Sunday, November 29, 2009

Sweetie's Clams Casino


My youngest sister Leigh is such a sweetie that that's what we call her . . . Sweetie. She made these Clams Casino for Thanksgiving.


In Sweetie's words:
* my words

Way back when..... when Didi and Glenn (Didi's husband) worked at John Dominis restaurant....... when I was still in college ..... I was introduced to the restaurant's hot selection appetizer plate. On this plate was Clam's Casino..... among several other delectable delights. It has remained one of my favorite appetizers. I never managed to obtain their recipe but this is my adaptation of something from my past.

A broiler sheet amount of fresh clams in the shell, rinsed - we had dollar-coin sized clams from Tamashiro market, Michael (Sweetie's husband) said we had 100, I didn't think so

2 red bell peppers, diced into 1/4 in cubes
1 small round onion, diced into 1/4 in cubes
1/2 package of bacon strips, or 3-6 strips, sliced into 1/4 in - amount depends on your preference - I like a lot of bacon


Michael's version: the ratio is: 3 parts bell pepper, 2 parts onion, 1 part bacon..... he insists I include this

2 Tbsp butter or 1 Tbsp butter and any extra clam juice that you saved from a can of clams that you used to make clam dip....
-place clams into a pot with 1 inch H20 with whatever aeromatic seasoning you want: we used celery salt and Old Bay seasoning....however much 'fusion' you desire (you can tell that's Michael's term and measurements) and heat/steam until clam shells open up, remove from heat as soon as clam shells open - otherwise clams get rubbery and chewy
-let cool
-while that's cooking.... saute bacon, onions and bell peppers in butter/clam juice until onions translucent and bacon fat is reduced
-let cool
-split clam shells in half and save the side that has the clam meat in it (tee hee)
--rinse off any sand or shell chips
-use spoon edge to pry clam meat off of shell and let meat remain in shell half
-line broiler pan with cleaned clam shells filled with clam meat
-add spoonful of bacon, onion, pepper mixture onto clam/clam shell
-broil for several minutes...low if you have time..... high if you can't wait
-keep your eye on it 'cause it doesn't take long for the bacon,onion,pepper mixture to brown since everything is already cooked
-when bacon is crisp......or before anything burns..... remove from broiler
-cool just a little bit... 'cause it's best when hot.....grab shell and slurp contents off of shell.....
Great when served with baguette slices. (almost as good as my cousin Dennis' baked tako treat)


13 comments:

Betty Townsend said...

Very nice presentation!! Ono looking too!!

jalna said...

Betty, when she brought them to my house, she had them all on a single layer on a baking pan ready to be popped under the broiler! They were so good, it was hard to stop eating 'um.

Les said...

so when are you gonna post someting that I can actually eat??? But maybe it's a good thing...I don't need the extra calories, got enough already!

jalna said...

Ho man, really you poor ting.

Randism said...

terrific picture; looks delicious ;-) for me, eating shrimp/shell fish is not a problem; getting off my lazy butt IS!

jalna said...

Rand, I suffer from the same problem.

K and S said...

yum!

jalna said...

Kat, it was!

Erick said...

Another ono looking recipe I need to try. This is worse than my post processing backlog. I Clams Casino shot!

Dd said...

John Dominis.....what memories, sadly Andy Anderson sold the restaurant, looks like they will close in a few months. Rumor has it the restaurant will be torn down ;+{ such a shame

jalna said...

Thanks Erick.

Didi, Wha. . . .?? I haven't been there in ages, but they're closing?

Unknown said...

That looks beautiful! And yummy! I gotta try...OMG, their gonna CLOSE?! Thats too bad..they were there forever! Humm, maybe NOW it'll be easier to get the recipes?

jalna said...

CQ, so pretty yeah. I can't believe they're closing too!