Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Just finished some west coast touring, Oregon & BC, and fell in love with fresh clam chowder all over again.
Obviously, there are many recipes, BUT do you have a favorite

Wino,

I could key in Jay Harlow's recipe, but I've never actually made it.

Due to the overwhelming response here, I copied 6 from NYT archives - we'll see

I've never had a good bowl of chowder outside of the coast (and not many on the coast...), I'd love to hear your results if you come up with one.

I buy the Campbell's kettle cooked in cans. Hubby and boys seem to like it.

I've made CI's recipe, but clams cost too many clams for me to have made it in years. Geekboy loved it.

I like my mother's but it is Manhattan so I am usually in the minority.
Mary

This is my favorite - classic Boston-style:

New England Clam Chowder
You can replace the heavy cream with light cream or even half-and-half, but it won’t taste quite as rich.

Ingredients
• 3 ounces bacon, diced into small pieces (1/4 - 1/2 inch)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, diced into small pieces (1/4 - 1/2-inch)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 stalk celery, diced into small pieces (1/4 - 1/2 inch)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped thyme
• 1 small bay leaf
• 3 1/2 - 4 cups clam juice or fish stock
• 1 pound all-purpose potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 pound shucked clams, diced into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Freshly ground pepper and salt

Instructions
1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat; cook the bacon bits until crispy and brown. Add the butter, onion, garlic, celery, thyme, and bay leaf and sauté, occasionally stirring with a large wooden spoon, until the onions are softened (about 10 minutes).
2. Add the potatoes and enough stock to barely cover the potatoes. Cover the potatoes and bring to a boil. Boil until the potatoes are soft and can be easily pierced by a paring knife. To thicken the soup a bit, smash a few of the potatoes with the spoon.
3. Lower the burner to warm and stir in the clams and cream. Season with pepper and taste to see if any additional salt is required. Serve within the hour or refrigerate and reheat.

Lindsay - do you have a preferred clam or go by what is in season? I live on the prairies but we have an excellent restaurant supplier who offers a retail store of some fresh products, clams included Obviously, I take what I can get

I'm compelled to point out that I can get live clams pretty much year-round. For $6/lbs. And I don't like clam chowder.