Just like gardeners carefully combing the pebbles in Japanese rock gardens, the slow, meditative raking in the shallow bottoms East Hampton's bays creates a satisfying Zen-like serenity. And you get the bonus of the tastiest clams imaginable for recipes like this Bonacker Chowder.
As much as I enjoy a morning's labor collecting hard shell clams (or quahogs, as my Rhode Island-born and pop taught us), what's even more delightful is the occasional, unpredictable delivery of freshly dug beauties from our friend and neighbor Nancy.
Last weekend was a double whammy — Nancy popped by in the evening with her haul, a pretty impressive basketful, see pic below, inviting us to as many as we'd like. Nancy clams often for exercise, (a true Bonacker through and through) and then makes the rounds to friends and folks whose clam-digging days are behind them, sharing her bounty.
The following morning I headed out to Nappeague Harbor. In about an hour I had another two dozen including a couple of monsters that weighed in at over a pound each!
When we asked Nancy if she was a New England or Manhattan chowder type of girl, she demurred and said she makes her own "Bonacker Chowder." I poked around and didn't come up with any recipes, guessing that everyone has their own closely-guarded secrets. Taking matters into my own hands, I rounded up some local sweet corn, new potatoes and freshly caught striped bass to round out the chowder.
Freshly-dug quahogs release a prodigious amount of juice. Il va sans dire it's far superior to the supermarket bottles often used to bolster many a chowder recipe. No need for that here. Steam them just until they pop open and remove immediately so they don't overcook and toughen up. My four dozen produced a very generous quart of the true essence of the sea.
Say what you want about New England Clam Chowder (the general consensus is that this is the most popular form) — I promise if you try this Bonacker version with fresh fresh quahogs you'll never look back.
Click here to print the recipe for Bonacker Chowder.
Before enrolling their buy professional viagra teen in a driving school, be sure that they have a valid license. Reinventing itself once more and building on the strengths of its order uk viagra dosage are available in 2.5 mg, 5 mg, 10 mg, and 20 mg of vardenafil, respectively. Its chief cheap cialis go to these guys constituents are Khakhastil, Kesar, Long, Jaiphal, Akarkara, Sarpagandha, Gold Patra, Samuder Shosh and Dalchini. Unfortunately, the results were not cheap viagra soft so interesting.
Here's the monster of the lot, the 1.25 pounder. You see why you want to chop these before adding to the chowder –the prehistoric proportions would put off even the hardiest of appetites. Not to mention the how to get it all down in one bite.
Here's a look at Nancy's largess. 