Moo's Clam Puffs

These are fun and they taste good too.

3 6-1/2 ounce cans chopped clams, drained (save 1/4 cup of liquid)
2 eggs, separated
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
Olive oil for deep frying

Combine clams, clam liquid and egg yolks in medium bowl. Add flour, baking powder, melted butter, salt and pepper. Mix well. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold into clam mixture. Chill at least 3 hours (even overnight).

Heat oil in deep fryer or large frying pan to 375 degrees. Drop mixture by teaspoonfuls; don't crowd. Fry until brown and crisp, turning once. Drain on towel, sprinkle lightly with salt. Serve hot.

Moo's Very Best Clam Chowder

Prepare 10 dozen clams for steaming (i.e., soak in water and cornmeal to clean the sand out of the clam. If particularly sandy, you might have to change water/cornmeal more than once.). Steam until clams open and can be easily removed from shells. Save 1 ½ cups of the clam broth, poured through cheese cloth to catch any residual sand.

In a kettle, sauté 1 ½ cups diced onion in a generous amount of butter until soft and transparent but not brown. Add 2 ½ cups diced potatoes and the reserved clam broth. Simmer 20 minutes. Add clams and simmer 5 minutes. In a sauce pan, heat 2 ½ cups milk and ¾ cup heavy cream (or sour cream). Pour into the soup pot and add 2 t. salt and ½ t. crushed thyme, pepper to taste. Make a mixture of butter and flour (roux), add to hot soup. Do not allow to boil. Finally add 2 cups chicken broth. When plating the soup, add a pat of butter to the top of each bowl.

Moo's Cold Stuffed Sushi Clams

Moo served these as either hors d'oeuvres or as part of a selection of sushi. The number of clams you'll need to prepare will depend on how you plan to use this dish.

Seasoned sushi rice
Little neck clams
Japanese rice vinegar
wasabi

Use your best recipe to make a batch of seasoned sushi rice. Steam little neck clams. Remove clam meat from shell, keeping clams intact. Clean shells because you are going to use them to serve these little treats. Moisten hands with a little Japanese rice vinegar. Pick up a small portion of sushi rice and press into a ball. Set rice in a clam shell half. Dab a little wasabi on top and add a clam. If you wish, place the other half of the clam shell on top. Serve soon after making and at room temperature.