Crustacean Celebration: Beach Cioppino

There's nothing like a trip to the beach in the spring when oysters, Dungeness crabs and clams of many kinds are all in season at the same time. Plus the hordes of tourists and vacationers haven't yet descended on our shores, unaware as they are of the sometimes stellar weather that can occur at that time of year.

We recently returned from just such a trip, a week where there was only one day that was too rainy to get the dogs out on the beach and most days came with a sunset included. We also took advantage of the opportunity to get our seafood on, indulging in oysters fresh and fried, clams steamed and stirred into pasta and at least three dinners that featured the crazy deliciousness of crab from Kelly Laviolette (left) of Kelly's Brighton Marina in Rockaway.

We made not one but two trips to Kelly's, loading up on his fresher-than-fresh seafood cooked and steamed in his outdoor kitchen. He fishes them snapping and grasping out of the tank with his custom-designed tool (right) which he swears will someday fund his retirement. The creatures in his tanks are nothing like the tame ones you see in the city with their sluggish, barely-moving inhabitants. Filled with a constant circulating rush of clear Nehalem Bay water, Kelly said he can tell when the tide is in or out by the activity of the crabs in the tank, sensitive as they are to the changing oxygen levels in the water.

If you go there for crab, whether you sit on the deck that surrounds the bait-and-tackle shop, sipping a beverage and overlooking the beautiful bay, or take it home for your own uses, make sure to ask for his signature "crab butter" (left). It's the shell of your freshly shucked crab, still holding the crabby fat and a good portion of melted butter, with the crab heart on a crab claw skewer. Eat the crab heart before or after, but definitely pick up the shell, tip it back and drink in the crabby goodness…pure pleasure!

One of the standout meals we made after a trip to Kelly's place, and Dave's request for his birthday dinner that night, was a fantastic cioppino accented with odds and ends from the produce we'd brought with us. Simple and sensational, all it required was a salad and a loaf of bread, plus a terrific pinot gris my brother had supplied, to make this a highlight of the week.

Beach Cioppino

3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped fine
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 med. carrots, chopped in dice
1 large green pepper, chopped in dice
1 spring onion or leek, halved and cut into 1/2” slices
1/2 fennel bulb, chopped
1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. dried basil
1/8 tsp. cayenne
1 qt. roasted tomatoes or 1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 c. water

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 whole Dungeness crabs, meat picked out

2 c. dry white wine

2 lbs. steamer clams, scrubbed

1⁄2 bunch parsley, chopped

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, for about 2 minutes. Add carrots, celery, green pepper, spring onion and fennel and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, 2 cups water, bay leaves, oregano, thyme, basil, and cayenne and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours.

Transfer seafood to pot with sauce, and add crabmeat, cover, and simmer for 10–15 minutes.

Pour wine in a skillet over high heat. Add clams, cover and cook until shells open, about 5 minutes. (Discard any clams that don't open.) Add clams and broth to pot; adjust seasonings. Ladle soup into large bowls, garnish with parsley and serve.

This year's Crustacean Celebration also features a fabulous Crab and Corn Chowder and Crab Niçoise. Read last season's series starting with And They're Off!, and the previous year's series kicking off with a Hot Artichoke and Crab Dip (with links to other posts in the series).

Fish Tale

Posted at the entrance to the docks at Kelly's Brighton Marina on Nehalem Bay in Rockaway:

"Dr. John. I was at the mouth of the river, looked up—four foot size crab was trying to get into my boat. I attacked it with my oar four times, threw a can of MacTarnahan's at it—then—I swear a killer whale came and ate it!!! Kelly, crab impresario, Sept. 2004"

For a video of Kelly's run-in with some (real) killer whales in Nehalem Bay, see his website.

A Meal to Remember

A weekend at the beach with friends…it sounds so benign, right? But when you're with Linda Colwell and Carol Boutard, things can get pretty nutty pretty fast.

Kelly's Brighton Marina in Rockaway.

Linda had taken us to one of her favorite haunts, Kelly's Brighton Marina in Rockaway, for a lunch of fresh clams and crabs washed down with a bottle of a stunning '06 Pinot d'Alsace from Domaine Bott Geyl that she'd brought along. Though the day was misty, it wasn't cold, so we sat down at one of the brightly painted picnic tables on the deck overlooking the bay.

Linda anticipating the deliciousness.

Kelly Laviolette is the ebullient proprietor manning the tanks and the cooker. His wife, Janice, mans the store and took our order, shortly thereafter delivering three pounds of tiny, succulent steamers with cups of melted butter to the table. A rain shower required a move under cover, but didn't stop us from sucking down all three pounds in short order. After all, we had two whole Dungeness crabs coming.

The delicacy that is a crab heart.

When they arrived, Linda pointed out the tiny, star-shaped heart of the crab, insisting that I needed to try it. I picked up the half-inch morsel, bit down and got a flash of a soft, creamy, intensely briny flavor. Then it was gone. And it's definitely something I'll look for the next time I shell a crab.

Kelly at work.

Walking over to the oyster tanks where Kelly himself presides, Carol asked about getting a fresh oyster. Now, Kelly has the usual small molluscs you find on most restaurant menus, but he also has eight and ten-inch-long monsters, things you might expect to find in a Ripley's Believe It or Not display. So when he told Carol to grab one out of the tank, I thought she'd choose a small, ladylike shell. I should have known better. She came back from the tank proudly carrying (or was it hoisting?) one of the leviathans. Kelly was so impressed he said he'd shoot one with her, though you can see he added his own special twist.

How poor little Travis got roped into the proceedings, I'm not sure I know, but if you turn the volume up at the end of the video you'll hear his review. Hopefully the little guy's not scarred for life.