It's Chowda' Time!

After the Bake, Comes The Chowda'

Another part of the annual 4th of July Lobster Bake tradition, is the Apre Bake tradition of making the chowder. We buy extra clams and lobsters to go on the bake, just so we have enough for this pot of goodness.

I am not a strict recipe person, hence the reason I am not your best baker.  However, this is a good basic guideline for a big stockpot of chowda'.  You can adjust as you see fit.

Obviously, most people don't have lobster bakes everyday, so just boil up your lobsters and clams and use the water you boiled them in as your starter broth. 

Now, the chefs I know, including my brother in law Chef Niall Bates and my neighbor's son Chef Nick Gough, would be using heavy cream. Go for it. You can too. I just find that this chowder is rich enough with half and half (and less expensive). That said, just watch that you don't 'boil' this chowder because having a lower fat content could cause problems if boiled. Then again, you really shouldn't be boiling this chowder anyway.

And now for the payoff!

This is a tradition worth keeping.  I will say this, the lobster bake imparts the most wonderful flavor of the sea and a unique smokiness from the seaweed and fire. You just can't replicate it. That's not the say that chowder made from boiled lobster and clams is bad......far from it.  This stuff freezes great and fills our freezer.

I'm feeling a little bit better today. At least I'm not on the couch on an 85 degree day under an afghan because I'm freezing. What the heck? Still not 100% but at least I'm off the couch for now.  At least I got to enjoy watching 'Country Strong' which was good, but really kind of heartbreakingly sad. After that I watched South Pacific which always makes me happy.

One last thing, a Happy Birthday shoutout to my sister Gloria (on the left with my nieces Cait and Nicole).

Celebrate all the good stuff in life today!


Enjoy the day (and the chowder),