Whip me up!

I am launching a new weekly segment called Whip Me Up!  I’ll be posting my favorite recipes and kitchen tips each Friday and encourage you to send in your favorites as well. If you are submitting recipes please send them in the comment section of the blog…I will personally try each one out and post them in the following week’s blog along with a shout-out to the wonderful chef who submitted them.

Today I want to start out with something to warm the cockles of your heart…clam chowder. In October I was in Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard with some girlfriends for a week.  We ate clam chowder every day from seaside alcoves in towns called Oak Bluffs, Chatham, Edgartown, Vineyard Haven and Woods Hole. The air held a lingering salty, sea mist that was beginning to cool off with the impending fall. Clam chowder or “chowda” as the locals called it was the perfect compliment to the cooling temperatures. Made with the freshest ingredients it was truly a mealtime favorite!

This recipe came highly recommended from a local restaurateur and my favorite addition to this meal is to serve it with fresh baking powder biscuits (that recipe will come another day).

CAPE COD CLAM CHOWDER

1 pint shucked clams, chopped (or 2-6 oz cans minced clams)

2 pieces bacon, cut up

4 med. Potatoes, peeled and diced

½ c. chopped onion

2 ½ c. milk

1 c. light cream

3 tbsp. Flour

½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Drain clams, reserving liquid. Add enough water to reserved liquid to measure 2 cups, set aside. In a large saucepan fry bacon until crisp and set aside. Add reserved liquid, potatoes and onion to bacon fat. Cook, covered, for about 15 mins. or until potatoes are tender. Stir in clams, 2 cups milk and the light cream. Whisk the flour with the last ½ c. milk and pour into the chowder. Cook and stir until bubbling, and then cook 1 minute more. Add Worcestershire sauce, ¾ tsp. salt and a dash of pepper. Sprinkle the bacon on top and serve.

Serves 6.

So, practice your culinary craftiness this weekend and WHIP SOMETHING UP! Let me know what you thought about this recipe by sending me your comments…and stay tuned for next week’s recipe!

BTW, this cute little number gave me the inspiration for the title "Whip Me Up"!