On The Montauk  Docks                                                  

By Stephanie Rose

www.foodstylings.com

646.246.6072

Please enjoy this short piece about Montauk, Long Island and eating clams on the docks.  Then make some baked clams yourself by following my simple recipe.  They are easy & so delicious!

Keep your eyes open for more recipes to come.

 

Cheers,

 

Stephanie Rose

 

Summers are never long and endless, as I wished they were.  Today, we stuff as much as we can into three all-too-short months; beach, pool, Manhattan, crabs, fish, Montauk, Long Island, but always beginning and ending in Oxford, Maryland- our beautiful Mecca on the Eastern Shore, a retreat for family, where we eat, sail and crab.

 

Even as the summer comes to a close, I still havent had enough; I must eat more soft shell crabs, more lobster, more baked clams, more tuna.more  everything.  My cravings are particularly extreme at this moment due to the crash diet I am on, thanks to the blessed removal of my plagued tonsils.  So, when I can eat again, this is what I will eat, and as usual, I will probably have to make it myself.

So why Baked Clams ? - so pedestrian, you might say.  Well, all food has a personal history.  Baked clams date back to my college days, summering in Montauk with my dearest friend.  She introduced me to my first clam, my first game of pool, my first many things.  The best clam I ever had was the first clam -a littleneck- on the dock at what used to be known as Tumas in Montauk (it is now Lennys) with a Budweiser_tm in one hand, and a lemon in the other.  This was our punctual 4:00 pm ritual, watching the fishing boats come in with fluke, tuna and shark.  There is nothing better: simple, raw, and very cold; shweeeeet!

 

Next door to Tumas is another Montauk landmark:  Salivars. This is a unique "dive" and restaurant. It is still there, and still scary, with big bar maids (a polite understatement) and a jaw of one the largest known Great White Sharks, teeth intact, staring down at you. Feels like home to me. Its where the "real" fisherman go before and after fishing. Its where I saw how to make baked clams.

Dare I say I worked there briefly one summer?  Who else would hire a short chubby spoiled pirate?  Yes, I was a pirate, or at least looked like one with my black eye-patch, fierce tan and testy attitude (thanks to an eye problem and steroids) so it really was the perfect place for me.   I didnt have to be nice, because nobody else was. 

The very large woman in the kitchen scared me half to death.  I guess I looked pretty scary too.  It took a while but she finally warmed up to me when I became interested in her baked clams; they were so yummy especially after a few beers.  She taught me the basics, and I took them further.  Of course they were better next door at Tumas, but they wouldnt hire me, and they served them with a sacred special pepper sauce -Panola _tm  .  Panola Pepper Sauce -good old Louisiana.  Every year my dad combs the variety stores in New Orleans to find this special sauce just for me.  It is my birthday and Christmas gift every year, along with my community roast coffee. Now, thank god, I can order it by the case on line. 

 

Montauk Baked Clams

 

One dozen large cherrystone clams

2 celery stalks- diced

1 medium onion- diced

1 small green pepper- diced

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 clove garlic- minced

1 cup white wine

1/2 cup clam broth

2 cups fresh bread crumbs, not too fine

2Tbs fresh basil- chopped

2 tsp fresh thyme

2 tsp oregano

Dash of red pepper

2 Tbs Butter

Fresh lemon squeeze

 

Steam clams in lightly salted boiling water until open; remove from water, let cool and remove flesh, dice and put aside.

Sauté in butter until soft: onions, celery, pepper and garlic; add herbs, seasoning, and wine and clam broth, and reduce by half.

Then add the breadcrumbs.

Diced clams go in at the end.

Taste- if it seems too dry, add more wine or broth, and finish the mix with more butter; about 1 Tb.

I hope you saved your clamshells, because you pack the mixture into each half-shell. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown.
You should get about 20 stuffed and beautiful baked clams.

Serve with lemon & Panola _tm Pepper Sauce.

Dont forget the bottle of Bud _tm .

 

© Stephanie Rose 2006