All great things really do start with bacon. Bacon…it should be it’s own food group.
And a really great clam chowder has these in it. These are razor clams. A limit of razor clams on our Washington beaches are 15 clams per person per day. I used 2 limits of these precious commodities for our chowder. I don’t want no skimpy-ass clam chowder…I want to taste some freaking CLAMS in mine. That is the main reason I do not order it in restaurants. Most restaurants start their chowder with a chowder base. YUCK. I do not like soups that are started with a base. I’ll make my own base, thank you very much. It’s really not all that hard to do.
Another thing clam chowders ALL have in common are potatoes. We can argue the merits of potatoes from now until hell freezes over, but I like big, red skinned potatoes. But not any red skinned potato. The skins have to be thin.
I start out the bacon in a skillet in a bit of olive oil. I know, I know…and, yes, bacon does render fat, but you’ll need the extra oil in there for what comes up. Half a pound of bacon doesn’t render enough fat to cook what you have to cook, so fry it up in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.
And add in 2 big, honkin’, red-skinned potatoes that are chopped up into bite-sized pieces.
Another thing that clams beg to be cooked with is garlic. I’m not only a baconator, I’m a garlic-aholic. I used 3 big cloves.
Here is where I change things up from the “normal” chowder. I use celery in mine. I like the fresh taste of it. I like the texture of it. I like celery in my chowder. I’ve seen some recipes that use carrots. That’s weird to me…I’m not saying it’s bad, it’s just not something I associate with clam chowder. But, that is the beauty of cooking…you can make it any way you want! Chop up 4 stalks…yes, it’s quite a bit, but I don’t want to be sipping clam water…I want to bite into my chowder!
I like to use shallots in my chowder. I don’t dig chowders that are measly on the vegetables. Clams like vegetables and so do I. I used 3 smallish ones.
This is a razor clam out of the shell. Funny looking suckers, aren’t they? They are just the best tasting things on Earth, in my opinion. Yes, they are my favorite food. Chop ‘em up! And save the juice!
Now, my chowder is not for the faint of heart. If you are watching your diet, this is not the recipe you want to use. I use whole milk, butter, half and half, heavy cream and cream cheese. What’s a chowder without milk? It’s freaking clam flavored water…YUCK! Don’t skimp on the dairy stuff…your taste buds will thank you for it. Your waist may want to kick your ass, but your taste buds will love you.
This is 2 limits of razor clams all chopped up and waiting to take the plunge.
And in they go!
I also use fresh herbs from my container garden: flat-leaf parsley, chives and thyme. Clams and thyme…they should get married and have little chowder babies!
This is truly heaven in a bowl!

Laurrie’s Razor Clam Chowder

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 pound bacon

2 large red-skinned potatoes, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 stalks celery, chopped

3 shallots, chopped

1/4 cup butter

1 cup half & half

2 cups whole milk

1/2 pint heavy cream

1 cup water

1 (8 ounce) block cream cheese

1 packet Swanson’s vegetable Flavor Boost (it’s like broth, but in convenient little packets…mix it with water)

2 limits (30) razor clams, chopped with the juice

2 tablespoons EACH fresh, chopped parsley and chives

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

Salt & pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

In a skillet, render bacon in a olive oil. When most of the fat is out of the bacon, add in chopped potatoes and celery and cook about 10 minutes on medium heat. Add in onions and garlic. Meanwhile, in soup pot, add butter, milk, half & half, heavy cream, cream cheese, water, flavor boost and hot sauce. Heat over low flame. When potatoes are soft and celery loses it’s crunch, add into the milk in the soup pot. Add in fresh herbs and add in salt & pepper, to taste. Add in cayenne, if using. Heat over low heat until chowder barely starts to simmer, stirring occasionally to keep from scorching on the bottom of the pan. It takes about 20 minutes in the soup pot over low heat.

Oh, yeah…I was totally off on a clam tangent! I promised dessert…this is total cheater dessert, but it was really good and got rid of that damn sweet tooth I had all day.

I macerated some strawberries in honey, vanilla and sugar. I put those over the premade shortcakes.
Then topped with some chocolate/vanilla ice cream…then a drizzle of chocolate syrup.
Then more strawberries and some whip cream…I’ll have some sweet dreams tonight!