Clams

I like to think I'm as adventuresome about my food as the next person. But I draw the line at someone decorating a plate of oysters, crab, shrimp, spinach and bearnaise with chocolate syrup squiggles. The chef at the new Atlantis Seafood restaurant and grill in Columbia has no such qualms. Nor does he hesitate to overcook tuna and lobster. Or add so much thickening to cream of crab soup that it has the consistency of library paste. And yet, it's hard to get enraged at this pleasant little restaurant.

In the off-season, Ocean City often adds some new feature for tourists: a miniature golf course perhaps, a seafood restaurant or maybe a bar that caters to the beachgoing crowd. But here's a possible addition that might not be so welcome - parking meters north of 10 t h Street. On Friday, the Ocean City Council is expected to be briefed on a proposal to create a whopping 4,800 paid parking spaces. The most ambitious version of the plan would require visitors to pay for parking at any space along the streets on the Atlantic Ocean side of Coastal Highway from 10 t h Street to the Delaware line.

Marine scientists have identified a new parasite in the Chesapeake Bay that may be a major factor in the sharp decline of the state's soft-shell clam population. The microscopic creature, which scientists dubbed Perkinsus Chesapeaki on Tuesday, is closely related to Perkinsus marinus, or Dermo, a pest that has devastated Chesapeake Bay oysters for the past 20 years. Dermo and Perkinsus Chesapeaki were found in clams taken from 10 sites in the upper bay between 1990 and 1998. Scientists studying the new parasite say they aren't sure whether it can kill soft-shell clams, the variety that Maryland clam dredgers rely on for their catch.

Parts of three waterways have been opened to shellfish harvesting after tests showed declines in bacteria there, the Maryland Department of the Environment announced Monday. An area of the Wicomico River on the Eastern Shore, at the border between Wicomico and Somerset counties, is now approved for commercial harvests. Waters below Bay Point had been closed because of high bacteria levels in the water. The headwaters of Broad Creek in Talbot County have been conditionally approved, meaning that oysters and clams can be harvested there except after a heavy rainfall.

Mount Pleasant Beach residents hope the thousands of clams nestled in the silt beneath neighbor Dan Anthony's pier herald a healthier Stony Creek.Anthony, who has lived on the creek 33 years, said he first noticed the brackish-water clams -- which are half the size of commercially harvested clams -- a year ago.Now, large beds are clearly visible several feet below the green algae-tinted water."

Gov. Parris N. Glendening challenged his Republican counterpart in New York yesterday to put up or clam up over the outcome of the Orioles-Yankee series.New York Gov. George E. Pataki did both.Glendening, he of the baseball ties, wagered a bushel of Maryland blue crabs that the Orioles will win the best-of-seven series against the Yankees for the American League championship.Pataki wasted no time in agreeing to the bet, backing it with the promise of a bushel of Long Island hard-shell clams -- "steam-ehs" in New York parlance -- that the Yanks will prevail.

ANNAPOLIS -- The Department of Natural Resources must come up with a new plan to determine the legal size limit of hardshell clams, a legislative review committee ruled last week.The Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review Joint Committee took the action Thursday in light of complaints from watermen, said Del. John S. Arnick, a Baltimore County Democrat and chairman of the committee. He said another factor was Virginia's lack of restrictions on clam fishing and the competitive disadvantage that creates for Maryland anglers.

In a television ad tailored for Eastern Shore voters, Gov. William Donald Schaefer cites sales of Maryland clams to New England seafood lovers as proof of his commitment to improving Chesapeake Bay."Four years ago, I promised to clean up the bay," Schaefer says, peering directly into the camera lens."Now, New England is buying Maryland clams."There's something, well, almost fishy about the governor's clam claim.Schaefer did talk about cleaning the bay when he ran for governor four years ago. And New England states are buying much of Maryland's soft clams, which are harvested from Chesapeake waters.

When Germaine Ginies Grandjean talks of preparing for Christmas Eve supper, her eyes sparkle. She describes the ritual of soaking salt cod, the sound of leeks sizzling on the wood stove and the warm aroma of the golden fruit tart as it emerges from the ancient bread oven.With more than 80 years of practice, Mme. Grandjean knows these rituals well. She and her family have always lived in the tiny village of Reilhanette, 20 miles east of Vaisons-la-Romaine. Here in rural Provence, the Christmas Eve feast is a mystical blend of Christianity and folklore.

This version of classic linguine and clams comes together quickly if you keep canned clams in your pantry. For a simple end-of-summer side dish, toss cubed cucumbers and cubed tomatoes with salt and pepper. Saving tip: : Compare the unit prices on cans of chopped clams. You might be able to save by buying bigger clams and chopping them yourself. shopping list Linguine: $1 Garlic: 30 cents Onion: 40 cents Clams: $3.89 Parsley: 74 cents Lemon: 50 cents Wine: $1.25 Chicken broth: 35 cents Tomatoes: $2 Cucumber: $1.50 From the pantry: salt, pepper TOTAL: $11.93* Note: Prices are based on the amount of each ingredient used in the recipe.

It's a Maryland thing. Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley and Republican former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. joined thousands of sweltering crab-pickers Wednesday who circled though tents and tables at the annual J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake. O'Malley labeled it a "must-attend event." Ehrlich called it a "have-to." The 34-year-old tradition draws politicians from across Maryland — never more so than in an election year — to a sleepy Eastern Shore town. This fall, voters will choose a governor, all 188 state legislators, local officials, a U.S. senator and members of Congress.

Kareem Guest ignored the "stop snitching" credo, and authorities say his candid chatter to the FBI about drug dealers got him killed. The woman police say saw him get shot won't talk about it, and prosecutors have charged her with lying to a grand jury and want her imprisoned for 30 years. It is at first glance an all-too-familiar and tragic tale of witness intimidation and a demonstration of the collateral damage of Baltimore's epic drug war, but with a sardonic twist: The silence of one witness has thwarted efforts to make an arrest in the silencing of another.

This version of classic linguine and clams comes together quickly if you keep canned clams in your pantry. For a simple end-of-summer side dish, toss cubed cucumbers and cubed tomatoes with salt and pepper. Saving tip: : Compare the unit prices on cans of chopped clams. You might be able to save by buying bigger clams and chopping them yourself. shopping list Linguine: $1 Garlic: 30 cents Onion: 40 cents Clams: $3.89 Parsley: 74 cents Lemon: 50 cents Wine: $1.25 Chicken broth: 35 cents Tomatoes: $2 Cucumber: $1.50 From the pantry: salt, pepper TOTAL: $11.93* Note: Prices are based on the amount of each ingredient used in the recipe.

Top Chef, The Cookbook Chronicle Books / 2008 / $29.95 Think Like a Chef By Tom Colicchio Clarkson Potter / 2007 / $22.50 Top Chef contestants could learn a lot from head judge Tom Colicchio before they ever reach the judge's table by reading the recently released softcover edition of this James Beard award-winning book. His recipes are time-consuming but unfussy. They are also inviting. Colicchio spends nearly 100 pages on technique, stocks and basic recipes before moving on to "create ingredients" that he weaves into more complicated dishes.

Fideos With Clams and Saffron Serves 4 1 pound fideos or capellini pasta 2 cups heavy cream 1 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled salt 1 cup small cauliflower florets 1 cup small broccoli florets 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil 10 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole 1/2 cup white wine or seafood stock 1 pound fresh medium clams, cleaned freshly ground black pepper chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish Preheat the oven to 375 degrees....

There's an oyster moratorium hanging in the air. No, a Department of Natural Resources birdie didn't tweet in my ear. And, no, Coastal Conservation Association didn't slip a secret message under the newsroom door decipherable only with a decoder ring. But as sure as God made little green apples and salty bivalves, that's where Maryland is going. Despite years of effort by scientists and expenditure of millions of public dollars, there aren't any oysters in the Chesapeake Bay. Or at least not enough to put the word "oyster" next to the word "industry" with a straight face.

Some people can pick up dropped socks with their toes, but they can't stretch their feet all the way to the basement to get them. Scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego are studying a clam that can. At least, it can extend its foot up to 30 times the length of its shell into the mud. Researchers believe it's the most extreme case of animal structure elongation ever discovered. The clams stretch their feet into the muck to gather food - not for themselves but to nourish bacteria that grow in their gills.

HOG ISLAND, Va. -- A cool, dry, northwest breeze moderates the August sun, and a blue sky with fluffy clouds vaults green-golden, sea-smelling marshes that roll to the horizons. We're happy as clams out here. And the clams out here are happy, indeed, according to our little expedition's host, Curtis J. Badger. Badger, a naturalist and historian of the Virginia Eastern Shore's Atlantic seaside, has written a delightful little book called Clams -- How to Find, Catch and Cook Them (Stackpole Books, $7.95)

An Eastern Shore judge has rejected a property owner's claim that the state should not have leased land on the bottom of Chincoteague Bay to a fledgling aquaculture business that has been raising clams in the bed. David and Jena Harvey, Pennsylvania residents who own property in Girdletree, had argued that the Maryland Department of Natural Resources had no right to let Steve and Christy Gordon use the public bottom to grow clams. Worcester County Circuit Judge Theodore R. Eschenburg Sr. threw out the claim, though he agreed with the Harveys' contention that the state surveyed the property incorrectly and that the Gordons would have to give up the bed - at least until DNR can resurvey it. DNR officials said they believe Gordon can keep the clams on the bed for 90 days while a survey is done.

GIRDLETREE -- Under the briny waters of this rural Worcester County hamlet, Maryland's fledgling aquaculture industry is getting its sea legs. Here, along the sandy bottom of Chincoteague Bay just south of Ocean City, Steve and Christy Gordon have planted millions of clams on beds leased from the state. The couple hope to take a piece of an industry that, in neighboring Virginia, produced close to $30 million for clam farmers during the past year alone. The Gordons' plan to eventually grow and sell enough clams to become a significant supplier to East Coast businesses might seem like a pipe dream in a place where the waters are known more for rampant pollution and shellfish diseases.