This weekend the weather changed just a bit and we had our first frost... a clear sign that soup needed to be made. Around here, soup is synonymous with chowder, pronounced "chowdah" if you really want to get it right. We journeyed off to our local Whole Foods because we absolutely love the fish they stock and were shocked to find the check-out lady prefers Manhattan Clam Chowder... "I'm from New Jersey" she explained, ahhh, we understood perfectly.
We used (of course we did) a recipe from Cook's Illustrated, which called for 7 lbs of clams, a bit of cream, flour, parsley and thyme. This wasn't one of those really involved recipes, so it cooked up really quickly, a lovely recipe indeed. The broth was absolutely amazing and though Rob will probably add another tablespoon of flour to make it thicker next time we make this (soon, I tell you)... the chowder was so authentically New England and oh, so delicious. There are reasons these photos are so close, I was tempted to face plant into this gorgeous bowl, the smells were fantastic. A little sourdough bread, some oyster crackers and dinner was a welcome sight for this bronchitis sufferer (such is the season). Anyway, feast your eyes if you're not in the vicinity to feast with us... Happy Monday.
