White is in

We had a lovely few inches of snow yesterday afternoon, the kind that sticks to all of the branches. At one point after dark we heard a huge Crack! but couldn't see any trees that had fallen over. Right after the sound we both ducked, as if that would help if the tree hit our house. Must have been in some other unfortunate person's yard.

To keep up the white theme Charlie made clam chowder. He uses a slightly altered "pantry chowder" recipe from a Cook's Illustrated cookbook. It's hard to find fresh clams in January, but canned clams and their juice work like a charm. In my first posting, I completely screwed up his recipe so here it is with the corrections. Or in Charlie's words, "The Real Chowder."


Charlie Chowda

4 6.5 oz cans minced clams, juice drained and reserved
two 8-oz bottles clam juice plus 1 c water
4 slices peppered thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 lrg. Spanish onion, diced
1 leek (white/some green), diced
2 Tbs flour
1 1/2 lbs. 3-4 red "new" potatoes, scrubbed and diced in 1/4" cubes
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. dried thyme (French if possible)
1c heavy cream
LOTS of black pepper
salt to taste

> Fry bacon in a pot until it crisps, then add onion and leek and saute till softened
> NOTE: add a little olive oil or butter if bacon is lean
> Add flour, stir until lightly colored, about 1 minute
> Pour a little bit of the clam juice into the pan and scrape up all of the tasty bits that have stuck to the bottom
> Slowly add the rest of the clam juice, then add potatoes, bay leaf, and thyme. Simmer till potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes
> Add clams, then slowly stream in the cream, stirring to incorporate well. Adjust salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and let it mellow for a few minutes on the stove, then serve.
> Serve it with oyster crackers, unless you are crazy