Recipe: Stove-Top Clambake

I know this is far from the ideal clambake, which I'd imagine would take place at a beach, with a sand pit, gathering of seaweeds and rocks, and a nice little idyllic relaxing over a bonfire, sipping some cold beers while delicious seafood cooks away from the seawater's steam.

Then again, I can also picture us getting sand into where the sun don't shine, sweating like crazy trying to gather enough ingredients under the hot summer sun, and possibly getting arrested for illegally having open containers of alcohol or digging a pit and setting on fire.

Thus, I'm more than content with my one pot, stove top version; it turned out to be a great party dish this past weekend that is full of flavor and surprisingly easy to make.

One-Pot Clambake

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds of littleneck or Manila clams, scrubbed (making sure dispose of clams that don't close up when tapped & after a submerge in water)
• 4 pounds fingerling potatoes, scrubbed (with larger ones chopped in half)
• 3 pounds sausages (I got pork & chicken hot links from Whole Foods)
• 2 pounds shell-on, deveined raw shrimp (size wise: I got 16-20 shrimps/pound)
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 8 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3/4 cup dry white wine (I used Cottonwood Canyon's Bistro Chardonnay, which is also a great minerally, lemony white that pairs wonderfully with shellfish)
• 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 baguettes, or the equivalent in any crusty bread

Melted Garlic Butter

• 2 sticks butter
• 2 tablespoons garlic-infused olive oil (I used Trader Joe's)

1. In a large pot over high heat, combine fingerling potatoes, onion, garlic, broth, water, Old Bay, salt & thyme. Once it comes to a simmer, bring the heat to a low-medium and continue to let it simmer gently.

2. While potatoes are cooking, sear the sausages in a separate pan. After searing, cut the links with scissors and throw on top of the potatoes in the pot.

3. After the 15-20 minutes of potatoes simmering, add the clams and then the shrimp. Cover the pot and let it cook for an additional 15 minutes (or until the clams opened up and shrimp turned coral & opaque.)

4. While the seafood is cooking, gently melt the garlic oil & butter together in a saucepan and pour into ramekins or small bowls.

5. If there are any clams that didn't open up after cooking, dispose of those. Afterwards, gently toss everything and serve with garlic butter and bread.