Clam Chowder and Bread Bowl Nirvana

Good Afternoon Crusaders,

                Hello everyone and welcome again to your favorite guide to all things edible and delectable. I hope you all read my last appeteasers section and it made you hungry, because boy do I have a treat for you. Tonight was one of my proudest cooking experiences that I’ve ever had, and it made me proud to be a foodie. Although it wasn’t exactly the cheapest of meals the end result was priceless. I bet you’re wanting me to hurry up and tell you what exactly it was that was so good I feel that if this were medieval times that minstrels would sing ballads about it for years to come. Well just so I can keep you as my loyal crusaders I’ll tell you, short stack and I made homemade clam chowder in homemade bread bowls and we made it all by hand and all from the ground up. That’s right there’s no Campbell’s cans hiding in the back ground I promise you.

 I respect you all too much to lie to you and hide facts from you, it was not a cheap dinner and some of the ingredients were hard to obtain. I should also let you know that I had to cheat and use recipes this was not just off the top of my head. I know, I know I’m sorry but even the mighty need help sometimes. I’d never made either of these items before so I had to get some advice from someone who’s been there. Who better to ask than the mightiest of the mighty? Go for the internet and take your pick of the best around. I should also let you know that we kind of jumped around between starting the bread bowls and working on making the chowder. Short Stack and I both worked hard on this so you’ll have to forgive me if it doesn’t seem like there’s a logical order to what we did. I will try to keep things as best I can in some sort of order. When necessary we multitasked and did multiple jobs at once to make things easier. Please bear with me and don’t nitpick too much on the progression.  In order to keep you reading I’ll wait until the end to post the links. *Insert Evil Laugh Here* so let’s get started right away.

Well what better way to start a long journey into the unknown than by making sure that you have all the necessary items you need. This veritable cornucopia of food stuffs is all you need to make 8, yes that’s right 8, bread bowls and about 5 cups of hearty chowder. It doesn’t really look like all that much stuff does it? That’s because it’s really not when get right down to it. I’m sure many of you were are probably like me and thought that a lot goes into making something so delicious, though it just isn’t true I promise.  The hardest part really is getting everything all together and just taking the time and effort to do it.

Remember when I said that there’s not a real order to speak of, well we’re going to start by talking about the bread bowls and how those were made. Those were the easier of the two items and add a great touch of elegance to the meal. Anyone serve chowder in a bowl but it takes true talent to serve it in a bowl you can eat, at least I’d like to think so.  I should let you know that we made these bread bowls all by hand, that’s right no bread machines here, and I know that probably scares a lot of you but I promise that it really isn’t as hard as we’ve all been lead to believe.  

First we had to mix everything together until it’s roughly the consistency of goop. I think that’s even the technical term of bread before it’s solidified into loaf form.  Before you say anything, yes we used an electric mixer, we had no other choice my hand mixer was busy being an antique. Moving on, once you get it nice and soupy you have to add lots and lots of flour to thicken it up.

There, that ought to do it! It takes a lot of flour to make this bread so don’t think freak out if it looks like you’ve added too much.  Just fight your instinct to stop and add what the recipe calls for.

 Now comes the best part though, pretend that you’re back in colonial times and knead the heck out of that sucker. According the wonderful folks over at Williams-Sonoma kneading is defined as “folding and pressing dough repeatedly to develop the structure of bread.  During kneading the gluten in flour interlocks to create and elastic network that captures gases and stretches as the bread rises.”  In other words just work it around in your hands like you’re a little kid who just got his first thing of play-do. Throw it back and forth with a friend for a quick exercise, put it on your table and pound it like it’s the boss’s face, or just squish it between your fingers for a giddy little thrill. Whatever you like to do just don’t stop for about 10 minutes. There is one problem though if you’re making this with a partner they’re gonna want in on the action so don’t be stingy, you do it for 5 minutes and then let them do it for the last 5 minutes. It’s fun, it relieves some stress, and you’re making good food in the process. Just don’t do it too long or it can make the dough way to gloopy and flexible and who needs that.

So when you finish having fun, err I mean kneading the dough in a serious manner, then your dough should look something like this. Then it’s good to put it in a nice greased bowl and cover with some clear film. Now are you ready to be amazed? I’m going to show you a magic trick. Just give me a little while to pull it off…..Little longer…..Little longer…..Little longer….Ok Now!!!!

Amazed aren’t you? ZING!!! It’s almost doubled in size. Pretty cool huh? I know, I know I’m pretty good magician. Ok well in actuality it’s because of the yeast but still pretty cool. Anyways welcome to stage two, now that the dough has risen significantly we can divide it up into equal balls and place them on a baking sheet.

This is just a tease though, they’re still not ready to bake. I recommend you thoroughly spray your sheet before you put the bread blobs on there just to avoid any sticking later. Also it’s a good idea to sprinkle some cornmeal over the top of them. A little tip from the world’s greatest chef, Chef Ramsay to you and me; when you want to coat something evenly if you hold the material in your hand and lightly toss from above your shoulder level aiming downward toward the item you wish to coat it will allow the most evenly distribution of the seasoning. Now that we have them ready we have to play the waiting game again, yes it needs to rise yet again.

No, you’re not seeing things the blobs did double in size and we’ve reduced the number on the sheet by two. That’s what happens when they get bigger, we wanted them to cook evenly without melding into one another so we removed the smallest two to make room to allow them to cook to their full potential. You can cook them all at once, depending on how big your pan and how brave you are but for us this was the best option.  It’s finally time for baking, yay!!!  Big time saver is to have your oven pre-heating when you start the process of letting the blobs rise, that way when they’re finally risen all the way you’re ready to just pop them in the oven.

Quicker than you can watch your favorite episode of Looney tunes, they’ll be done. Just look at them, aren’t they so beautiful. I almost shed a tear when I saw them, my little babies all grown up, I’m such a proud mommy….err I mean…. Cough cough manly talk cough. So anyways I’m getting off topic, they do look so tasty and you should be proud of your accomplishment because believe me when I say they are worth all the time and effort you put into them.

Well crusaders it almost saddens me to say that after all that work you have to perform a little surgery. Now is the time when we slice the top off and hollow them out to make room for the goodness to come. I know it sounds kinda barbaric but trust me this is a necessary process.

This is a good example of how you should end up when you’re waiting to pour the chowder in. Keep the top and all of the innards that you hollowed out of it, they are great for dipping and sopping up chowder that may spill over the sides. Looks delicious as it is doesn’t it, but just wait the best part is still to come. No, I’m not going to show you the finish yet, have to keep you reading somehow don’t I.

I know I’ve already showed you all the ingredients earlier but I just wanted to show them again to reinforce the idea that it really doesn’t take a lot to make this wonderful meal. Now is time for the main event, the reason we’re all here. Time to make the most delicious hearty clam chowder this side of Boston, you can almost hear Cliff Clavin talking to you about a nice bowl of chowdah. We doubled up on a couple of the ingredients just to add some volume  but you can make it as directed and I’m sure it’d turn out just fine.  So I have to admit that this wonderful creation is one of my ultimate comfort foods, nothing says happiness like a big bowl of hot, steamy chowder on a cold day.  There are a couple different food items in this world that I consider myself pretty close to an expert on, clam chowder is one of them. I always make it a point to try clam chowder at a restaurant when it is available, because as a connoisseur I consider it my duty to taste and make comments on all their hard work. I respect what their efforts but I would like to think I can tell if they use canned chowder and if I’m paying good money for it then I expect good food. With that said I’ve made you all wait long enough let’s get started.

There are many different types of clams on the market today; geoduck, steamer, littleneck, quahog, razor, and many others. We chose to go with Manila, manila clams are also known as Japanese clams and chefs everywhere love them for the fact that they are wonderful served either raw or cooked. They are farmed in the pacific coast even though they are not indigenous to the area. When you go to the store you can usually find these little guys, and I say little guys literally as they are usually harvested when little more than an inch in diameter, in the butcher section with all the other fresh seafood. When we got ours they came already prepackaged in a nice little nylon mesh bag and they were pre-soaking in a constant shower of water. This keeps them alive before you buy them and ensures freshness.

Opening the bag is kind of like opening the Christmas present from great aunt Mildred, you’re not entirely sure what’s inside but you’re pretty sure it’s gonna be something you’re not gonna like.

I admit they do look rather uninspiring but they’re just shy and still in their shell. But hey, I bet you don’t look so good first thing in the morning either. They are kinda pretty shells though, don’t ya think?  Almost makes me want to go to the beach and start digging in the sand. So if you’re using fresh clams for your chowder, you can use canned if you want to it’s completely your choice, you have to purge them of the sand they invariably have in their shells.  The way you do this is you have to soak them in a pot in a solution of water, salt, and cornstarch. 

I have to be honest this is a really boring step in the prep process. I suggest that while this is going on you work on other parts of the process to make time pass a little faster. Another thing you can do to make things more entertaining is take a little cornstarch and add a tiny bit of water to it and it’ll turn into both a solid and liquid goo amalgamation in your hand, ironically we used to call it cornstarch goo as kids (ok, so we weren’t the most imaginative name givers on the planet sue me) and it’s fun, easy, and is a treat for adults and kids alike.  To give you an idea of what this looks like, if not for the opaqueness of the pot we used, we also put some in a glass so you can see what exactly is going on.

Once again, kinda uninspiring isn’t it? At least you have your cornstarch goo to keep you occupied.  Ok so roughly an hour later they should have all the sand expunged from the shell and you can drain the water.

An interesting thing when they soak for a long time in this solution they also start to get this false sense of security and think they are back in the ocean . This in turn makes them open up a little bit and peak out of their shells. If you give them a tap on the shell then they’ll usually just zip right back inside, this little guy must’ve been a little on the slow side because he allowed short stack to not only pick him up, but also snap a photo off before he went back inside. Ugly little spud isn’t he, almost looks like a snail to me.  So I’m sad to say but now comes the hard part, for those of you who may be squeamish or have too big of a heart it’s going to be really difficult. Now comes the time where we have to steam the clams, officially ending their time as cute, cuddly friends and beginning their time as delicious, tasty food. 

So you’ve drained all the water out, but oddly enough you need to go and add some more to the pot in order to steam them. Oddly enough though, it’s only using about 1 cup to steam them.  This doesn’t look like it’s going to be enough but keep in mind there will be a lot of water inside the clams themselves.  So just pour those babies in there.

So be prepared, they will make some noise as they steam, try not to let it unnerve you.  If you have to big of a heart to bear listening to them, I suggest you get an assistant to help you. Short stack was too soulful to listen, yet she couldn’t stop looking at them steam. 

Not very interesting, if you ask me.

Still not very interesting, but at least at this point it’s almost done.  If you look close enough you can see that the clams have started to open up.  It’s at this point in the process I started to wonder if you steamed them with wine or even just added seasoning to the water if it would change the flavor of the clams. Maybe next time I’ll try it and you can read about it in a future entry.  Anyways, so they steam very quickly and soon they’ll be ready for removal.

When you look at them you can tell they’re done when the shell is open. If you look at them and the shell is closed that means that the clam was dead long before you got there and you should just discard it. They look pretty tasty like they are, but just fight the temptation and remember what you’re working towards. So now you need to remove all the clams from the pot without losing the liquid. In case you were sleeping through high school science class; steam is hot, it hurts when it touches skin, so be careful doing this. We used tongs to do it ourselves, remember to get rid of the closed ones. Wouldn’t you know it we were in luck and all ours opened.

Next you need to take the pot they were soaking in and pour it over a bowl/pitcher that has been covered with cheese cloth or some other form of fine mesh. Hold on to the liquid left behind as it makes a nice clam stock (also called clam liquor) for a base in other seafood soups, but in this case you will be using it again later on in making our chowder.  After you’ve done this, we need to begin the really tedious process of chopping the clams. In order to do this though you need to take them out of their shells and that’s part of the tedium. We decided that the best thing to do was to take them out of the shell and right into a bowl.

Wow, out of the shells they’re a lot less pretty, and it’s hard to believe that what was so bulky in the shell is so small out of it. But believe me that little bit goes a long way, especially if you chop them very finely. This is another time when it really pays to have an assistant, thank you Short Stack for de-shelling and chopping them.

Wow, they’re even uglier chopped up.  So while you’re faithful compatriot is taking them out of the shell and chopping them up, you can be doing other things to help move things along faster. My choice was to work on my favorite part of any meal.

Ta dah!! The hallmark of any good meal, the most delicious of all meats, BACON!!!!! And this is not just any bacon; this is the most uber tastiest of succulent bacon available at my neighborhood grocery store. It’s also thick cut, making it all the better.  So you now are given the honor of handling this most glorious of meats, and have to chop it up into little bits.  You do this so it will not only cook faster but also because then it complements the clams.

 Personally I like to think of the bacon and clams as superheroes and the 2 team up and work together in an alliance of deliciousness to vanquish hunger forever.  Anyways, I’m getting sidetracked again. So you need to cook the bacon just to the edge of crispiness but don’t overdo it, so keep stirring constantly.  And once you get it to this point, you need to add the onions and seasonings.

Wow, just look at that, almost looks good enough to eat on its own. So while that cooks, just take a few moments while this is cooking to just sit back and take a nice smell of it. Almost intoxicating how delicious it smells. We have to let that sauté for quite a bit to let the onions cook through. Keep an eye on them though, when the onions brown and get almost see through you know it’s time to move on.

Once again, I know it’s tempting to just eat this on its own but you must continue to resist.  I had to keep reminding myself that the chowder would be worth the wait. It is hard though because that alone smelled amazing. I just want to find a way to make an air freshener that I can put in my car that makes it smell like sautéing bacon and onions.  Next thing we need to do is add the milk, left over clam liquid, potatoes and butter.  After you add all of that you need to bring it to a boil and then immediately back down to a simmer. You want to let it simmer for about 10 or so minutes until your potatoes get tender.

This looks done doesn’t it, but don’t be fooled by this biggest tease of them all. I almost threw in the towel and said it that it was good like that. Who wouldn’t think that looks good and you should just imagine the smell.  It’s even better than before if you can believe it. I couldn’t stop smelling it and just imagining how great it would be to shrink myself down and swim around in it. Awww that’d be the life; living easy,  doing the backstroke in a delicious bowl of clam chowder, maybe even use a cracker as a life raft and tootle around without a care.   Oh that’s right there’s still one more step, I almost forgot.

You need to add the cream and clams, I mean come on what’s clam chowder without clams. This takes the least amount of time to cook, only about 2-3 minutes. You don’t want to overcook the clams trust me, they’ll get incredibly chewy and it’ll be like eating a rubber band.  We’re at the finish line now so don’t get lazy, let that simmer like I said and then it’ll be done. We’ve finally reached the very best part of our journey serve and enjoy.

This is easy and kind of fun too, just take your already hollowed out bread bowl from earlier and ladle in some of your masterpiece. Best part is, if you eat carefully you can just refill the bowl over and over, or heck just make another one and keep enjoying the fruits of your labor. Words cannot describe how delicious this chowder is and it’s made all the better because you know that you made it all yourself. I don’t want to even try to explain how wonderful this was. One thing I was worried about, and I’m sure that you probably are too, is how would it be reheated? Well if you eat it all in one sitting you won’t have to worry about that, but on the off chance that there is still some left then rest assured it reheats like a champ. It’s just as delicious no matter what time you eat it or how much you have. If you’ve read this far I suppose I owe it to you to provide the links to the recipes like I promised you. 

Bread Bowl Link- http://allrecipes.com/recipe/bread-bowls/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=bread%20bowl&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page  

Chowder Link- http://www.boston-discovery-guide.com/new-england-clam-chowder-recipe.html

Well Crusaders, this meal is beyond delicious and I hope you get to experience it for yourself. My only regret is that I didn’t make more of it, but that gives me something to do in the future.  I had so much fun making it and I couldn’t have done it without the help of my lovely assistant Short Stack. I really can’t recommend this enough if you have an afternoon to kill and want some amazing food.  There’s not much more I can say that I haven’t said; so thanks for sticking in there, I really appreciate your loyalty and readership. Until next time happy hunting and Bon appetite.

Indiana Joe