Clam Chowder, New England Style

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There are some clam chowders that are so delicious it makes you sad when you get to the bottom of the bowl. Then there are other clam chowders who you wish had never been made much less served up to you.

A good clam chowder is sublime. There is a play on the potatoes and the clams and the little pieces of corn. And the best clam chowders aren’t always the most expensive. What they are is made with fresh ingredients, seasoned well, and served with bread. I feel like it’s almost a mortal sin not to serve a good chowder without a hunk of break and delicious butter. You slather the butter on and then you dip the whole thing into the warm chowder which is thick and clings to the bread so you have to lean down to eat it without dripping it all over yourself. THAT’s the kinda chowder I’m talking about. And if you can make it look pretty… so that my eyes have a visual feast to gnaw upon? Shoooo.

Best Damn Chowder

  • 2 slices of thick cut bacon, diced
  • 1 large onion, finely diced
  • 6 celery stalks, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 ear of corn, kernels removed.
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • ⅓ cup all purpose flour
  • 4 bottles clam juice
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 large sprig thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 lbs red skinned potatoes, diced
  • 1 ½ cups finely chopped clams from 6lbs cherrystone clams, reserve a few clams
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • fresh chives and/or parsley minced
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • crusty bread for serving
  1. Start the bacon with just a touch of bacon fat in the bottom of dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat. When it’s start crackling, you can decide to keep cooking it and then removing it and using it as a garnish or just adding in the onions.
  2. Once the onions have gotten coated with bacon fat and started on their way to cooking, add in the celery and the carrots. Give it a good stir. After a couple of minutes, add in the garlic and the flour. Stir again.
  3. Once everything is again coated with bacon grease or flour, add in the clam juice and water. Scrap up any bits that have gotten lodged. Then add in the thyme, bay leaves, corn, and potatoes. Add in a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper. Bring this to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer for 20-25 minutes until potatoes are tender. In the last 5 or so minutes plop in the reserved clams and then pull them out as soon as they’ve opened. Set aside with the bacon if bacon has been reserved.
  4. Remove from the heat, and take out the bay leaf and thyme sprig. Add in the cream, fresh chives and/or parsley. Stir. Taste and correct the seasoning.
  5. Ladle into bowls. Top with some cooked clams. If using reserved bacon bits, top the bowls with them here as well. If not, sprinkle with more herbs and serve.

Tomato Basil Soup with Blue Cheese Crumbles

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a creamy tomato soup
Photo by Sacha Moreau on Pexels.com

Soups soothe the soul and they make you feel good. Even when it’s hot, soups seem to be the thing sometimes. Especially, if the soup isn’t too hot. Or maybe served cold. Or just above room temperature. Soups are so versatile. they can be exotic or like a well-loved friend.

Tomato Basil Soup is perfect when summer’s bounty furnishes lots of beautiful red fruit. And basil seems to be the perfect complement to the acidic flavors of those ruby globes. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t like my tomato soup scorching hot, but slightly less. And I will chunks of blue cheese to add a salty umami-ness that I think this soup perfectly supports. When it gets too hot, tomato basil soup with blue cheese crumbles are about all I want to eat. I can’t stomach too much when I am sweating. I want something to take the edge off my hunger, but not make me uncomfortably full. The heat is already making me uncomfortable enough. I don’t need my food adding to the discomfort. What I need IS comfort.

Tomato Basil Soup

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  •  2 tablespoons butter
  •  1 medium onion (chopped)
  •  1 clove garlic (minced)
  •  1 dash Italian seasoning
  •  2 (28 fluid ounce) cans whole San Marzano tomatoes (with juices)
  •  1.5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  •  1/2 cup heavy cream (or to taste)
  •  fresh basil (torn)
  • blue cheese crumbles
  •  Salt & pepper (to taste)

Instructions 

  1. Over medium heat, add the oil to the pot first and then add butter. When the butter is melting, add onions. Sauté the onion for 5-7 minutes or until it’s lightly browned.
  2. Stir in the garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook for one minute. Then add in the tomatoes and chicken broth. 
  3. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once it’s rapidly boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 8 minutes, covered, with the lid slightly ajar. 
  4. Let the soup cool. Blend the soup until it’s smooth. Do it in batches if using a standard blender. Or you can do it right in the pot with an immersion blender.
  5. Stir in the cream and basil and season with salt & pepper as needed. 
  6. Add blue cheese crumbles on top.

It’s Hot so Pisco Sours are Up!

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Many wonderful things come from Peru. Potatoes, lomo saltado, music, colorful clothing, and so much more. But the thing I might love the best is the national liquor of Peru, called Pisco.

It’s a brandy is our Pisco. Which might make it seem too refined for mixing in a cocktail. I mean, after all, aren’t we used to brandy being in snifters and snobby people drinking it after pretentiously swirling it around a large glass which has been warmed over little candles. But not Peru’s brandy. Oh, no, my friends. Pisco is for all of us.

The best way to have Pisco is in a sour. Now, I didn’t invent the Pisco Sour, but I think I have a pretty damn good recipe for said Pisco Sour, if I say so myself. And I do. I like these with or without food. I think they are an excellent mid-afternoon cocktail as you think about evening plans.

Some tips before we go into how to make them. You can use fresh egg whites. I have. But I actually prefer store bought egg whites which have been pasteurized. Also, I hunted down the Amargo Chuncho bitters which are made with Peruvian ingredients. You do not need to be so particular. It is perfectly okay to substitute bitters readily found in most markets. Peychauds would be good. Peychauds aged bitters might be better. Aromatic bitters would be perfectly acceptable. Barrel-aged aromatic bitters might be better. Obviously, the Amargo is the best and preferred. But if you can’t get your hands on it, it’s cool.

Pisco Sour

  • 3 oz pisco
  • 1 oz lime juice
  • .5-.75 oz simple syrup
  • 1 egg white or the carton equivalent
  • 2 dashes amargo bitter and more for garnish

Put all the ingredients into a shaker with one or two ice cubes. Shake until frothy and the ice has melted. Add more ice and shake properly. Many people dry shake without the ice cube or two, but I have found the foam better with it. Pour over fresh ice. Garnish with 3 drops of bitters on top. Enjoy!

I Can’t Tell You How Great Smoke on the Water Is

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I think the first time I had a Smoke on the Water I was eating tacos by the dozen. Sadly or luckily or whatever, I wasn’t drinking Smoke on the Waters by the dozen. But I did start having a hankering for them while eating tacos on a hot summer day.

Once you love tequila, it’s not that far to acquiring a mezcal fetish as well. Then when you stumble upon a cocktail at a joint that is particularly good and the name of the cocktail is particularly clever, well, you hunt down that recipe. Tout suite. To drink. Even when you aren’t eating tacos. And the weather isn’t particularly nice outside. Because the memory of that drink is on your mind and making it recreates those feelings that were present the first time you had it. At least, that’s the way it is for me.

The recipe calls for fresh-squeezed watermelon. Which I think is cool if it’s summer. If it’s not, there are perfectly acceptable alternatives. Also, some juiceries have fresh-squeezed watermelon juice available. I think shortcuts are the spice of life. If you find one that works cool. Also, this recipe calls for hibiscus syrup. You have to make this in advance and cool it before making the drink. Not all the way, but it can’t be boiling. And ideally, it should be down to room temperature or too much ice will melt in the mixing. And the balance between the ingredients of a cocktail and water are super important.

Smoke on the Water

  • 2. oz mezcal
  • 1 oz Cointreau
  • 1.25 oz watermelon juice, freshly squeezed if possible
  • .75 oz hibiscus syrup, recipe below
  • .75 oz lime juice
  • dried lavender or soaked hibiscus or a pickled watermelon rind or a tiny watermelon wedge

Add big ice to a rocks glass. Then add all the other ingredients to a shake with ice, and shake for 40-60 seconds. Double strain over the big ice. Garnish.

Hibiscus Syrup

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • .5 cup hibiscus flower or 4 bags of hibiscus tea

Combine water with sugar in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Take off the heat. Add the hibiscus. Steep for 10 minutes then strain into a glass jar or jug. Keep in fridge for about a month.

Gooseberry Margaritas Are New For May

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Margaritas are really up there for being a favorite Spring and Summer drink. I love them with more than Mexican food. I think they blend well with LOTS of different types of cuisines. And of course, they are spectacular on their own or with salty, deep-fat fried foods.

Over the course of some years, I have found my favorite margarita recipe. And I have experimented with lots of different variations. I’ve made blood-orange margaritas, skinny margaritas, spicy margaritas, and so many more. Then I stumbled upon the gooseberry margarita. Mostly because I was living in Kuwait and most of my produce was coming from Europe and Africa. My go-tos for produce when I was in the Americas weren’t readily obtained. So, I discovered the cape gooseberry

Cape gooseberries are these cute little berries which are in a paper cover and are this vibrant, orange color. They are not like those sour green ones. Perfect for cocktail making, imo. Well, they both are but for different reasons. As soon as you find them in the supermarket, run out a grab some.

Cape Gooseberry Recipe

  • 2 oz tequila
  • 1oz lime juice
  • .75 oz Cointreau
  • .5 oz agave syrup
  • 6 cape gooseberries
  • lime wedges

Muddle 3-4 cape gooseberries in a shaker with the agave syrup. Let it sit a minute or two for the flavors to incorporate. Then add the rest of the liquid ingredients. Shake, Shake, Shake. Double Strain into a rocks glass that has fresh ice and few cut up cape gooseberries. Taste. Squeeze a lime cheek into the glass, if needed. Otherwise, just add a few lime wheels for garnish. I wouldn’t add salt because this is a sweeter margarita. But if you’d like, add the salt to the rim of the glass before the ice and pouring.

Warm Weather means Cool Spritzes

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Warmer weather always ushers in the season of the Spritz. It’s just goes hand in hand with the higher degrees outside. For me, it also brings up memories of Italy and good times. But it’s not just me. I was out for a girls’ night the other evening and I saw two ladies enjoying a spritz or two. They were having them in the normal big bulbous gin glasses and not the one I used for mine in this picture. The glass is less important than the ingredients.

The one pictured is a Campari Spritz. Which I love. But I have been known to enjoy other spritzes as well. The Spritz is great using Aperol instead of the Campari making it an Aperol Spritz. You can used St. Germain and make an elderflower spritz. Bonus points if you make it in their carafe with the proportions written on the outside. There is a new kid on the block, a bergamot- savory orange- forward liqueur called Italicus, which makes a pretty good spritz as well. I prefer the Italicus Spritz with gin to tame the sweetness. And lastly, my cocktail club–Shaker & Spoon–have a spritz called the Myrtle Spritz made with spiced blueberry syrup. No matter which spritz you chose, it is sure to be refreshing.

Campari Spritz

  • 1.5 oz Campari
  • 2 oz Prosecco/Sparkling White Wine
  • Splash of Sparkling water/Soda water/Fizzy water
  • garnish with a slice of orange and a green olive

Add the Campari and the Prosecco to a gin glass. Add green olive and stir. Top with ice cubes. Add splash of Sparkling water. Put orange slice along the side of the glass. Add a straw. Give it a small stir. Enjoy!

You can substitute Aperol,/St. Germain/ Italicus+Gin for the Campari in the recipe above. I would start with the same proportions and then add or subtract depending on your palate and whether you like it sweeter, more bitter forward, etc. With the St. Germain and Italicus+Gin, I would leave off the olive as a garnish. And maybe play around with some cool bitters. A peach one or a juicy orange one. Lots of new ones on the market out there. There is no end to the experimentation possible. And a whole Spring, Summer, and Fall in which to try things out.

Even out of Season, Bees Knees are Just That

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You wouldn’t think honey and gin and lemons would turn into something magical, but they do. It’s the Bees Knees, y’all. Really. No, really. It’s super delish.

I use Barr Hill Gin because it’s made with honey. But more importantly, they donate a part of the proceeds to sustaining honey bees. It’s a total win for me, for the bees, and for our planet. I can’t tell you how important it is to us and our plant to keep the bees around all happy producing honey and being like little flying sunshine nuggets. If I have to drink Barr Hill Gin to help out the bees, well, I can be a helpful bitch. I really can.

To make this yummy concoction, you will need a martini glass or a large coupe and a shaker.

Bees Knees

  • 2oz Barr Hill Gin
  • .5 oz honey
  • .75 oz lemon juice

Put all the ingredients into a shaker, fill with ice, shake for 45-60 seconds, Pour into a martini glass. You can garnish it with a lemon twist. Or you can just drink it down. Either way, know you are doing good for the world.

Bitter Bitches are Delicious… No, Really

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There was a whole movement of women who began drinking Bitter Bitches in response to the Supremes losing their damn minds and doing what no other Court has ever done before, claw back right already bestowed. Right or wrong. It was singular. Or was. Or will be… was. Who knows what crazy people will decide. Back to this delicious drink, it’s kinda of yum. And it’s a pretty color. What’s not to love?!?! Well, the reason it was invented. But if one was to mount a response, this isn’t a terrible one with which to begin.

Bitter Bitch

  • 2oz gin
  • 2oz limoncello
  • 1oz tangerine juice
  • 1oz lemon juice
  • orange bitters
  • .5 oz Aperol

Put first five ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake for 50 to 60 seconds. Pour into a martini glass. Take a spoon and invert it. Touch the spoon to the inside edge of your glass. Slowly pour Aperol over the spoon. It’s supposed to float, but will sink instead. The sinker is pretty, as I can attest. I have never made one that floats the Aperol so I can’t speak to that one.

If you have a small, bitter place in your heart for how some stuffy fuckers are taking away rights or for some romantic reason as it is February and Valentine’s Day is near and some fucker is breaking your heart in a different way… make a bitter bitch. And at least that shit will go down delicious.

Dirty Martinis are My Favorite Drink

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I’m not sure when I fell in love with the dirty martini, but I feel like it’s been years. And I haven’t been sad about it. At. All.

In the beginning, I would just order them at restaurants. Making them at home seemed to involved. Plus, they seem to taste better when someone else made them. Capital Grille in DC was a fav. A place I would return to again and again. They are also the reason I have upped my dirty martini game.

Stuffing your own blue cheese olives starts the endeavor known as a dirty martini. In some circles, a dirty martini with blue cheese olives are called a Dirty Executive. However, I think blue cheese olives are a standard in a dirty martini and doesn’t signify a different name. Grey Goose was also the vodka of choice for said dirty martini. It’s a clean vodka. And works well to carry the olive flavors necessary to this classic.

Adding a cocktail onions made total sense. A hit of pickled sweet after all the savory… Yummo! Then I learned about adding anchovies to the cocktail pick loaded with olives and onions. This was from a cookbook based on the Venice region of Italy. With these two additions to the cocktail pick line-up along with blue cheesed stuffed olives make my Dirty Martini complete.

Each drink and bite… or not… is unique. Adding little bits of flavor and texture and umami-ness. And since I use both vermouth and olive brine in my Dirty Martini, well shaken and not stirred, I also get a uniform canvas upon which to appreciate all the differences… and some sameness.

Dirty Martini

-makes a large pour

  • 4 oz Grey Goose
  • .75 oz olive brine
  • .5 oz dry or blanc vermouth
  • 3 dashes olive bitters
  • 1 spritz lemon oil
  • blue cheese olives, anchovies, cocktail onions

Put ice in a martini glass. Stick it in the freezer as you make the martini. Put the first four ingredients into a shake. Fill with ice. Shake it up. Take glass our of freezer, dump the ice, and pour the martini into the glass. Spritz with lemon oil or express some lemon oil from a cut rind. Garnish with olives, onions, and anchovies Enjoy!

Apples, Apples… Apple Cider Martini

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Fall and winter holidays, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all the others always brings to mind delicious apple cider. I love freshly-pressed juice of ALL THE APPLES. It was such a no-brainer to come up with a delicious apple cider cocktail.

After much experimenting, I came up with lovely Apple Cider Martini recipe that should hit the spot for the holidays. Add in a cinnamon stick and you have a festive cocktail you can have alone or batch for a group.

  • 2 ounces vodka
  • 3 ounces apple cider
  • a pinch of cinnamon
  • .5 ounces lemon juice
  • cinnamon stick

Put all the ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a martini glass. Light one end of the cinnamon stick, swirl the smoke over the glass, blow it out, and then use as a garnish. Drink and think of fall.

This drink is light and not very alcohol forward. Which makes it perfect for parties or the occasional martini alone. Plus, apples say fall.