Manhattan Clam Chowder

 We used to have an amusement park in Rhode Island called Rocky Point and they had a huge hall called the Shore Dinner Hall where they served all you can eat bowls of a delicious, thick red chowder and fresh clam cakes.  Rhode Island clam cakes are these delicious balls of dough with chunks of clam that have been deep fat fried and soak up the chowder brother perfectly if you dunk them. 

Every now and then I really crave good Manhattan clam chowder just like the hall served when I was a kid.  I have made my own a few times now and while I can't say it's exactly the same, I think it's pretty tasty!  I even made homemade clam cakes to go with it this year and myself, Ian, and my husband could not get enough!

Ingredients:

2 strips pre-cooked bacon, diced

1/2 onion; diced

3/4 cup sliced baby carrots

2 ribs celery, diced

1 tsp. minced garlic

1- 14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes with the juice

1- 10.75 ounce can tomato puree

3 cups baby red potatoes cut into bite sized pieces

2- 14 ounce cans clam juice

1- 10 ounce cans baby clams in juice

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper; to taste

3 dashes Worcestershire Sauce

In a large stock pot over medium-high heat I heated up the bacon and onion then added in the carrots, celery, and garlic.  Cooking until fragrant and the onion had softened slightly.

I added in the diced tomatoes, bay leaf, and potatoes.

Then the puree, clams, clam juice, and Worcestershire sauce.  I made sure to give everything a good stir after each addition. Then I cooked the chowder over medium low heat for a couple of hours until the potatoes and carrots were tender. 

We served up bowls of chowder while it was nice and hot. 

There were lots of chunks of clam and potato and vegetable with every bite. 

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