Birthday Dinner: Clams in Tomato Broth and Caesar Salad with Homemade Dressing

Well, here I am, making a conscious effort to post more often. (Really, I have just been scrubbing down this salvaged table and I am trying to find something else "productive" to get me away from that mess.) So Collin had a birthday, one of those pesky mid-week birthdays, that makes it kind of tricky to celebrate. So in order to lighten the blow of him having to work on the 30th anniversary of the day of his birth, I made him dinner. I have been craving clams for a while, and since I was cooking, that's what we went with.

Clams in Tomato Broth
2 lbs of Little Neck Clams
2 lbs of Italian plum tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped ( I cheated and used canned)
1 Tbsp Anchovies packed in salt, chopped
2 Tbsp Garlic chopped
2 Tbsp parsley chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp cream
2 Tbsp Olive Oil


1. Soak the clams in cold water for 15 minutes to help remove sand
2. Place clams in a skillet over medium high heat and cook for 5 minutes. Discard any clams that do not open. Remove clams from skillet and reserve broth. (It's surprising how much liquid comes out of these clams)
3. Heat Olive oil, parsley, garlic, and anchovies in skillet over medium heat, stirring continuously for 5-7 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes, clams and broth and continue cooking for another 10 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and stir in cream.
6. Serve with slices of crusty bread (or linguine, like we did)

Caesar Dressing
1 Anchovy Fillet Chopped
2 Eggs
4 Tbsp Olive Oil
3/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1 Clove Garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1. Cut garlic in half, rub around the inside of salad bowl and discard.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Poke a small hole in the broad end of each egg. Drop into boiling water and let cook for 60-90 seconds. Remove immediately.
3. Crack eggs into garlic rubbed salad bowl,making sure to scrape out the whites on the inside of the shells. Beat eggs, slowly add in olive oil, anchovy, and lemon juice. Stir in Parmesan cheese salt and pepper to taste. I like lots of cracked pepper in the dressing.
4. Toss with lettuce and croutons if you like. Sprinkle more cheese over salad and serve immediately.

Personally, I think that Caesar dressing is to greasy, so I cut out quite a bit of the olive oil, just adding enough so that the dressing began to thicken up a bit and it was perfect.

The clams and dressing both turned out perfectly. It was one of the best meals that we have had in a long time and it got us super excited about cooking again. It's nice to have a decent selection of seafood at our finger tips here. It keeps that cooking morale high.