Garlicky Baby Clams

I'm certain most of you know to never eat a closed clam. Apparently my father never got the memo. Years ago we were at our favorite seafood restaurant, my father and I had ordered a large bucket of steamed clams. As we dipped our bread into the delicious garlicky sauce, one last closed clam was discovered sitting at the bottom, perfectly happy to be left alone. My father immediately scooped out the clam and began prying it open with his butter knife. He was so pleased with himself as the clam finally opened up and he popped that sucker right into his mouth. " No need for it to go to waste.." he exclaimed as he dabbed the garlic sauce off his mouth. We sopped up the remaining sauce, gobbling up an entire loaf of bread with a cheap carafe of white wine and called it a night. Fast forward several hours...not pretty. He wrote off the restaurant for years, never admitting that opening up that lonely clam was really a dumb idea.

In the summer time I love to put out a large bowl of steamed baby clams and watch my friends dig in with their hands. Its a messy operation, but oh so delicious. Its a simple appetizer for a large crowd. An easy rule of thumb so you don't end up hating your favorite restaurant for all the wrong reasons, throw out any clams that don't open or are broken.

• 2 Tb butter



• 2 pounds of baby clams



• 1/3 cup of white wine



• 4 cloves of garlic minced



• juice of 1 lemon



• 4 Tb chopped flat leaf parsley



• Ground pepper

In a large skillet heat butter and add minced garlic. When garlic turns slightly golden add wine and clams. Increase heat and cover. This will take about 7 to 9 minutes. Shake the pan a few times during the cooking process. Remove clams and place in large bowl. Add lemon juice to cooking broth, reduce for 2 minutes. Mix in chopped parsley and pepper. Pour sauce over clams and serve with good crusty bread.