Steamed clams quickie

Lately I've taken some crap over not posting here very much. Truth is, there hasn't been a lot of cooking going on around the house all winter. I won't bore you with the details. Just know that I'm a lot less happy about it than you are. And am looking very much forward to a shift in direction very soon.

Anyhow, I'll assume that a quickie communication trumps none at all, and so here's a super fast steamed clams dish to ponder when next you're at the fish store.



This is three dozen mahogany clams but any kind of hard shell clam will do. Scrub the shells and rinse in cold water.



In a pot large enough to hold all the clams saute a leek, four or five garlic cloves and some hot pepper in olive oil for a couple of minutes.



Add a cup of dry white wine (I just used dry vermouth here) and a few sprigs of fresh thyme and bring to a boil.



Add the clams and cover with a lid so that they can steam. When the clams have popped open they're done. Some will open sooner than others and you can remove them to a serving bowl as they're ready. The clams that don't open should be tossed.



All that's left to do now is pour the liquid over the clams in a serving bowl and have at 'em.

I told you this was gonna be a quickie, didn't I?