I got a chance to have a nice foodie hoorah in the kitchen this Friday night. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoy cooking and it's a great way for me to unwind. I was craving some clam chowder, specifically a recipe that Kyle and I had made for his parents over his Christmas break. We have made it a couple of times with slightly different brands of ingredients, so I knew exactly what I wanted for this go around.
We discovered this recipe for Emeril's Boston Clam Chowder, which is from his book Emeril's TV Dinners. It's easy to follow and tremendously delicious.
Because of the pace of the cooking of this chowder, I strongly recommend prepping everything before you get cooking. Chop up all the veggies and herbs and chop up the bacon. It's just easier to have it all ready to be added to the pot before you turn on the heat. ;)
As for the clams, we're not real close to the ocean in our neck of the woods, though we do have little neck clams available in our grocery store. However, I was a bit lazy for the prep that is involved for the clams. So instead of buying them whole, in-shell and cleaning and shucking them, I bought canned. I know, I know - not ideal, but! The clams we have found actually give a great end result chowder, despite the fact that we use canned clams. We used Snow's by Bumble Bee Chopped Clams in Clam Juice, the first time we attempted this recipe and it was delicious! We used a different brand the second time (I can't recall the brand); they were whole baby clams in water --- Not good. It resulted in a fishy and oft grainy chowder. No good at all.
So this time around, I went back to Snow's. It's also nice because Snow's also sells clam juice - though you nearly have enough of it after draining the chopped clams from their clam juice.
And I always serve my clam chowder with a delicious sour dough bread. I might even serve it in sour dough bread bowls, if I can find some.
Not only did I make the Boston clam chowder, I made a mocha chip cheesecake and some coconut walnut chip cookie bars for dessert!
The mocha chip cheesecake was super tasty but it wasn't really photogenic so you'll have to use your imagination. ;)
I love cooking and I don't get much of a chance during the work week so I revel in the times I get to on the weekend. Hope that you each have something (or many things, like me) that helps you unwind and enjoy your free time. Everyone deserves a hobby/passion outside of work to make life a little more exciting, and maybe even tasty. ;)
Stay excellent!
- Jenny -
