New England Clam Chowder

I just got back from Cape Cod and of course, every restaurant I went to, I had to try the clam chowder. As I was eating them, some fabulous, some mediocre, I was thinking "I can make this".

I've made other chowders and I have made this before but it has been years and quite honestly, I don't remember how I made it so I am going at this anew.

I've had some chowders with bacon and some without so as a bacon lover, I wanted bacon in mine. I chopped an onion and 2 stalks of celery. I put some oil on the bottom of a stock pot and added the vegetables to sweat them. I added about a 1/2 cup of real bacon bits, its just an easier step but feel free to use strips of bacon. I didn't want the bacon to overpower the soup but I like the flavor it adds so I tried not to add too much. I also diced a bunch of red potatoes, some small some large, I think it was about 6. I added those as well.

At this point, I added chicken broth and a few sprigs of thyme, salt, and pepper and let it simmer. Once the potatoes were tender, I added 3 cans of chopped clams. Of course, fresh clams would be better, but I had canned, so that's what I used. I added a can of evaporated milk.

In a separate pan, I made a rue by mixing butter with flour. I used another pan because I actually like to use cream cheese as a creamy thickener as well. I melted a half brick of cream cheese with about a 1/4 cup of milk. This makes a creamy thickener. I slowly added this to the rue. and then slowly added some broth from the soup until it was thin enough to add to the soup.

Comments

Jellied Cranberry Sauce

I grew up having cranberry sauce from a can on Thanksgiving day. I loved it! I've tried whole cranberry sauce and wasn't a fan. Then I realized I can make my own cranberry sauce! So I few years ago, I tried to make my own. I discovered it's ridiculously easy to make and wow! so much better then the canned stuff I had been eating my entire life. Now, I won't ever eat it from the can again! I make of lot of cranberry sauce. I don't think I have to make this much, I give some away. You don't have to make as much as I do. I started with 44 oz. of cranberrys. I put 3 1/2 cups of water in a large pot added 3 1/2 cups of sugar and brought to a boil. I turned it down to a simmer and listen to the cranberrys pop! I love this part. I stir it up until they stop popping. I used my hand blender to make sure I all the cranberry's were ground up. I then used the juice of one orange, a very ripe, juicy orange. I squeezed it right into the pot. I decided to add som...

African Chicken

This was the most amazing Chicken!! I actually watched an episode of Diners, Drive ins, and Dives and got the recipe from there. Of course, I didn't have as much cumin as I needed, so I changed and tweaked the recipe and although I never made the original recipe the one I made was fabulous. I use so much Cumin, I need to start buying it in one of those huge containers they sell at BJ's. I thought I had extra down stairs but I didn't. UGH. Anyway here is how I made it. I used 6 thighs and 4 drumsticks I made a paste which was: Cumin about a tablespoon Oregano about 2 tablespoons Pepper teaspoon Salt 2 teaspoons Garlic 1 teaspoon minced Chili powder 1 tablespoon Corriander powder 1 tablespoon mix that together and then add olive oil to make a paste. I put the chicken in 2 aluminum pans and rubbed equal parts of the paste on each piece of chicken until it was gone. I let marinate for an hour. I browned each piece of chicken in a frying pan and then put the ...

Seafood Casserole

I made this seafood casserole and it was delicious! It was my first time and it came out great. Most seafood casseroles call for heavy cream, but since I'm on my diet, I thought I would make it with coconut milk, I mean coconut and seafood go together, RIGHT??? SO first I got all my seafood together. Next time I would double the amount of everything. This is what I used, 1 Lobster tail, scallops, shrimp and a piece of flounder. I left the shrimp whole, cut the scallops in half, cut up the lobster into bite size pieces along with the flounder. I opened 1 can of coconut milk and added to casserole dish. I wisked in about 2/3 cup white wine (I used Pinot Grigio). I also used the juice of 1 large lemon. A couple cloves of garlic. I used about 1/4 cup grated parmesean cheese and mixed in. I added the seafood. I sprinkled in about 1 tablespoon of Old Bay and a couple teaspoons of paprika. I chopped up green onion about 3, and a andfull of fresh chopped italian parsley. I ad...

Denise's Food Blog

Search This Blog