Mmm Mmm Monday: New England Clam Chowdah II

I posted a New England Clam Chowder recipe not too long ago.  I was walking down the stacks at work when I espied this book, New England Seafood Cooking.  There's no author; it was published in 1993 by Crescent Books of NY and Avenel, NJ.

 

Here's their NECC recipe.  Changes/notes in italics.  Unfortunately, no pictures bc I forgot to take them.

Prep time = 30 min.

Cooking time = 20 min.

Servings = 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. clams (I used 3 cans of minced or chopped clams; I forget)
• 3 oz. bacon, diced
• 2 medium onions, finely diced
• 1 T. flour
• 6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• salt & pepper
• 4 c. milk
• 1 c. light cream
• chopped parsley

Instructions

1. Scrub clams well and place in a sink ( or bowl) of cold water w/a handful of flour for 30 minutes.
2. Drain the clams and place them in a deep saucepan w/about 1/2 c. cold water.
3. Cover and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until all the shells open.  Discard any shells that do not open.
4. Strain the clam liquid, reserve it and set aside the clams to cool. (Didn't do any of steps 1-4 bc I just opened up cans of clams.)
5. Place the bacon in a large, deep saucepan and cook slowly until the fat is rendered.  Turn up the heat and brown the bacon.
6. Remove it to paper towls to drain.
7. Add the onion to the bacon fat in the pan and cook slowly to soften 
8. Stir in the flour and add the potatoes, salt, pepper, milk and reserved clam juice.  Cover and bring t a boil for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are nearly tender.
9. Remove the clams from the shells and chop them if large.
10. Add the chopped clams to the soup along with the cream and diced bacon (I hold the bacon until serving bc some of this got frozen and I think the bacon bits don't freeze  well).  Cook 10 minutes more or until the potatoes and clams are tender.
11. Add the chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Kevin liked this recipe, although not as much as the first recipe I posted.  That one was creamier and as he says, 'Creamier is always better.'  You heard it here first.  You could probably even make this one w/lighter dairy products.  I didn't actually taste this one so I will let Kevin have the last word on this recipe.