I love having a weekly menu plan. It’s especially helpful on nights like last night when I didn’t really want to cook. I actually took a nap as soon as I got home, it was one of those days. Since it was a Friday night, Michael let me sleep. Sweetly, he took care of the weekly run to Walmart (which I despise) and cleaned the bathrooms. What a man.
Once I got up, I was of course, hungry. I didn’t really want to cook anything elaborate, and it just so happened that Hatteras Clam Chowder was Friday's planned meal . Super easy. Super fast. Not much to clean up. I could deal with that!
Thankfully, for a previous dinner this week, I had already made homemade cucumber dill dressing, which apparently tastes even more divine after a day or so in the fridge. It was incredibly yummy on a simple salad of green leaf lettuce.
Michael doesn’t like clam chowder. He made a sandwich. That’s okay. It means I’ll get chowder for lunch today! I will be sure to make a dinner he’ll like this weekend… and I’m also going to make Natalie’s Sour Cream M&M cookies. I’m sure he’ll forgive me.
This chowder freezes well and will be wonderful to make in a few weeks, when it finally gets cooler here in Eastern NC. Perfect for a crisp November night!
This is authentic Hatteras chowder. Hatteras folks don’t use cream in their chowder. The starch of the potatoes creates a delicious creaminess in itself. If you prefer, you can use pork fat as opposed to thick cut bacon, or turkey bacon if you’re dieting. I don’t use bacon very often, so I went full throttle with thick cut bacon making this chowder. I don’t regret it. Enjoy!
Hatteras Clam Chowder
- ¼ c. thick bacon slices, diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 (16 oz.) can of minced clams
- 1 (8 oz.) pkg. clam stock
- 2 medium-sized potatoes, diced
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- Freshly ground sea salt, to taste
In a 2 quart or larger sauce pan, sauté diced baon until crispy and browned. Add diced onion and sauté until clear. Add potatoes, clams, clam stock, and enough water to cover. Add freshly ground salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 15-20 minutes until potatoes are cooked through.
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Café Atlantic’s Homemade Cucumber Dill Dressing
As a bonus, to offset the clam chowder, this dressing is naturally low-fat!
- 1 cup cucumber pieces, which have been seeded and peeled
- ½ cup scallions, chopped
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. sugar
- ¼ freshly ground pepper
- ½ tsp. celery seed
- 1 Tbsp. dill weed
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise (can be low-fat)
- 2 cups plain yogurt
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup vinegar
Combine all ingredients, except lemon juice and vinegar in food processor or blender and process until blended. After blending initial ingredients, slowly blend in lemon juice and vinegar. Serve as salad dressing or vegetable dip.
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