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

Lasagna

I'm a little behind in my postings because of Thanksgiving, family and being a little busy but that doesn't mean I was not cooking! I was in the kitchen. Knowing we were going to have Turkey and leftovers, I decided Lasagna was a perfect before Thanksgiving meal. Lasagna, such a simple meal. Cheesy ooey gooey deliciousness. I finally used the last of my sauce. I had maybe enough so I decided to add a can of petite diced tomatoes to my sauce just to make sure. I don't heat up the sauce before adding to the lasagna. First, its an extra step and it's going in the oven anyway and I also don't want to prematurely melt or cook cheese. I add sausage to mine for flavor. I usually use hot loose Italian sausage, but you can use link just peel off the casing before cooking, trust me I've done this MANY times. So I usually cook the sausage first and let it cool. Next, I mix up the ricotta. The rule for eggs, use 2 eggs per pound no matter what.This includes ricotta or mea...

Chicken Parm

Ok, It's Chicken Parm night. Not that it's a special night or anything but.... I made a pot of sauce the other night before I started this blog. I had used plum tomatoes from the garden. The last of them as it is November but I had blanched and pureed them and then froze it. Anyway, you can't make Chicken Parm without homemade sauce. Anyway, I take out 3 bowls, one I put flour in, add some pepper, the second I scrambled 2 eggs with a clove of garlic and the 3rd I added breadcrumbs Italian seasonings and grated parmesan. I cut the chicken breast put them in a plastic bag and pound them out thin. Dredge the chicken in the flour, eggs, and then breadcrumbs. Fry in olive oil Put them in baking dishes I spread sauce on the top, flipped it over and put sauce on the other side. Sprinkled some parmesan cheese on them grated mozzarella. Bake in the oven 350 until cheese is melted and bubbly. Of course, I cooked up some macaroni and topped with sauce for a full meal. ...

Chicken Kiev

So I saw a cooking show (DDD)where they made Chicken Kiev. Looked so good so I thought I would give it a shot! Chicken breast with a bunch of herbs on the inside, breaded and fried!! Here it is!! First I made the herbed butter. I used a stick, softened. Chopped parsley, Thyme, I didn't have fresh rosemary so I used dried, and some dill. Mix it up and then I put it into my long ice cube tray and put it into the freezer to save for later. It calls for ground chicken. I didn't have any but I had boneless skinless chicken breast. I put it in the food processor and voila! Since I had the food processor out, I threw the onion in there too. And then the eggs... I still stuck to my 2 eggs per pound rule. Mixed up my chicken mixture and added a little bread crumbs to help it stick together and some salt and pepper. Next, you take the chicken mixture, make it into a patty. put one of the frozen herbed butter sticks in the patty and then close it up around ...

Denise's Food Blog

Search This Blog