Monday, November 30, 2009

Clam Chowder in a Bread Bowl





How was everyone's Thanksgiving? We had a wonderful time with friends this year, lots of food, and I'm still full! Now it's Monday and back to the grind, but luckily not for too long.

A few weeks ago Sara, Alissa and I got together again for another bloggy friend lunch. It's such a great way to explore new recipes and try new things, and of course, the company's not bad either! For our appetizer, Sara made these wonderful lettuce wraps that taste very similar to those of PF Chang's, delicious, keep your eye out for those!

And for the main course I made clam chowder. I made clam chowder for two reasons, one, I love it, and don't eat it often since it's not exactly diet friendly. Two, my husband does not like it, so I needed to take advantage of the opportunity to make it without hearing an hour's worth of belly-achin, hee hee! The recipe I found on food network is absolutely fool proof and SOO delicious. It only takes about a half hour to make too. I served the chowder in bread bowls. If you're going to serve soup in bread bowls, I strongly suggest that you serve a very thick chowder or chili, otherwise you'll probably have a very messy problem on your hands. The bread bowls were also very quick and easy to make. The only problem I had was getting the bottoms to brown completely, and eventually I just flipped them over to get the bottoms crispy and stable. When hollowing out the bowl, just take care not to take out too much center, otherwise it won't be able to hold up to the soup. But oh my gosh, it's so good. I loved scraping the bowl as I ate the soup to get a bit of both in every bite, it's the most filling thing you'll ever eat. Give this a try, you'll be surprised how easy it really is to make!

Clam Chowder
By Union Oyster House

Ingredients (I halved this for three people and still had a LOT leftover)

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
4 pounds fresh or frozen clams, shelled and diced (I used canned clams, it was delish)
1/4 pound salt pork, diced (I used bacon...oh yeah)
2 small onions, diced
1 cup butter
1 cup flour
10 cups clam juice
2 pints half-and-half
Salt and pepper
Dash hot pepper sauce
Dash Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Bring the potatoes and the clam juice to the boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the clams and any of their liquid. Cook about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Add the pork to a saute pan and cook over low heat until rendered. Add the onions and cook until transparent. Add the butter and allow it to melt. Add the flour and cook until slightly colored. Add a bit more flour if necessary if the mixture is too soft. Bring the clams, juice and potatoes back to the boil. Gradually stir in the cooked roux. Bring to a rolling boil to thicken. Stir continuously while cooking. Beat the half and half and add to the soup. It may not be necessary to use all the half-and-half; the soup should be thick. Adjust the seasoning and add a dash of hot pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce before serving

Bread Bowl
Found in Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees to 115
degrees)
1 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
1/2 cup shortening 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons salt
6 cups all-purpose flour
Cornmeal

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, shortening, sugar, eggs, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

2. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into eight pieces; shape each into a ball. Grease two baking sheets and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place four balls 3 in. apart on each prepared pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

3. For bread bowls, cut a thin slice off the top of bread. Hollow out bottom half, leaving a 1/4-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use). Fill with chili, chowder or stew.

For dessert Alissa made her family's favorite chocolate meringue pie and chess pie. Be on the lookout for those, they were delicious, and the perfect way to finish off our lunch>

31 comments:

Alissa said...

So much fun! I love our lunches! I had 2 servings of that chowder at lunch and then had it again for dinner...do I like it?! Maybe...A LOT!!!!!! Well done Teresa, well done indeed!

Palidor said...

What a lovely lunch! I can't believe your hubs doesn't like clam chowder! Who could not love something so creamy and delicious?

Maria said...

I love the bread bowls. I need to try making them!

The Blonde Duck said...

I've always wanted to try clam chowder...and a bread bowl would make it ever so delicious...

Erica said...

You made the bread bowl? How freaking awesome is that! What a lovely lunch you two had :)

Christo Gonzales said...

I love this whole idea!

Jennifer said...

How fun, you even made your own bread bowls, impressive! I plan on making chowder for the first time maybe next week! Will try this recipe!

Heather S-G said...

I want...no, I NEED this bread bowl and clam chowder!!! I am going to have a serious craving until I get some, too. Looks freakin' amazing :D

Leslie said...

I love love love clam chowder! And I love you made your own bread bowl!

Shelby said...

Yummy Theresa! It all sounds great!

Mini Baker said...

YUMMM! your clam chowder looks even better than San Francisco Clam Chowder!
-Mini Baker :)

Anonymous said...

What a fabulous lunch! I love anything served in a bread bowl and clam chowder is definitely up there!

Julie said...

HEY we have the same background...hehe :) My hubby would love the clam chowder!

Lara said...

That pretty much encapsulates the perfect meal for me--a hot creamy soup with some good old fashioned bread to round it out. Yum!

Pam said...

Could lunch get any better than this? Total comfort food.

theUngourmet said...

I've always wanted to make a bread bowl for soup.

I love chowder too but I've never made it myself. I wonder why???

Thanks for the recipe. It looks warm and yummy!

Anonymous said...

Oh dear, how did you know I've been craving rich soup in a bread bowl? This looks perfect!! I'll take your hubby's portion!

Jenn said...

I wish I had some of this right now. I love clam chowder, but can never get myself to make it. Maybe it's because of the process to make it. I'll eventually kick myself to attempt it.

Donna-FFW said...

Oh this looks absolutely spectacular. Your own bread bowl, homemade chowder, absolutely perfect teresa!

Kristin said...

Yum! And you made the bread bowls? Wow. That's something I need to try now. :)

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

This looks so rich and cramy!

Anonymous said...

What a fun time! Wish I loved clam chowder soup, it looks delicious!

But I'll definitely be putting the bread bowls into rotation! :D

Katy ~ said...

This is totally amazing. Clam chowder in a bread bowl. I don't know of too many dishes that are more awe inspiring to make a more beautiful presentation. You are just amazing to put this together. I am speechless with envy that you did this!

MaryBeth said...

My husband loves good clam chowder and I bet he would be all over this. I love just having any kind of soup in a bread bowl, yours look wonderful.

Joanne said...

So I don't LOVE clam chowder...but I LOVE the bread bowl at the end. So soggy and delicious. Yours looks amazing, so impressed that you made it yourself!

And aren't blogger meet-ups the best?

Debbie said...

Please pass me some of that clam chowder. It looks so delicious!

Megan said...

I love this post for several reasons.
1. I love clam chowder and I'm always looking for a new good recipe.
2. I bought some clam juice to make a clam chowder recipe I found but lost, and now I have clam juice and no recipe. (till now!)
3. I joined a new bread baking group and I want to make my own clam chowder bread bowls.
4. The family LOVES clam chowder in bread bowls!
Happy Holidays. Send soup! ;)

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Teresa! I've so been wanting to make clam chowder. Thanks for sharing your recipe and your tweaks.
~ingrid

jor said...

Those bread bowls look so yummy and if you promise they were easy I'm definitely going to try them soon! I hate clam chowder too...it is crazy how similar mine and Glenn's food preferences are :)

Barbara Bakes said...

I need to make some bread bowls! My kids will often turn a roll into a bread bowl! Glad to hear they're easy and delicious!

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

so much fun. Great presentation, and I love the idea of blogger get togethers