New England style
Happy New Year friends!
It’s 2014, which is weird. It sounds like it’s out of science fiction. 2014. This might be the year The Others come. Hopefully they’ll be nice. And single.
I’ve got big hopes for 2014. Unfortunately most of them require vast amounts of wealth and free time, of which I have neither, so small hopes will have to do.
I hope GLOW raises ALL THE MONEY this year, and that IGNITE the NITE is a rousing success again, and that I am still sane when that time rolls around. I hope to pass the Series 79 and 63. I hope to have time to read all the books I bought last year that I haven’t gotten to yet. I hope to learn how to make duck confit. I hope to run a half marathon (which involves the hope that I can figure out how to work regular work outs into my schedule.) I hope to go on vacation in April for my birthday. I hope to finish (start) all the improvements I have planned for my apartment. I hope to eat more ramen (the real stuff) and less ramen (the packaged stuff). I hope to spend more time with my bf Shania because we keep talking about it but can never get our acts together. I hope to get to the beach more. I hope to actually write Christmas cards this year. I hope to learn to love gin. I hope to see my littlest sister more. I hope to see my entire family more. I hope to meet more single dudes. I hope to cross some of the reportedly amazing new restaurants in the area off my “to-try” list. I hope to be more patient. I hope to remember to listen well and to be a good friend because I have amazing people in my life that deserve that from me. I hope to do more yoga. I hope to eat more vegetables. I hope to get to NYC for no other reason than just to visit. I hope to have more impromptu dinner parties. I hope to spend more time here.
And this month, I hope you like soup, because there will be a fair amount of it. January seems like a good month for soup. I made chowder this weekend and it was really good. I can’t recall if I’ve ever made clam chowder before, which is kind of crazy since I like clam chowder and I live in the clam chowder center of the universe. But I have now! It’s very rich. There’s plenty of cream in it, but the richness comes mostly from the clam broth. It’s not as thick as many of the pure white stewy style chowders that you get in mass quantities up here. The broth is much thinner. A spoon is not standing upright in a bowl of this. But it is richer, nonetheless. The clams are all added at the end, as to remain really tender and delicate, rather than chewy and overcooked, and it could be easily modified to include more celery, corn or other shellfish.
I am off to my first of three GLOW meetings this week. SO MANY MEETINGS! But I missed you all! And here’s hoping you will be seeing more of me around here. I have three more weeks of studying to do, so you’ll get AT LEAST three more weeks of regular posting. And maybe I’ll have more to say. Writer’s block is a fearsome beast.
Things:
I am studying for the Series 79 right now. It is miserable. You know what I like more than studying? EVERYTHING. You are getting your first post in several months. This is hardly a coincidence.
I bought myself a really fun new toy. I have wanted a good camera forever and I finally treated myself. I love it like I have never loved before. I don’t even know how to use it yet, and my pictures are a million times better.
There are some fun new food and drink places popping up around here these days. I am particularly enamored with Tavern Road. The food is so good and it is a place that I want to be when it’s cold out, or when I have had a bad day, or on New Year’s Eve. My other favorites at the moment, some new and some not so new, are JM Curley’s, Trillium Brewing, Toro (always), Neptune Oyster (of course) and Row 34. Boston is a really fun place to eat and drink these days. And I haven’t even ventured over to Cambridge recently. There are approximately eleventy new places I need to try asap.
What I am listening to: Beyonce. Obviously.
What I am reading: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. And the Knopman Series 79 study guide. And the IRS guidelines for a 501 (c) (3). The Goldfinch I can definitely recommend.
Clam Chowder (serves 6)
2 dozen littlenecks, scrubbed clean
1 dozen quahogs or two dozen cherrystones, scrubbed clean
2 tbl unsalted butter
1/2 lb thick cut or slab bacon or pancetta, cut in half inch pieces
2 stalks celery, diced
2 small onions, diced (about a cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 bay leaves
pinch of dried red pepper flakes (optional)
2 tbls all-purpose flour
2 large yukon gold potatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs) scrubbed and diced in 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
pepper to taste
parsley to serve
Put the quahogs (cherrystones) in a large pot with quart of water over high heat and steam the clams, watching them and removing each clam as they open. Put them aside to cool. Strain the water through a sieve lined with cheese cloth and set it aside, you should have about a quart. Wash the pot thoroughly to get ride of the grit. Remove the meat from the reserved clams and chop the meat into large pieces (about an inch) and set aside.
Heat the butter and bacon or pancetta in the pot over medium heat, until the bacon is brown and crispy and the fat has rendered. Add the celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves and red pepper flakes, if using, and saute until the vegetables are soft, about five minutes.
the early stages…
Add the flour and stir for two minutes or so, until all the vegetables and bacon are well coated. Add the potatoes and continue to stir for several more minutes. Add the reserved steaming water, raise the heat to medium high and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about ten minutes. The potatoes will be starting to soften, but won’t yet be cooked through. Add the heavy cream and the milk, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the littlenecks and cook the chowder until the clams open. Add the reserved clam meat and heat just a couple minutes more until all the littlenecks are open and the chopped clams are cooke through. There is a good chance the chowder will look “broken” at this point. (You will likely see small bubbles of oil on the top of the soup.) If this bothers you, and it did me, there’s an easy fix! Strain the chowder through a strainer over a large bowl. Put the solids back in the pot, and then run the liquids through the blender in batches and then pour back into the pot over the solids. Reheat the soup until piping hot and taste for pepper (and salt, though you will likely not need it. The clams and the bacon are plenty salty!) Serve with a good sprinkle of parsley over the top of each bowl.
Enjoy!!
Bread and Ginger 