Steamed clams

last g/f served this at christmas time. i fell in love with it , so am sharing by cut/copy/paste from the epicurious.com site.


enjoy, these are great!

steamed clams with spicy sausage and tomatoes.

Offer crusty bread with this to soak up some of the juices.

Servings: Makes 6 (first-course) servings.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound hot Italian sausages, casings removed
1/2 cup chopped shallots
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 pounds littleneck clams (about 3 dozen), scrubbed
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
Preparation
Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add sausages; sauté until almost cooked through, breaking up with fork, about 10 minutes. Add shallots, garlic and dried red pepper. Sauté until sausage is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Mix in tomatoes with juices, broth and vinegar. Add clams, cover and boil until clams open, about 8 minutes (discard any clams that do not open). Mix in basil.

Those sound pretty darn tasty. I might try using mussles with that recipe. I have done something like that but used coppa a spicey, dry ham and vermouth.

i'm not a big shellfish eater, matter of fact, i'm not all that fond of them, but being the adventurous guy i am, i gave it a try and well i went back for 2nds... and it's a simple to make dish too....

A nice pino grigio, sour dough and roasted garlic and I am in heaven.

A nice pino grigio, sour dough and roasted garlic and I am in heaven.

Nice combo! My dad used to make a whole pot full of mussels w/ some of the above sides (My parents are from Holland so yes I drank too) and that has to be some of the best food of all time. Simple is good!!

Z

Had Zee, Espiga, Charliefl66 and their sig others over for dinner last Saturday and Espiga was kind enough to bring over some freshly dug butter clams.  Mmmm mmmm good!  Steamed them up with some fennel, celery, garlic, shallots, and white wine.  They were definitely the hit of the party.  If I had any fish left in the freezer I would have augmented the base from some fish stock.  But alas, it's late winter and the freezer is empty of fish.  I'm going to have to do something about that soon ...

-Allen

But alas, it's late winter and the freezer is empty of fish.  I'm going to have to do something about that soon ...

I cleaned out my freezer right before I moved to Portland and had a massive fish/abalone dinner with all my friends.  As great as it was to share my bounty with my friends, I've really missed having fish on hand.

Brian

Let me just say that Pole's clams were the bomb! Skillz!! Simple and super tasty. Big time thanks to Espiga for wading out and getting them! They sure were tasty so if you have some clam spots nearby make sure to give it a shot soon.

Z

Back in town and have been thinking about those clams PolePole made...yum yum!

I'm hoping I can access my spot early enough to allow them to clean themselves of sand for tomorrows dinner

Thanks for the recipe ideas.

-Jesse

Hey Espiga, I know everyone has some way of cleaning the clam so I will just throw my 2cents in. If you take a tablespoon or two full of flour and mix it in with the water so that its kind of cloudy it helps to clean them out with out getting all the corn meal in them that some people use. I have also just put them in a bucket with an aerator and leave them over night. that works good too, especialy on the big clams like horsenecks.

Thanks for the tips.

I was thwarted in my calming efforts the other day.     I have been walking the same stretch of beach for over a year now, there has always been a little unclarity after hearing various stories about the rules and rights.  Well I got more of the story, but it's still not totally clear....wow ownership rights are complicated around here!! 

The HOA that my house is in has a little day use lot with a little ramp and some grass.  I learned over the summer that only some of the residents have use rights to the facilities while others are allowed walk through rights...I have walk through rights.  Or so my current understanding....   ??

What I had been lead to understand, by talking to various people, including the guy who defensively informed me of my walk through only rights, was that once on the beach the tide lands were public.  Another lady reiterated.

WOW....getting long already and I have barely begun, so I will cut the details out.  But it turns out that some houses have ownership rights down to the low tide line, while others to the high tide line.  Also the HOA I'm part of has certain sections of the beach, one in front of houses while another backed by cliff that is 800+ feet beyond...blah...where I do have all beach rights, including clamming.  Furthermore, I have 'walking only trespass rights' on the beach in front of several large houses but ending down the beach at a 'no trespassing' sign.  Once again I had heard from several people that the sign was BS and they walked down past it all the time.  Well it turns out that after the sign the tide lands, down to the low tide line, is property owned by a guy on the other side of mouth to the tide lands.  Even though he allows people to walk on his property, apparently he gets upset about people clamming on his property.  Sorry....

Of course the nice butter clam spot I know is just on this guys property and I won't be back without his permission, which I may need to ask for depending on what I find in the areas where....as far as I currently know....I can clam with out problems. 

Another thing is that I checked the Elger Bay regs on wfdw site and it shows most the beach which includes these various private tide lands as being open for clamming.  Of course, after exploring and rereading the site, I found the disclaimers for not knowing all tide land ownership rights. 

One thing is for sure, these areas will require more of a low tide then my previous spot.  Hopefully I can find another productive spot. 

-Jesse

Whoa, now that sounds like some grade A Sorry to hear your best spot has become iffy. The clams you brought from there were awesome. Sure there's more spots though.

Z

HOLY SHISHH! I hear ya on the HOA. was part of one on the east side, and I kid you not when I say that was the reason I moved. People and there property are a touchy subject. I tell you guys what there is a spot here That I have found that is on public land (its a county park in Clallam) that has the sweetest clam bed. I have been down there 4 times this year already and there is never any one there, I guess cause you have to walk down the beach to get to it. I have dug Big 2"steamers, 3" to 4" each butters and some eastern soft shell up to 4". I always get a limit, takes awhile, about an hour, but the kids love it. Want to dig clams, check the tides and e-mail me and come over. If I am availible I would love to dig.
Matt

Want to dig clams, check the tides and e-mail me and come over. If I am availible I would love to dig.
Matt

The wife and I just may take you up on that. Thanks.

Z