Peter Lo Cascios Baked Clams Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Place clams in a 4-quart pot and add 1 cup white wine or water; cover and cook over medium-high heat until clams have opened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool.
• Meanwhile, rinse spinach with cold water; shake to remove excess water but do not pat dry. Place spinach in a medium saucepan; cover and cook over medium heat until spinach is wilted, 8 to 10 minutes. Uncover, stir, and cover again; continue cooking 2 minutes more. Drain and let cool slightly. Squeeze spinach to remove excess moisture; chop and set aside.
• Remove clams from shells, reserving shells and discarding any clams that remain unopened. Finely chop clams; you should have about 1 1/2 cups. Set aside. Line a fine mesh sieve with cheesecloth and set over a medium bowl; strain clam cooking liquid into bowl and set aside 1/2 cup. Reserve any remaining liquid for another use.
• Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic, and celery; cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add remaining 3 tablespoons wine and bring to a simmer; cook until liquid is almost evaporated. Add reserved spinach and clams; stir to combine.
• Cut remaining 8 tablespoons butter into pieces and add to skillet along with parsley, tarragon, chives, breadcrumbs, reserved clam juice, and anise. Add egg yolk and stir to combine; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Fill reserved clam shells with clam mixture; transfer shells to a baking sheet and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until filling is hot, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over moderately high heat. Add the prosciutto and cook, stirring. The prosciutto will give off steam for about 5 minutes while it releases its moisture. When the hiss of steam turns to a sizzle, turn the heat down to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 30 minutes.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bits to several thickness of paper towel to drain. The bits will crisp even more as they cool. Set aside.
• For the clams: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over moderately high heat. Add the sliced garlic and saute until lightly browned. Add the clams and mix to combine. Add the wine and season with black pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until the clams open, about 5 minutes, removing them to a baking sheet with a slotted spoon as they open. Discard any that fail to open. Strain the clam juices through a cheesecloth lined sieve and reserve.
• For the stuffing: Heat the oil in a skillet over moderate heat. Add the chopped garlic and saute until lightly browned. Add the bread crumbs, reserved prosciutto, cheese, parsley and 1/4 of the reserved clam juices. Saute until the crumbs are lightly toasted, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Assembly: Separate each shell into 2 halves, discarding the half that does not contain the clam. Loosen the clam from the shell. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the stuffing into each clam.
• Set the clams on a baking sheet and bake until hot throughout, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until crisp and golden, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a plate. Add the bell pepper, shallots, garlic, and oregano to the same skillet and saute until the shallots are tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it is almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and cool completely. Stir the reserved pancetta and 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese into the vegetable mixture. Season the mixture, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Line a heavy large baking sheet with foil. Arrange the clams in the reserved shells on the baking sheet. Spoon the vegetable mixture atop the clams, dividing equally and mounding slightly. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan. Bake until the clams are just cooked through and the topping is golden, about 10 minutes.
• Arrange the clams on the platter and serve.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place clams in a bucket of cold water with cornmeal and salt. Set aside.
• Place bread crumbs, Parmesan, lemon juice, zest, garlic, pesto, parsley, and olive oil in a bowl. Mix all of the ingredients together with half of the clarified butter. Mix together until moist but not too wet. Use additional butter only if needed.
• Open each clam and place mixture on top. Place in oven and bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

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.

Steps:

• Place steamers in a large bowl. Add enough water to cover. Add cornmeal, and stir to thoroughly combined. Let stand for at least 3 hours and up to 6 hours to allow the clams to purge their sand.
• Remove clams from water, and rinse thoroughly. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• In a large saucepan, combine beer and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add clams, and cook, covered, until the clams have opened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove clams with a slotted spoon, discarding any clams that have not opened or ones with broken shells, to a large bowl. Sprinkle with parsley.
• Strain cooking liquid through a cheesecloth-lined sieve. Serve clams immediately with lemon wedges, hot broth, and melted butter.

Steps:

• Rinse and scrub mussels under cold running water. Using your fingers or a paring knife, remove beards (strings that hang from the mussels' shells), and discard.
• In a large stockpot set over medium heat, combine wine, shallots, garlic, and salt. Simmer 5 minutes. Add mussels.
• Cover, and increase heat to high. Cook until all mussels are open, about 5 minutes. Stir in herbs and butter. Remove from heat. Divide mussels and broth among four bowls. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; salt generously. Add spaghetti, and cook until slightly underdone, about 7 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chile pepper; cook until garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Add clams and white wine, and raise heat to high. Bring to a boil; cover, and cook, shaking occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes, until clams open. Stir in parsley. Transfer to a bowl; set aside.
• Return skillet to medium-high heat. Add reserved pasta water and lemon juice; reduce until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter. Add clam mixture and spaghetti. Cook over medium-low heat until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; garnish with parsley.

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Cook onion until softened but not browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute, stirring, just until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add wine, and bring to a simmer. Add clams, and stir to combine. Cover and steam until clams have opened, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Use a slotted spoon to transfer clams to a rimmed baking sheet to cool, discarding any that do not open. Strain clam broth through a fine sieve, and reserve broth for making stuffing.
• When clams are cool enough to handle, remove all meat, and reserve. Remove half of each clam shell, and discard. Arrange the remaining halves on a rimmed baking sheet. Cut each clam into ½-inch pieces; return pieces to shell. (Clams can be prepared to this point up to 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Dividing evenly, press Herbed Breadcrumb Stuffing into clam shells, smoothing with the back of a spoon. Bake until tops are golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Nestle clams on seaweed, if desired, and serve immediately.