i wasn't planning to cook anything today, but i really was craving some sort of chowder (clam, corn, cheddar cheese, whatever) this afternoon, so i made a rash decision i'd probably have more luck (and definitely more fun, given how great yesterday's experience was) making it myself rather than having to hunt a good restaurant down.
i've made shellfish once (a martha stewart mussel recipe) and i've been to the oyster farms up in marin, but i've never actually bought and cooked clams before, i don't think.
i found this recipe on epicurious and well, it had both clams and corn and bacon, so how could i say no? i called to make sure my local semi-ghetto supermarket had clams in, and they did, so off i went.
they had these "fresh venus clams" (in the back, not the oysters in front) but hey, like i said, it's not a fancy supermarket and i thought they'd be at least double the price, so i wasn't quite sure how good they would be. i had no idea if venus is a good type or a crappy species (i mean, now that i'm eating the chowder as i type, it's definitely not a bad clam).
at home, i set up my ipad(!) using the epicurious app and started getting at it. (i probably should have encased it in a plastic bag or put some saran wrap over it, but i figured it wasn't a messy recipe -- it ended up just fine.)
the recipe called for "baking potatoes", but i had no idea what was considered a baking potato (none of the potatoes at the supermarket were marked "baking", at least :P) so thanks to google, i now know reds or yukon golds fall into that category. (i swear, i don't know what i did before god invented smartphones.) the red potatoes looked kind of meh so i went for the more decent-looking yukon golds.
i was gonna add four strips of bacon (since who doesn't like bacon) even though the recipe only needed three, but i got thick cut so i figured that'd be enough. (i'm glad i didn't add another strip since the chowder ended up almost too salty, even though i added no salt, but i did use salted butter.)
you're not supposed to use the rooty tips of green onions, right? (i'm pretty sure i never saw them being used, so i dumped them.)
i really need to learn how to use a knife. it's painful (luckily not literally) trying to chop things!
the butter, green onions, and bacon:
i was going to use canned corn, but someone mentioned in a comment on the original recipe that they used frozen, so frozen it was! also glad i got the sweet white corn. mmm.
i've never used clam juice before (in fact, i wasn't even really sure they made such a thing) -- i expected it to smell more umm, clammy, but really it didn't have an overpowering smell.
here's everything before the addition of the clams:
the ingredient list stated "well scrubbed" clams so i bought a brush that i shall use just for scrubbing food. (i also used it on the potatoes, though i'm not quite sure why since i had to peel them anyways lol.)
the clams added:
some of them opened up right away, some others took a bit, but i had no duds!
i was really worried because my potatoes hadn't cooked all the way through by this time, even though according to the recipe they should have, so i turned the heat down to a simmer and went and put my laundry away. came back and it was all good. added the milk and cream: (the black thing on the left is my spatula/turner doohickey)
ladle some in a bowl, add some toast, and voila!
verdict? well, like i said, it came out a bit saltier than i expected, but as i'm nearing the end of my first bowl, either i've gotten used to it (likely) or it wasn't really as bad as i thought (also kinda likely).
sooo easy to make! i'll never buy canned chowder again! most most delicious, and for sure i satisfied my craving.
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