Awesomebella Cooks- MANHATTAN CLAM CHOWDER

What did I cook this week?

THIS!

 I made Manhattan Clam Chowder, using THIS recipe (well...sort of... I looked at, thought it over and did things just a tiny bit different. But I more or less "followed" it.)

Normally I am a HUGE New England Clam Chowder fan, but as one of my sisters cannot eat milk, a dairy based soup would be no good. So we went for the tomato base like the manhattaners do...

Pictures of the event...

Lots of chopping. Celery, onions, (I wish I had a picture of the massive pile of onions. SO many tiny onions pieces. So much eye pain!  I took one, put them in the pot and THEN realized there was no camera card in my point and shoot Olympus...) garlic, potatoes, and parsley.

 Garbage bowl.

Used 4 of these. Super fishy.

 Steaming pot of a rue (not in recipe but I started the soup that way because...it is the right way!) onions, celery, parsley, olive oil, tomato paste, and a vast amount of clam juice.

 Added this (home-canned stewed tomatoes. Canned by either my grandmother or my mom? Not sure) and one can of diced tomatoes into the pot. Threw in the rest of the herbs. Added potatoes (although I should of added them before the liquid so there would be less splashing. Duh, Bella.) and brought it to a boil. Covered and let cook until the potatoes were soft.

Last, I added the clams (do it last or they get rubberized. Like, even more so than they normally are.). 3 whole pounds of clams!

I love clams, especially when involved in chowder. Obviously fresh clams would be better, but there was no way I was going to buy, cook and shell 3 pounds of them. No, no, no.

 

* MMMMMM!!!

Side note, NORMAL clam chowder (aka the Right  New England kind) has some sort of pork product in it. Usually the rue is done with pork fat and not butter, and quite often there is bacon or pork bits in the broth. But as you know, I don't do meat (and I cannot tell you how many times I've gone to a restaurant having a hankering for clam chowder and end up leaving disappointed because they only make a porkish variety). So, to please everyone, I cooked up some bacon, chopped it into bits (oh my did my hands smell meaty...), and served it on the side so that everyone who wanted meat in their soup could sprinkle it on top! Huzzah for innovation and meat removal!

Dinner was served with a salad and crusty Italian croutonish bread (cut in slices, brushed with oil olive and put under the broiler until crunch. Good for soup dipping.).  
All in all, very tasty.


What will I make next week? Well... I actually have no idea what I will make next. I am still thinking about that. Might be pasta. I haven't done pasta yet and we all (I) know that pasta is the best food in the world so...


Check the blog next Tuesday to see what I come up with on next week's Awesomemonday! Happy cooking, everyone!