NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER

A MUST!!!!

NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER

Fall is here and it’s time for a great clam chowder! I love my version of it. For best results you can use fresh clams but if you are in a hurry, you can use canned clams. Enjoy this delicious soup with a Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley!

Preparation: 1 hour; cooking time: 1 hour

Serving 8-12

1 ½ lbs. red potatoes, peeled and diced

4 8-ounce bottles clam juice

¾ lbs. Applewood bacon, diced

1 large sweet onion, peeled and chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

4 stalks celery with leaves, peeled and chopped

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

4 ½-ounce cans chopped clams

2 ½-ounce cans minced clams

2 cups half and half

¼ tsp. Tabasco

2 tbsp. Sherry

Salt and pepper

Bring the potatoes and clam juice to boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 10 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

Cook the bacon in a large pot over medium heat until it begins to brown, about 7-8 minutes. Remove the excess fat with a spoon. Add the onion, garlic, celery, leek, bay leaf and thyme. Sauté the vegetables 5-7 minutes, until soften.

Stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes (do not brown the flour).

Gradually whisk the juice from the cans of clams.

Add the potato mixture, half and half and Tabasco. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the clams and sherry. Simmer 30 minutes to blend all the flavors together, stirring frequently.

Bon Appetit!

CRISPY DUCK WITH RED CURRY VEGETABLES

VERY EXOTIC!

CRISPY DUCK WITH RED CURRY VEGETABLES

After going to Thailand, where I enjoyed the food tremendously, I recreated, many times, the famous curry. This one is served with a crispy Peking duck. You will love it! I especially appreciate the sweetness of the pineapple combined with the saltiness of the duck. Enjoy this exotic recipe with a fantastic and spicy Chateauneuf-du-Pape, red wine from the Southern Rhone Valley.

Preparation: 40 min; cooking time: 1 h 45 min.

Serving 4

1 duck (about 5-6 lbs.)

1 cup water

½ cup soy sauce

3 tbsp. honey

1 onion, chopped

1 pineapple, core removed and diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tbsp. red curry paste

1 ½ cans coconut milk (13.5 oz. each)

1 tbsp. fish sauce

10 basil leaves

Salt and pepper

Cooked rice for serving

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Set a rack in a large roasting pan.

Season the duck inside and out with salt and pepper.

Brush some soy sauce on the duck skin (don’t use all the soy sauce at once)

Add the cup of water to the pan.

Set the duck, breast up, on the rack and roast 20 minutes.

Turn the oven temperature down to 350 F.

Turn the duck on one side. Brush some soy sauce all over and roast 30 minutes.

Turn the duck on the other side and roast 30 more minutes.

Take the duck off the oven and brush the honey all over the duck. Roast 20 minutes until crispy.

Meanwhile, prepare the curry.

Warm the oil in a large sauté pan on medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes until golden. Add the red curry paste and cook 2 minutes until fragrant. Pour the coconut milk, slowly, stirring to combine. Add the fish sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the peppers, tomatoes, pineapple and simmer 15 minutes. Season the preparation with salt and pepper. Add the basil leaves and simmer 5 more minutes.

Cook some white rice for serving.

Remove the duck from the oven. Insert a wooden spoon into the cavity of the duck and tilt it, letting the juice run into the pan. Transfer the duck to a cutting board and carve it.

Serve the crispy duck with white rice and cover with the red curry vegetables.

Bon Appetit!

French Recipes and Cuisine