Today Dishing: New England Clam Chowder

Have you ever longed to cook a particular dish but shied away because you thought it too difficult? New England Clam Chowder is that dish for me.

When chowder is on a menu, I invariably order it. There are thick chowders, thin chowders, chowders with too few clams and chowders that are just right. The best New England Clam Chowder eaten by me is found at Crawdaddy's in Jensen Beach, Florida. It's unlike any other chowder I've tasted. Word is there is a "secret" sauce added just before serving which amps up the flavor and adds a bit of heat. My mouth waters for it now as I describe it.

I was promised a lesson in chowder making from my son's friend, Heather, who is the proprietor of the Port St. Lucie, Florida Outback Restaurant. Since the promise, my son relocated to Dallas  and a trip back to Port St. Lucie is no where in the distant future.

Not wavering, I decided to put on my big girl pants and take a stab at this concoction myself. After extensive reading, I decided on a combination of two recipes, which for my taste offers the qualities I prefer in chowder.

Unlike most soups, chowders must be planned ahead. On any given day I can decide at two in the afternoon to make soup for dinner and trust I have the needed ingredients. Not so with clam chowder. Because you need fresh clams, a trip to the store is a must. The Clinton St. recipe says frozen clams can be used but as yet, I haven't found them. Littleneck clams are readily available at major grocery store chains. They run about 50 cents a pop, making this a more expensive, or should I say "special" soup to make. 

 The Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook and Ruth Reichl's, The Gourmet Cookbook offer really good chowder recipes but for me, combining bits from each produced my take on chowder.

NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER
Serves 5-6

36 small hard-shelled clams (less than 2 inches wide), such as littlenecks.
1 1/2 cups water
2  medium boiling potatoes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 bacon slices, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup clam juice
1 cup half-and-half, for thicker chowder use heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
salt and fresh ground pepper

Put clams and cold water in a  4- quart saucepan and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Cover and steam until clams open, 5 to 8 minutes, checking frequently after 5 minutes and transferring them to a bowl as they open. Discard any clams that have not opened. Reserve cooking liquid.
                                              
When clams are cool enough to handle, remove from shells and coarsely chop. Carefully pour cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, leaving any grit in pan.
      
Peel potatoes and cut into 1/4-inch dice.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over moderate heat. Add bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes, reserved cooking liquid, clam juice, cayenne and bay leaf  and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove bay leaf.

Stir in clams, half-and-half (or heavy cream) and salt and pepper to taste and cook until heated through, about 1 minute; do not let boil.
 

Oyster crackers add the finishing touch.

Honestly, I don't understand why I hesitated. This is not difficult to make and the result is mighty tasty.

Today Dishing: The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever

If you've traversed the internet seeking food recipes, you, like me, might be weary of seeing the words "best ever" attached to many offerings. I suppose writers believe the "best ever" moniker draws readers to their site. I read "best ever" and the skeptic in me says, "oh yeah? I don't think so." But recently my daughter found a recipe for the "Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever. She thought maybe  I might fine this recipe worthy of trying.

I read the recipe  and admit I was intrigued. The ingredients and the nebulous nature of the baking instructions appealed to me. What the heck, I thought let's give it a go.

Having been brought up on Nestles Toll House Cookies and loving them, I wondered how could such a perfect little treat improve.

After baking these new cookies I doubt I'll ever use chocolate morsels again. The chunks of dark chocolate move these cookies into a whole other category.

I also believe using cake and bread flour makes a difference in the consistency of the dough and therefore the texture of the finished cookie.

The salt on top of each cookie is brilliant and received rave reviews.

These cookies cannot be whipped up in 20 minutes. The dough needs to be refrigerated for at least 24 hours which requires planning ahead.

The suggested cooking instructions resulted in a delicious cookie with a hard outside and gooey inside until cooled when the centers became less gooey.

Not totally happy with my first attempt I returned to my test kitchen for another try, this time adjusting bake time and oven temperature. Baking all batches the first time for 18 minutes, less bake time seemed indicated.

On my second attempt I cooked one batch at 400 degrees in a conventional oven, another at 350 degrees in a convection oven and the third batch at 375 degrees in a convection oven, all for 15 minutes. The differences were subtle but the 375 degree convection oven produced the most crispy outer cookie with the ooziest inside which remained oozy after cooling. Reducing the cook time from 18 minutes to 15, I believe is the largest key to success.

Here is the recipe, but also check out this link to read in depth notes on baking these cookies.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever!

2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. cake flour (8 1/2 oz)*
1 2/3 cups bread flour (8 1/2 oz)*
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher
2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cups; 10 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups (10 oz.) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (8 oz.) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao content, such as Ghirardelli
Sea salt or kosher salt for garnishing

(* to those questioning the weight of the flours – they are indeed correct. Different flours have different weights, so just because you are weighing out the same oz doesn’t mean you are using the same amount, if that makes sense. Trust Shirley on this one.)

Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk well; then set aside.

The dough is thicker than Toll House dough.

                                                  

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. (Unless you have a plastic guard that sits around the rim of the bowl, this will make a big mess at first, with flour flying everywhere. I found that carefully holding a dish towel around the top of the bowl helped a lot.) Add the chocolate chips, and mix briefly to incorporate. Press plastic wrap against the dough, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. The dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to soften slightly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Using a standard-size ice cream scoop – mine holds about 3 fluid ounces, or about 1/3 cup – scoop six mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, making sure to space them evenly. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and bake until golden brown but still soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies onto the rack to cool a bit more.

Make these approximately the size of a golf ball.

                                                

The Best Chocolate Chip  Cookies Ever? well I don't know. After distributing samples to many people the reactions were extremely positive. This recipe  does produce a delicious cookie well worth the additional effort.

                                   

  

2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. cake flour (8 1/2 oz)*
1 2/3 cups bread flour (8 1/2 oz)*
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher
2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cups; 10 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups (10 oz.) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (8 oz.) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao content, such as Ghirardelli
Sea salt or kosher salt for garnishing
(* to those questioning the weight of the flours – they are indeed correct. Different flours have different weights, so just because you are weighing out the same oz doesn’t mean you are using the same amount, if that makes sense. Trust Shirley on this one.)
- See more at: http://forme-foryou.com/2011/08/the-only-chocolate-chip-cookie-i-will-ever-need-to-know-how-to-make-for-the-rest-of-my-life.html#sthash.VfFXUqT1.dpuf

2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. cake flour (8 1/2 oz)*
1 2/3 cups bread flour (8 1/2 oz)*
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher
2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cups; 10 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups (10 oz.) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (8 oz.) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao content, such as Ghirardelli
Sea salt or kosher salt for garnishing
(* to those questioning the weight of the flours – they are indeed correct. Different flours have different weights, so just because you are weighing out the same oz doesn’t mean you are using the same amount, if that makes sense. Trust Shirley on this one.)
- See more at: http://forme-foryou.com/2011/08/the-only-chocolate-chip-cookie-i-will-ever-need-to-know-how-to-make-for-the-rest-of-my-life.html#sthash.VfFXUqT1.dpuf

2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. cake flour (8 1/2 oz)*
1 2/3 cups bread flour (8 1/2 oz)*
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher
2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cups; 10 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups (10 oz.) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (8 oz.) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao content, such as Ghirardelli
Sea salt or kosher salt for garnishing
(* to those questioning the weight of the flours – they are indeed correct. Different flours have different weights, so just because you are weighing out the same oz doesn’t mean you are using the same amount, if that makes sense. Trust Shirley on this one.)
- See more at: http://forme-foryou.com/2011/08/the-only-chocolate-chip-cookie-i-will-ever-need-to-know-how-to-make-for-the-rest-of-my-life.html#sthash.VfFXUqT1.dpuf

2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. cake flour (8 1/2 oz)*
1 2/3 cups bread flour (8 1/2 oz)*
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher
2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cups; 10 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups (10 oz.) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (8 oz.) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao content, such as Ghirardelli
Sea salt or kosher salt for garnishing
(* to those questioning the weight of the flours – they are indeed correct. Different flours have different weights, so just because you are weighing out the same oz doesn’t mean you are using the same amount, if that makes sense. Trust Shirley on this one.)
- See more at: http://forme-foryou.com/2011/08/the-only-chocolate-chip-cookie-i-will-ever-need-to-know-how-to-make-for-the-rest-of-my-life.html#sthash.VfFXUqT1.dpuf