Easy Clam Chowder

G

Granny

New member
When I was in my 30's my sister-in-law invited us for dinner, and served this. I'm not a seafood lover, so it was the first time I tasted clam chowder. This is so good, I fell in love with it on the spot. I asked for the recipe and a couple weeks later bought the ingredients. But when I opened the can of clam chowder, boy was I surprised to see that it was orange. I don't know the names of the different types of clam chowder, all I know is, if you make this recipe, buy the white stuff, not the orange stuff. If you don't know the names of the different clam chowders either, I'm sure some kind soul will come along and enlighten us.

I guess to some people it might seem strange to make clam chowder by using a can of clam chowder. Why not save yourself some work and eat the can of clam chowder instead. But all I know is, a can of clam chowder is good, but this recipe is very good.

Clam Chowder

1 can of each:
cream of potato soup
cream of mushroom soup
cream of celery soup
clam chowder
1 1/2 cups half and half

Heat and serve.
 
I use Ivar's clam chowder recipe that was taken from the Tacoma Tribune and it's very good. Ivar's is a seafood restaurant chain started by Ivar Hoegland way back when, in Seattle. I can make a pretty good chowder from scratch by adding this and that but your recipe sounds pretty good for a quick fix. Using fresh clams is the best, though. Let me go find the Iavar's recipe.

Chowderman, do you have a recipe you are fond of?
 
Here's Ivar's recipe from the Tacoma paper.

2 (6 1/2 ounce) cans of minced clams (I like chopped but fresh is better)
1 cup finely chopped onions
1 cup finely diced celery
2 cups finely diced potatoes
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
4 cups half and half, warmed
1 tsp salt or to taste
dash of pepper (I like a lot)
1/2 tsp sugar

1. In a medium saucepan, drain the juice from the clams; set clams aside. Combine clam juice with the onions, celery, and potatoes. Add enough water to barely cover and simmer, covered, over medium heat until the potatoes are tender, about 20 min.

2. In a large sauce pan, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, two minutes. slowly whisk in the warm half and half. Cook and whisk until smooth and thick, about 5 minutes. ( If you want a thinner chowder, add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of water or clam broth )

3. Add the vegetables with their cooking liquid, clams, salt, pepper, and sugar to the pan. Stir well and adjust the seasonings if necessary.

Adding the the extra veg. water could be an iffy thing and would watch out so as not to thin it down too much. I like thicker chowder but have had the thinner kinds that tasted good too.

I drizzle cream sherry on the top at serving.
 
Here is one I got at Johnny's Seafood. It's pretty much the way I make chowder but I like to add a little instant mashed potatoes to thicken. I have a chef friend that uses cream but that is too rich for my diet. BTW, Johnny's Seafood is a Tacoma institution - they have their own fish market, which is the best around and sell their chowder, hot, right at the market. Johnny's sold their own line of seasonings but that interest was sold off to another individual. Besides their fish market, Johnny's also has a seafood restaurant which is real good - not fine dining but the place is always packed.

Johnny's Clam Chowder

1 pound of chopped clam meat
2 cups diced potatoes
4 tbs. butter
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
4 cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook potatoes, onions, and celery in butter till tender. Add milk and clams. heat and simmer. Do not boil. Johnny's Restaurant put a splash of cream sherry drizzled over the top of the individual bowls.
 
Johnny West said:
Here is one I got at Johnny's Seafood. It's pretty much the way I make chowder but I like to add a little instant mashed potatoes to thicken. I have a chef friend that uses cream but that is too rich for my diet. BTW, Johnny's Seafood is a Tacoma institution - they have their own fish market, which is the best around and sell their chowder, hot, right at the market. Johnny's sold their own line of seasonings but that interest was sold off to another individual. Besides their fish market, Johnny's also has a seafood restaurant which is real good - not fine dining but the place is always packed.

Johnny's Clam Chowder

1 pound of chopped clam meat
2 cups diced potatoes
4 tbs. butter
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
4 cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook potatoes, onions, and celery in butter till tender. Add milk and clams. heat and simmer. Do not boil. Johnny's Restaurant put a splash of cream sherry drizzled over the top of the individual bowls.
Click to expand...

Next week I'll do this using razor clams. I have a package of frozen a friend gave me plus a can from Merino's. Johnny's is now The Fish Peddler.

http://www.fishpeddler-tacoma.com
 
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