Throwback Thursday you say? I say that's a good time for a recipe! Especially if it's another excellent old-school recipe, this time for New England Clam Chowder. (Pretty sure, by the way, I'm going to throw recipes into the back of the book, so it's a good gift for anybody who likes to cook, huh?)
In "Women Like Us", Susan's introduction to the culinary world comes when she lands a job in an old Clam shack on Martha's Vineyard, which is where she meets Henry's father Andrew, who's the son of Edith Vale. She's starts as a waitress but when the old cook drops dead, she's put in charge of the small kitchen, where one of the most important jobs is making the Clam Chowder. This recipe, which I've always loved, is another one adapted from Julia Child's "The Way To Cook". Again, it's a Julia recipe that harkens back to her New England roots and is not in any way French. Anyway, here ya go:
New England Clam Chowder
(Recipe adapted from Julia Child's "The Way To Cook")
1 1/2 pounds littleneck clams
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup good smoked bacon, cut into thin slices
1 tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cups onions, sliced
1 Bay leaf
1/2 cup crushed oyster crackers
2 cups liquid (clam steaming juices and some water)
2 small or 1 large russet potato, diced (about 2 cups)
salt and fresh ground pepper
1 cup whole milk
More Oyster crackers for serving
Chopped chives or parsley for serving
1) Wash the clams well and place in a large kettle with a tight fitting lid. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cover the kettle, and let clams steam a couple of minutes, just until most of them start to open. Remove open clams and steam the rest 2 minutes longer, then discard any unopened clams. Remove the meats to a bowl. Pour the liquid through a sieve lined with paper towel into a 2 cup liquid measure. Add water to make two cups if you need. Set aside.
2) In a large soup pot, melt butter and toss in sliced bacon. Cook bacon over medium heat until it just starts to crisp, and then toss in onions. Add bay leaf. Cover, lower heat and cook slowly about 10 minutes, until onions are soft and translucent. Toss in crushed oyster crackers. Mix in well, then add in the 2 cups clam steaming liquid. Add potatoes. Liquid should just cover potatoes, so add a little water if you need. Bring to the boil and then simmer, loosely covered, for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Blend in milk, bring to simmer again and taste for seasoning.
3) Roughly chop the clams. Fold them into the chowder and remove from heat. Sprinkle with chopped chives or parsley and serve with more oyster crackers on the side.
Serves 3-4
Here's the final product!
Dear readers,
Something very big is coming for supporters of Blood Dawn! In particular, everyone who became a Dragon or a God-King -- all 35 of you! -- I'm planning something fun for the last push to get 399 pre-orders before April 11th.
Stay tuned. If you're dying of curiosity, feel free to email me and I'll give you a hint:
Hello everyone!
We've had an amazing few days here, and the number of sales remaining has been drastically reduced! You guys are awesome, and I thank you greatly for your support.
Only 30 sales remain until Storm of Fury meets its goal. We're so close now I can taste victory! Let's push forward this week and knock out that small number and get SoF published!
Thanks again,
Andrew
Hello Friends
Because my ADHD doesn’t allow me to stay still and also because I’m trying to give back by sharing my experiences, I decided to start a series of infographics on the subject of crowdfunding.
I know you are wondering: why infographics? Well, because they are fun and colorful (like yours truly).
The infographics are based on my research and experience so take them as suggestions. I’m sure there are many other paths to successful crowdfunding.
Also, they are catered specifically to book crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is a complex science and, depending on what you are "selling", what works and what doesn’t is different.
I will be adding more infographics (I have repeated this word like 10 times so far!) in the coming days.
Have a great day!
Hi everyone!
Normally, I wouldn't be so quick to churn out another update, but this is something exciting worth mentioning.
JF Dubeau and Paul Inman, who both host the Inkshares-centric podcast called WriteBrain, dropped some generous words about my novel. Thanks, guys!
If you click here, you can listen to the podcast. They discuss it around the 23-minute mark, but the whole podcast is worth listening to.
JF has a novel being published through Inkshares that will be on shelves (both virtual and physical) on March 1st called The Life Engineered. He is also currently funding another novel called A God in the Shed. I have loved everything I've read in both of these books, so they're worth checking out.
Paul also has a novel publishing through Inkshares called Ageless that will hit shelves on May 3rd. Just like JF, he's in the middle of another campaign to fund a novel called Motor City Chronicles. He's a very talented sci-fi/fantasy writer, so if you enjoy that genre, both are a great read.
In the podcast, they mention another novel called Disintegration by Steve Soldwedel. This guy is going the distance for 750, and he wrote a brilliant space fantasy novel in the vein of the Alien movies. It would be great to see him get funded.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- there is a lot of talent on Inkshares, so if you want to expand your horizons beyond The Inhabitants (after you've already pre-ordered it, of course), it's worth exploring what's out there.
Thanks for reading.
Have a great night, and happy dreaming!