Italian Clams Casino Food

CLAMS CASINO

Steps:

• For the stuffing: Over medium heat, melt butter in a heavy bottom skillet until it starts to foam. Add bacon, shallots, and garlic and cook until bacon is cooked and vegetables are translucent, about 6 minutes. Pour in vermouth and stir, scraping bottom of skillet. Reduce heat to low. Add breadcrumbs, Parmesan and parsley. Cook until mixture comes together, approximately 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• For the clams: Preheat broiler. Place clams on a sheet tray and place them on the middle rack in the oven. Broil until all of the clams have opened, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven, discard top shells and release clam meats from bottom shells. Add clam "liquor" (juices) to the stuffing.
• Spoon about 1 teaspoon stuffing into each clam shell, covering the clam meats. Place clams back in the oven on the middle rack and broil until stuffing is golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Garnish with fresh lemon juice and serve.

CLAMS CASINO

Steps:

• Soak the clams in cold water to purge any sand, about 20 minutes. Then scrub them clean to remove any dirt or barnacles from the outer shells and then drain.
• Add the white wine and cleaned clams to a large saucepan. Cover and heat over medium. After a few minutes, check to see if any of the clams have opened. Once they start opening, remove the opened clams to a large bowl to cool. Cover the pot and wait another minute or so before checking to see if any more clams have opened. Discard any clams that don't open after 5 minutes. Once all the clams have been removed, turn the heat down to low and let the white wine and clam juice mixture reduce until there is about 1/3 cup of liquid left.
• In the meantime, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to render its fat and slightly browns, about 2 minutes. Next, add the shallots and bell pepper. Cook, stirring, until slightly softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Use a small fine-mesh sieve to strain the 1/3 cup of white wine-clam juice mixture into the skillet. Stir to combine and cook until the mixture is slightly reduced and cohesive, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and preheat the oven to broil.
• Mix the panko, olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Carefully remove the top shell from each clam and use a spoon to loosen the meat from the bottom shell. Place the meat back into the bottom shell and then onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Divide the bacon mixture evenly among the clams, using a spoon to pack the mixture tightly into the shell. Top each of the clams with about 1 teaspoon of the panko mixture.
• Transfer the clams to the broiler and cook until the breadcrumbs are just golden brown, 30 seconds to a 1 minute. Keep an eye on them as the browning can happen quite quickly.
• Remove the clams from the oven and use tongs to transfer them to a serving plate. Garnish with chopped chives. Serve immediately.

CLAMS CASINO

Steps:

• Saute the peppers, shallots and garlic in a medium saute pan briefly in 2 tablespoons of the butter to soften slightly (1 minute maximum). Season this mixture with salt, cayenne and fresh pepper and remove to a plate to cool off. Blend the butter, the cooled off vegetables, parsley and lemon juice in a bowl. Dab a generous amount of this butter mix on each clam, sprinkle with fresh bread crumbs and top with a small piece of bacon. Run under the broiler to heat the clams and brown the bacon. You could also bake the clams in a 425 degree oven for 5 minutes to obtain the same result.

CLAMS CASINO MAZEMEN

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, add the bacon and cook over medium-high heat until the bacon begins to brown, a couple of minutes. Add the garlic, shallots and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots have softened, about 5 minutes.
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer half of the bacon mixture to a medium bowl. Add the breadcrumbs and Parmesan to this same bowl. Stir to combine and set aside to use as topping later.
• Add the stock and wine to the saute pan with the remaining bacon mixture to deglaze, scraping up any cooked bits stuck to the bottom. Add the clams, then cover and cook until the clams begin to open, about 10 minutes. Push the clams to one side and add the ramen noodles, then cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3 minutes.
• Turn the broiler on.
• Pour the saucepan components into a 14-inch cast-iron pan and sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the top. Broil until the breadcrumbs are golden brown, about 5 minutes. Serve sprinkled with basil and red pepper flakes, if desired.

CLAMS CASINO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Shuck the clams, leaving each clam in the half-shell and reserving the juices. Strain the juices through a cheesecloth into a bowl.
• Place the clams on a rimmed baking sheet in one even layer. Top each clam with a pepper square, then with a bacon or pancetta square, and with a dab of butter, using all 3 tablespoons evenly. Sprinkle the chopped parsley on top. Pour the reserved shucking juices into a measuring cup, and add enough white wine to make 2 cups combined liquid. Pour the liquid into the bottom of the baking sheet.
• Bake the clams, uncovered, until the bacon or pancetta is crispy and the clams are cooked all the way through, about 25 minutes. Serve on a platter, drizzled with baking juices.