Originally Posted in The Daily Pulse 10.18.04
At Pokemon Rocks America, Yeager and I loaded up on a ton of free stuff. One of those items I grabbed was a Disney Magazine. I know, I know. The House of Mouse is evil, but it contained a historical chronology of all 50 Disney films and little details about each, so the folklorist in me needed it. However, there was a nice surprise in that there was a recipe section.
See, I love a good bowl of soup. And Clam Chowder, FRESH clam chowder, is probably my favorite soup. Especially now that it’s freezing cold out here in Minnesota. Soup = your Lord and Savior. And Disney’s recipe was a big bowl of Monterey Clam Chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. It sounded so divine, I thought I would share it with all of you today. This dish is served at the Pacific Wharf Cafe at Disney’s California Adventure.
Ingredients
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups diced and peeled potatoes
1/2 cup each of the following (diced): onion, red pepper, green pepper, celery
2 1/4 cups clam juice
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup chopped clams
1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme (substitute 1/2 tablespoon dried if you can’t find it fresh)
salt to taste
1 pinch white pepper
1/4 teaspoon tobasco
6 sourdough bread loaves (for the Bread bowls)
1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and then add the flour to make a roux.
2. Cook for ten minutes over medium heat, stirring often. Then set aside.
3. In a large pot, heat the oil and saute the peppers, potatoes, onions and celery over medium heat until the potatoes are barely tender. This should take ten minutes.
4. Add the clam juice and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat and simmer for ten minutes or until the potatoes are cooked
6. Add the heavy cream, clams, thyme, salt, pepper, tobasco and roux. Whisk well to blend in the roux.
7. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Season to taste.
9. To maker the bread bowls, cut a circle out of the top of each loaf and make a 1-2 inch deep well by scooping out bread from the center. Then pour in the soup. Done!