A new fish market opened locally, and the clams were lively and plump, so I
decided to buy a bunch of them and make clam chowder. I followed the recipe
for Mo's chowder; "Mo's" is an Oregon chain of chowder houses. I'm giving
the recipe below, but I only made a quarter of it tonight.

I made popovers to accompany the chowder, along with a tossed salad (leaf
lettuce, paper-thin slices of celery, dried cranberries, toasted almonds,
and a yogurt-blue-cheese dressing).

Since I already had the oven fired up for the popovers, I made a French
dessert called "clafoutis." It's made by creating a kind of pancake batter,
pouring it into a baking dish, evenly distributing cherries all over it
(they sink in about halfway), baking it, and then sprinkling it with
powdered sugar. It's typically served with cream, and leftovers are awesome
for breakfast.

MO'S CLAM CHOWDER

1 lb. Bacon, diced
Salt and pepper
1/4 lb smoked ham, diced
6 cups minced clams, drained
6 cups chopped onions
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
5 cups water
6 cups whole milk
12 cups diced potatoes
Butter and paprika

Serves 12-14

Saute bacon and ham together, add onions and saute until limp. Set this
mixture aside, but do not drain.

In 5 cups of water, add potatoes, salt, pepper and any collected clam juice.
Cook until potatoes are tender. Set aside and do not drain.

To the bacon, ham and onion mixture add the flour and make a roux. Mix the
roux into the potato mixture, bring to a boil. Stir down when the boiling
point is reached and add the milk and clams.

Do not allow the chowder to boil again once the milk is added. Garnish with
a dollop of butter and add a dash of paprika.


Bob