Stovetop Clambake

Tonight we pretended we were at the shore and had a clambake.  We did have a discussion about last night’s dinner.  Jim thought it was wonderful and who cares about how the fennel turned out was his attitude.  Remember fennel is a vegetable and Jim does not care if vegetables are included.  This recipe is in Fine Cooking, Aug/Sept.  I had a little trouble finding some of the ingredients.  In order to get 12 clams, I would have had to buy 5# at Costco.  I used canned whole clams, ick!  But all and all, the meal was a success. 

Ingredients: 

1# baby red potatoes, 1-2” in diameter, halved it large

1/3 C ketchup

2 T prepared white horseradish

½ t Pickapeppa sauce (Could not find, but they said it was in the hot sauce section so I used my sriracha sauce.)

1 ½ t Worcestershire sauce

1 t fresh lime juice

12 large littleneck clams, scrubbed

1# mussels, scrubbed and debearded

12 extra-jumbo shell-on shrimp, deveined.  (I used frozen that had the tail on, used ¾#)

4 medium ears fresh corn, husked and halved crosswise (I had 3 remaining ears of the wonderful IN corn my brother sent home with us.  I had to cut them in half to fit in the pot.  They were a highlight.  Remember the leftover maple syrup butter recipe from a few nights ago.  We used it up tonight on the corn.)

Directions:

1.      Pour 2” of water into an 8-10 qt. tall, narrow pot and bring to a boil over high heat. 

2.      Add potatoes, cover, and cook until barely tender, 10-15 min.

3.      Meanwhile in a small bowl, whisk together the ketchup, horseradish, Pickapeppa sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and lime juice.

4.      Add the clams, mussels, shrimp, and corn to the pot, in that order.  Cover and steam until the clams and mussels have opened and the shrimp are pink and firm, 5-8 minutes. 

5.      With tongs and a large slotted spoon, transfer the corn, seafood, and potatoes to a large bowl. 

6.      Serve with the cocktail sauce on the side. 

I really like this version of a cocktail sauce.  I have to admit that I juiced a whole lime and added the whole thing.  Jim thought this was a great meal for Labor Day weekend.  We can’t be at the shore, so we brought it to us.