesn’t have any children. Do you think it is hard for him to get used to all these kids around?” Cheryl smiled, laughed and replied, “Probably.”

From all accounts, Cheryl’s new stepdad, whom I will refer to as J, sounds like a great guy. Apparently he makes amazing chili, something Cheryl says she looks forward to all week. When I asked her about the wedding ceremony the first thing she talked about was the sandwiches. Roast beef with hummus, cucumber and sliced onions. Very specific. My take away from the whole conversation was that the best way to Cheryl’s heart is through her stomach, which is kind of ironic because the child is so skinny, a size 00, you would think she never ate. I can barely fit my arm down the leg of her skinny jeans.

Later I took her shopping to all of her favorite stores and as we were walking to our car, I realized how much I truly loved her. And told her so.

I’ve also been cooking up a storm. One of my Christmas presents to myself was a cookbook I picked up  in the checkout line at Safeway. It is from Food and Wine and called Our Best New Classics. Edited by Dana Cowin. Not available on Amazon unfortunately, but sold in the magazine section of grocery stores. Amazing recipes. I made the Spicy & Sticky Baby Back Ribs and Paul declared the sauce “epic.” Other faves so far have been the Skillet Chicken & Mushroom Pot Pie and the Chicken Tikka with Cilantro and Yogurt Sauce. I find cooking relaxing and I am glad to have the time again to devote to it.

Our business model has changed considerably in the past few months and Paul and I are enjoying working together and planning our new marketing strategies. My current studies in Internet Marketing are helping immensely. Yesterday Paul presented a seminar and afterward I was in the mood for sushi. They have great sushi restaurants here in L.A. Instead we tried something different and very unusual to me: shabu shabu. It is so cool. You have to try it. You cook your own food in pots of boiling water at your table. I know. It sounds treacherous, but it’s not. The meat is sliced very thin and it only takes a few minutes to cook. You can add your own spices and garnishes and top with sauces like miso and soy. Boiling the water draws out the fat in the meat. Then it is served with vegetables and noodles. Very good and very satisfying.

I recently discovered this great blog called  Piece of Cake Decorating. They offer custom made cakes as well as directions on how to make your own. My favorite is the slumber party cake, a variation of which I have made for my own kids. Check it out. Great fun.

As with everything else on this trip, I wanted to share this experience with my children and I have to say they did not recoil in disgust as I feared they might.  First I taught them how to hold a live crab so that it would not bite them. (I consider this one of my special talents and part of my charm.) Then my brother-in-law, who did the cooking, showed them how to steam them in a large pot filled with some water, beer and Old Bay seasoning. The sauce was later poured over pasta and enjoyed along with the crabs. The final lesson was showing them how to break open the crabs to get the meat out. This they found to be a fun, albeit, messy challenge. And they loved the crabs. It was a perfect sendoff to a perfect trip.

When I got a pleasant email from Stonyfield’s marketing person and I remembered that my ex-husband’s ex-college roommate was their VP of Something,  I figured I would give them a try since I have always enjoyed all of their other products. I bought a couple of six packs and tried them with the kids. We tasted the apple, blueberry, banana and peach. They were all delicious in a way a baby would love–very smooth and creamy and mild tasting without that tart, sour taste some yogurts have. Mark commented that he liked how there weren’t any chunks of fruit in it. If I had babies,  I would definitely feed them Yobaby yogurt.

My good friend Les Cooper, owner of Coeur d’ Olives,  lives in Carmel, CA  and makes the best plain and infused olive oils I have ever tasted. I am not biased just because he is my friend. I met Les about 7 years ago when I first started my pressed flower glassware business. We met at  a promotional event at one of our stores and hit it off. Since I decorated olive oil bottles with pressed flowers and he made fantastic olive oils we decided to partner and sell our products together. For years we shared booths at festivals and sold side by side at the farmer’s market. When I sold my glassware business I carried Les’ products in my food repping business. I  still sell  for him occasionally, conduct product demonstrations and am always coming up with new uses and recipes for his diverse line of oils, balsamics, rubs, tapenades and spreads. I used his habanero infused oil to make  a Manhattan clam chowder and entered it in the Santa Cruz Clam Chowder cook-off and I won. I also make habanero brownies and  cookies. Recipes for these are included with purchase.  I tell customers that using Les’s oils and vinegars makes creative cooking easier. Pour his basil walnut dipping oil on pasta and get instant pesto. Use his aged balsamics to marinate chicken,  fish and vegetables  for a gourmet flair.