This past weekend, I was pulling open the curtains in our bedroom, and realized one of the panels was stuck to the window.  It was actually frozen to the window.  What?? How?? Where was the water coming from? I proceeded to feel around the window, only to discover the entire ledge at the bottom of the window was encased in ice.  The truly crazy part of this whole situation is the fact that our apartment building was built in 2007, and this is the kind of insulation we get?

So yeah, it’s definitely cold.  But I really shouldn’t complain, as my mother informed me yesterday morning that it was  -10 degrees in NY,  so this 25 degree weather we’re getting in DC is quite balmy in comparison.  I don’t mind the weather too much, it just leads me to spend most of my time holed up in my apartment.. being rather antisocial.  So instead of getting out I’m staying in, lighting candles, jacking up the heat, and making soup- chowder to be exact.  This was a first for me, and quite a success.  Brandon deemed it to be one of his favorite dishes I ever made.  I can’t take all the credit though, it’s a Ina dish of course.  But I did make a few small tweaks which I think add great flavor to this chowder, I strongly urge you to incorporate them.

East Hampton Clam Chowder from Barefoot Contessa Family Style

Serves 6-8

I followed Ina’s recipe to a T, but made the following additions:

  • Begin the soup by sauteeing 2 slices of diced thick cut bacon for 5 minutes, until slightly crispy.  Then add in the onions and 1 T butter.  Due to the bacon fat, I omitted 3 T of butter.
  • To finish the soup, add in 5 dashes of Tobasco and 2 T of Worcestershire sauce
  • Serve with a sprinkling of parsley, adds great color and freshness

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