Clam Chowder

Hello my friends!
How are you doing today? I hope you are staying warm on this cold Monday.
On Saturday we had the first big storm of the winter. We got about 8 inches of snow. Brrrr!!!! Which makes perfect weather for clam Chowder!!

We had some friends over on Sunday to watch the Patriots game, so I made a big batch.
This is actually an award winning recipe. A friend of mine used to participate in the Santa Cruz Clam Chowder festival and his "Chowdah" won a few times!! I would like to share it with you today, as it is very easy and really delicious!

The Ingredients you will need are:

1. 1/2 Lb. bacon cut in 1/2" dice.
2. 5 medium red potatoes, unpeeled, cut in 1/2" cubes.
3. 1/2  large green bell pepper cut in 1/4 "dice.
4. 4 green onions, sliced length-wise and chopped in 1/4" dice.
5. 3 celery stalks, sliced length-wise and then into 1/4" dice.
6. 3 cloves garlic minced fine.
7. 1 8 oz. bottle clam juice.
8. 1 8 oz. container frozen fish stock (optional) or a second 8 oz. bottle of clam juice. 
9. 1/2 cup water.
10. 5 tsp. dry cooking sherry.
11. 1/2 tsp. white pepper.
12. 2 tsp. Worchester sauce.
13. 1 tsp. Thyme.
14. 5 drops Tabasco sauce.
15. Roux ~ 4 TBSP. butter cooked over medium heat with 4 TBSP flour, about 5 minutes, whisking constantly, then cooled.
16. 3 6 1/2 oz. cans chopped clams with juice.
17. 2 cups cream or 1/2 & 1/2 or milk (depending on desired consistency, I use cream)

Cooking directions:

Saute bacon until browned. Meanwhile, make roux and then set aside to cool. 

When bacon is done, drain and set aside, reserving the fat. In a clean stock pot or large kettle, heat reserved bacon fat over medium high heat and sauté green onions, bell pepper, celery and garlic until just softened ( about 5 minutes). Add bottled clam juice, fish stock, if used, white pepper, Worchester, Tabasco, Thyme and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes to blend flavors. Add potatoes and cook at a simmer for another 5 minutes or until they are just tender but not too soft (they will continue to cook when cream is added). Return pot to a boil and pour roux into pot in a thin steam, stirring constantly. When mixture thickens significantly (it will take only 2 to 3 minutes), add clams, Sherry, bacon and cream. Allow soup to remain just below boiling point for a few minutes (no more than 5) to thicken slightly and blend the flavors, but DO NOT BOIL. If not serving immediately, remove from heat and cover until ready to heat through and serve.

Makes about 2 quarts, serving about 4 to 6. Serve in heated bowls with plenty of sourdough French bread and sweet butter. Enjoy!!

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