Soul satisfying; two recipes

I was thinking about 2 different recipes I made, one yesterday and one today, and why they tasted so delicious and resonated so deeply within my soul. I have different memories associated with each recipe and what was happening at the time I had them. For me, food provides a portal into the past, both good memories and bad memories, and obviously I will gravitate to those that provide pleasure. Let me start with tonight's recipe first:

Linguine in clam sauce a la Sophomore year
1 tbls unsalted butter
1 tbls extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic sliced thin, thin, thin
1 c dry white wine
1 can of chopped clams strained with juice reserved
1 lb fresh clams (I used manila)
1/2 lb linguine

1) Prepare linguine until al dente.
2) Heat butter and olive oil on medium-high stove - make sure butter does not brown.
3) Add sliced garlic and cook for 30+ seconds - make sure they don't brown either.
4) Pour in wine and cook for 2 minutes until slightly evaporated.
5) Add reserved clam juice and fresh clams.
6) Cover with lid, turn heat down to low and let clams steam for a couple minutes until they open.
7) Add chopped clams and warm for a minute or two.
8) Add linguine and toss until linguine has absorbed the sauce.
9) Enjoy!

When I was a sophomore in college my roomate, some friends and I took a road trip to visit the home town of our friend Jim. As part of the expedition, and the generous hospitality provided by Jim's family, we as a group cooked for them, led by our fearless Italian identified leader (and my roomate) Mike. He assigned us each something to do, while he executed the main cooking. I recall this was a recipe he had learned from his mom. It took two tries because the garlic burned - oh yuck. Unfortunately, we did not have direct access to fresh clams so we satisfied ourselves with canned all the way. Regardless, I was struck by its simplicity and how well it ilicited the flavors of the water which I was missing now and then. I realize I do not cook this as often as I could, but when I do, I think of the cold, the friendship and the steam rising from boiling water with linguine cooking.

Recipe number two is a more recent addition to the repetoire:
Duck confit sandwhich (inspired by the one served at 94 Stewart near the Pike Place Market as well as one of the recipes from "The Cooking of Southwest France" by Paula Wolfert)

1 c shredded duck confit, as an alternative roasted chick thigh meat works.
1/4 c Red cabbage slaw (recipe below)
2 tbls blue cheese dressing (recipe below)
2 slices good bread (brioche bread works good)

1) Assemble as follows: bread, blue cheese dressing, red cabbage slaw, duck, other slice of bread
2) Serve with a nice glass of wine and a napkin.
Red Cabbage Slaw
4 c red cabbage shredded
1/2 c sweet onion cut in thin slices
2 tbls diced celery
1 c shredded carrot
1/4 c poblano pepper sliced matchstick thin
1/2 c apple cut in matchsticks
1/2 roasted/chopped walnuts
2 tbls cider vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
3 tbls grape seed oil
1/2 tsp walnut oil
1 tbls chopped basil
1 tbls chopped parsley

1) Place shredded cabbage and onion in colander and salt well. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.
2) Rinse salt from cabbage and onion.
3) Mix cabbage, onion, carrot, celery, pepper, and walnuts.
4) Prepare vinegarette with vinegar, oils basil and parsley. Dress the slaw and let sit for 5 minutes.

Blue cheese dressing
2 tbls mayonnaise
2 tbls sour cream
2 tbls crumbled blue cheese (rouquefort or gorganzola)
2 tsp minced shallot
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp basil
salt, pepper to taste

1) Mix all the ingredients with a fork and let sit for 15 minutes.

While I worked at the bank I liked to walk down to 94 Stewart for lunch on Fridays and enjoy the delicious sandwhiches and other fare. The food was always spot on good, and occasionally a tad bit rich (the macaroni and cheese was outstandingly rich and yummy). A wonderful escape for a short while at the end of the week. A soul satisfied.