Baked Clams

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            FOOD FUNNY
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Prolific contributor Rosemary Zwick in Cape Town, South Africa says
she saw this in her evening newspaper:

Overheard: She's not overweight, just chocolate enriched.

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            TODAY'S RECIPE
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My family's first visit to Italy was in the winter of 1964 and, as an
11-year-old American boy, I was fairly convinced that Italians ate
little more that spaghetti and meatballs, perhaps with an occasional
slice of pizza or piece of lasagna thrown in for variety. This was
fine with me since I was well acquainted with Italian cooking, and
spaghetti and meatballs was my favorite Italian dish of all. Imagine
our surprise to discover that spaghetti and meatballs wasn't to be
found on a menu anywhere in Rome.

I have since learned that spaghetti and meatballs is really an
American dish, invented on these shores by Italian immigrants as a
reaction to a new lifestyle in a new land and inspired as much by the
bounty of their new home as by the memories of the home they left
behind. This week I'll enjoy sharing some uniquely American Italian
recipes with you. Here is the menu:

Monday's Starter
Baked Clams

Tuesday's Soup or Salad
Minestrone

Wednesday's Side Dish
Garlic Bread

Thursday's Entree
Spaghetti and Meatballs

Friday's Dessert
Cranberry and Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Baked clams have become a standard in the Italian-American restaurant
repertoire. So standard, in fact, that they have become something of
a cliche and are usually represented by frozen, mass-produced little
clods of garlic-flavored bread crumbs and rubber bands. Here is how
the dish is properly done:

Baked Clams

2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup (250 ml) bread crumbs (preferably homemade)
1/4 cup (60 ml) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup (60 ml) finely chopped parsley
3 Tbs (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
36 small clams such as cherrystones, shucked, 36 half
shells reserved
2 Tbs (30 ml) lemon juice
4-6 Tbs (60-90 ml) butter, melted
Lemon wedges for garnish

Combine the garlic, bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, olive oil, salt,
and pepper in a small bowl and stir to combine. Coarsely chop the
clams and combine with the lemon juice in a separate bowl. Place the
clam shells on a baking sheet, using a thin bed of rock salt to
stabilize them if desired, and divide the chopped clams between them.
Top with the bread crumb mixture and drizzle with the butter. Cook
under a preheated broiler until the topping is golden brown and the
clams are bubbling, about 2 minutes. Garnish with lemon wedges.
Serves 4 to 6.
Received on Mon Aug 2 03:21:55 2004