Palourdes au beurre (thanks Need Supply Co.)

The title is the fancy name Need Supply Co. gave my clams recipe they posted on their site. My daughter, who is a graphic designer at Need, asked if I would be interested in cooking something for her to document on their blog.

(Edit: It is now also featured on Food & Wine too!!!)

Sure!

I'm was going to be cooking a lot that weekend anyways since it was Mother's Day and she said the clams would be good. The day before Mother's Day I went out to pick up all the groceries I would need for the clams dish and what I was making for Mother's Day - which was Beefteki if you wanted to know. So good! Anyways...

I want to mention that apparently clams are hard to come by these days, especially in the evening...when you really need them. I ran to four different stores before I found a standard, 50 count bag. It was at Whole Foods Virginia Beach and the bag was ripped open. The woman behind the counter was super nice and patient while I poured out the clams so I could count them. She re-bagged them for me and charged me by weight, excluding the iffy ones that had cracked open shells. She let me keep those too, I don't throw out clams with cracked shells if they're still alive.

How do I know if they're alive still? 

Easy, gently poke the clam in the shell through the crack or missing piece. If it's alive, it will move. I sniff everything too, you'll know if it's dead doing that.

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Shelby came out to check on us, Marleigh scared her away with the camera.

By the time I collected everything I needed to make the dish it was starting to get dark. We put off cooking till the next day so we would have have natural light for the photos. In the morning I got everything in order (mise en place!) and we took everything outside to cook (I cook outside on the grill side burner a lot.) While I cooked Marleigh took photos. I explained how they were made and went through the instructions with her. After they were done I made the Mother's Day meal and put everything out on the table. The secret bonus clams were a hit, they're always good and they're easy to make!

The next weekend Marleigh told me the post was up on Need Supply Co.'s page so I followed it and linked it on my social media blast. It's exciting to see the feedback and I wish I could see how it went for anyone who decided to try the recipe themselves. I always enjoy it when people send me a snap of their finished dish after using one of my recipes.

The recipe seemed popular on Instagram too, I have my own little thing going on here so seeing the number of "likes" there, more than I get on my feed at @ihearfoodvb.

Oh, thanks for the new name for my recipe too: Palourdes au beurre. I think I'll steal that.

The recipe was featured on Need's Instagram too!

Clams in Butter & Wine Sauce

After having something similar in an area restaurant I wanted to try my hand at a butter/wine sauce for clams. It came out great and the sauce is delicious with crusty bread. Here's what you need:

• 1 stick of Butter
• 1 cup of white wine
• 1 cup clam stock
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup of cream
• 3 tablespoons chopped Parsley
• 1 small Lemon
• Zest from the lemon
• 1/2 an medium onion
• 1/2 lb Bacon, cooked soft, roughly chopped
• 3-5 lbs of Little Neck Clams

Pepper to taste (the clam liquor will be salty enough)

To get the cup of clam liquor you need for this, you'll get from the clams you cook. It's easy:

1. Fill a stock pot with about half an inch of wine and then place the steamer and clams in. Turn to high and cover, steam for 15 minutes. You'll know they're done when they open. Discard any clams still closed after steaming.
2. You should have a couple of cups of clam stock in the bottom of the pot. Don't throw it out! Freeze what you don't use in the recipe for later.

To make the sauce:

1. Heat a large sauce pan to medium-high, place butter in pan.
2. Add garlic and onion and saute till translucent, about 4 minutes.
3. Add chicken stock, wine and clam stock. Switch heat to High until boiling, then reduce to medium. Simmer and reduce for approximately 20 minutes or until reduced to close half volume. (At this point you can serve it at whatever consistency you like, add a tiny bit of flour if you want it thicker.)
4. After reducing liquid add heavy cream, lemon zest and lemon juice. Simmer for 15 minutes, stir regularly.
5. Add parsley, stir and remove from heat.
6. Place clams in large bowl and sprinkle the bacon on top. Then pour the sauce all over the clams.
7. Serve and eat with bread!

Tip: To cut back on salt, use a bacon or ham that isn't as salty.

Long Division at Olde Towne Tavern

We headed over to Phoebus, VA to watch Long Division play at Olde Towne Tavern. The tavern is tucked away in the old part of Hampton that in the right light would make you think you’ve stepped back in time a little bit. Very cool. Inside it was small, but still roomy if that makes sense. Good size bar, a couple of pool tables and seating throughout. We found a table and sat down.

Once we settled in we checked out the menus. Shelby had already looked online (she’s good about that) and was excited about getting the in-house chips. They served them in little tins and were pretty good. I put a little malt vinegar on mine. We ordered Crabcake Stuffed Mushrooms as an appetizer and those were very tasty. Good size and very moist. I’d order them again.

I ordered The Fishermans Platter—fried clams, fish, oysters, scallops and shrimp. Shelby ordered the pan seared scallops. The star of this mix was the fried shrimp. Fat, juicy and they almost melted in my mouth. They weren’t over breaded either. Next time I’m in that place, I might just order a big plate of these.

If you’re in the Hampton Roads area—Phoebus in particular—check out Olde Towne Tavern. It’s in a cool little town right on the water across from Fort Monroe. Check out Long Division’s music too, one of the best bands in the area.

Olde Towne Tavern - 31 E. Mellen St., Hampton, VA. 23663. 757-251-2636.

i<3food

Oystercrush 2013!

Oyster lovers were at The Yacht Club at Marina Shores in Virginia Beach, VA this past weekend to attend Oyster Crush 2013! Hosted by the Cape Henry Rotary. Proceeds went local charities, a favorite local area cover band The Deloreans provided live entertainment, and there were raffles for door prizes. Over 1500 tickets were sold for the event!

Over 10,000 oysters fresh from the Bay were consumed attendees; the oysters were provided by Little Sully’s Clams on the Eastern Shore. In addition to oysters and clams, local BBQ came from Suffolk’s Rodman’s Bar-B-Que, World-Famous Clam Chowder from Redfearn’s, and all of it washed down with beer provided by Hoffman Beverage company—a special treat was having Smartmouth Saison Ale on tap!

The oysters were delicious! They were available raw or roasted, tables were setup for shucking. The raw were particularly popular with weaving lines, converging on the single table serving them. The crew working that table had to be the busiest of the day.

10,000 oysters leave a lot shells, the Oyster Crush shells will be donated to Lynnhaven River Now for restoration efforts. If you missed this year’s event, make sure you save the date for Oyster Crush 2014, September 21^st of next year.

*Special thanks to Jeremy Johnson who allowed me to cover the event. I’m looking forward to next year!

More photos at i<3food fb.