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Friday, December 3, 2010

New England Clam Chowder

Even though my chowder turned out to be much more like a soup than an actual chowder...the flavors were fantastic!  If it had just been a touch bit thicker, it would have been some of the best clam chowder I have had!  Alas, the fault only lays on myself, and I'm ok with that, it was still so incredibly good.  The idea for this recipe was inspired by Mary at One Perfect Bite, Georgia at Comfort of Cooking, and Des at Life's Ambrosia.

Clam Chowder has been one of my favorite forms of comfort food for most of my life.  I loved the creamy, thickness of it.  I loved that when you ordered it you got oyster crackers along side it. (I love oyster crackers...I used to melt butter in a small bowl and let the oyster crackers float in the butter before eating them!  LOL)  I love that sometimes  it comes in a bread bowl.  I just love clam chowder.....New England clam chowder to be more precise, I'm not that found of the red Manhattan clam chowder.   I think the first place I fell in love with it would have been a restaurant in Nebraska called Grandmother's.  The place closed and has reopened, but it's not that same.  The old Grandmother's was a place we would go to on special occasions.  I remember the place fondly because my mom would always get the french onion soup and I would just gag as I watched her eat it.. ugh!!  I thought it was awful looking (Sorry Mom)...but I had my chowder, so I was ok!!

Anyway, this is a great recipe and is easy to throw together on a cold winter night!

New England Clam Chowder
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
4 slices of bacon, diced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cans chopped claims, juices reserved
8 oz clam juice
1/2 cup water
1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper 

Directions:
In a large pot or dutch oven, over medium heat, add the bacon and cook until brown and crispy; about 5 minutes.  Remove bacon and drain on paper plate lined with a paper towel.  Add the onion and carrot and cook until tender and onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Whisk in the flour and cook 1 minutes.  Slowly whisk in reserved clam juice, clam juice, and cup water.  Add the potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.  Add the clams, cream, and thyme.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy!

14 comments:

Bo said...

This is my kind of comfort food!

Your Mom said...

Oh, what fond memories you have! You gagging as I ate my French Onion Soup. Thanks so much for sharing!! :-)

Cranberry Morning said...

Oh yes, the number one comfort food. We reserve it for Christmas Eve. Your recipe is almost identical to mine, except that I add some chopped red sweet pepper, just for additional color. I usually have to make something else also for the kids who must be scared of the word 'clam,' but the rest of the family counts on it being there - along with popovers! I do use minced clams most of the time, cuz I don't like the rubbery texture of the chopt clams, but this year I couldn't find any minced, so I'll run the chopt ones through the food processor. Love this stuff. Nothing better! :-)

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

Jenn your recipe is pretty much the exact same as mine :) I love clam chowder, its just so freaking delicious and perfect! Truly I wish I had a bowl of that for breakfast, soup for breakfast is the BEST IMHO :) Looks amazing, I can almost smell its goodness from here!

Pam said...

Jenn, this is perfect comfort food! It looks and sounds delicious and anything with bacon is a winner for me!

Big Dude said...

If I had to pick one favorite soup, it would be hard not to choose clam chowder. I don't make it often and not sure why, but this sure looks and sounds like one I need to try.

StephenC said...

I absolutely love clam chowder! Check with your fish monger and see if you can get a container of "chowder clams." They are the great big quahogs, chopped up. When simmered for 8-10 minutes they soften and give a better texture to the soup than canned.

Georgia | The Comfort of Cooking said...

Thanks for the mention, Jenn! I find it so interesting that you combined inspirations from a variety of different recipes. Sorry to hear it didn't turn out exactly the way you wanted, but give it a little time in the fridge and it will be perfect thickness. Just don't freeze it! I learned the hard way and ruined my leftovers.

Angie's Recipes said...

It still looks quite creamy to me...and delicious too!

Mary Bergfeld said...

It looks warm and creamy and all-together perfect for a winter afternoon. Thanks for the link. It is always appreciated. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

Ma What's 4 dinner said...

My favorite soup of all time!!!

Lots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma What's For Dinner
www.mawhats4dinner.com

Jean at The Delightful Repast said...

Actually, Jenn, this looks so much better than the really thick chowders. And I like the little flecks of ingredients that give the soup color. Good job!

Cheeseboy said...

My favorite food in the whole entire world! And oh great, now you've given me a reason to go to Nebraska.

Your Mom said...

I decided to take a break from French Onion Soup (LOL) and make my first pot of Clam Chowder. Campbell's always seemed to do OK, so I've never attempted making Clam Chowder from scratch, but decided to try when I saw this post. It was delicious! Unfortunately, I think this house has seen the last of Campbell's Clam Chowder according to your Dad! He thought it was wonderful & was so adament about me telling you, that right now he's doing the dishes so I can post this comment! Another home run, Jenn!