Clams

Dear SOS: Over the Christmas holiday season, we quartered at the beautiful Heathman Lodge, Vancouver, Wash., to be near relatives in both Oregon and Washington, and enjoyed its renowned Hudson's Bar and Grill . Among other marvelous presentations was its steamed Manila clams. Do you suppose its chef, Brendan Callaghan, would share his recipe? Robert E. Tumelty Seal Beach Dear Robert: Hudson's Grill was happy to share its recipe for steamed Manila clams, which we've adapted below.

After a Sunday morning hike in Solstice Canyon, a small group of friends and I ended up at a fellow hiker's Malibu house for lunch. While we nibbled on bruschetta topped with ricotta and roasted red peppers, Michalene got busy in the kitchen, steaming clams with garlic and white wine and boiling the pasta. The wonderful aromas swirled over the entire house. Normally, you might drink a crisp, dry Italian white with pasta with clams, but we tried opening a Mâcon-Villages  from Henri Perrusset in Burgundy (imported by Kermit Lynch)

Total time: 30 minutes Servings: 2 as a one-dish meal; 4 as part of a larger meal 2 pounds Manila clams (40 to 48 clams) 2 scant tablespoons fermented black beans Chubby 1-inch section of ginger, peeled and finely julienned 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1/4 teaspoon dried red chile flakes 1 large green onion 1/2 cup water 2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry 3 tablespoons canola oil,...

Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes, plus overnight chilling time for the soup Servings: 4 Note: Adapted from Michael Cimarusti of Providence restaurant. Canned San Marzano tomatoes are available at most cooking and gourmet supply stores, as well as online. 3 3/4 pounds quahog or cherrystone clams 1 tablespoon (7.5 grams) extra-virgin olive oil 1 3/4 ounces (50 grams) salt pork Scant 1 ounce (25 grams) pancetta, cut into ¼-inch dice About 1 cup (87.5 grams)

  Miso soup with clams and chives Total time: 30 minutes, plus overnight soaking time for the clams Servings: 4 Note: You can make a second batch of dashi by combining the used bonito flakes and kombu seaweed in a saucepan with 4 cups of water. Bring it to a boil over medium heat and then simmer for about 5 minutes. Strain and discard the bonito flakes and kombu seaweed. Use the dashi for miso soups, seasoning, etc. It will not be as flavorful as the first batch, but it is still good.

White beans with chorizo, clams and shrimp Total time: 1 hour, plus 2 hours baking time for the beans Servings: 6 to 8 servings Note: Spanish chorizo can be found at Spanish markets as well as at select gourmet markets and cooking supply stores. White beans 1/4 pound Spanish chorizo, diced 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1 pound dried white beans, such as cannellini or Great Northern 7 cups water 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste Freshly ground black pepper 1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

  Total time: 30 minutes Servings: 4 Note: Adapted from "Seamus Mullen's Hero Food. " Aleppo pepper can generally be found at gourmet and cooking supply stores, and is available online. 1/2 cup diced slab bacon 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 24 littleneck clams 2 ears corn, shucked and cut into 2-inch lengths 3/4 cup dry white wine 2 teaspoons pimentón Aleppo pepper Handful fresh basil leaves, torn Healthy drizzle of olive oil 1. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, sweat the bacon over medium heat.

Lake Tahoe is under siege by clams the size of your thumbnail. The population of the coffee-colored Asian clams has soared in the southeast portion of the lake, threatening to hog food sources and excrete nutrients that foster algae growth, according to an annual Lake Tahoe report by UC Davis researchers. Scientists worry that calcium in the clams' shells could make the lake more hospitable to invasion by quagga or zebra mussels, which cluster onto boats and anything else that rests in the water.

The Royal Australian Navy said Sunday that it will come to the rescue of 9,000 clams that are at risk because of overcrowding. The clams, tridacna gigas, are an endangered species, and the navy has agreed to relocate 6,000 of the them. The clams have multiplied as a result of a breeding project at James Cook University at Orpheus Island, off the north Queensland coast.

As more and more music is born of digital synthesizers and programmable microchips, Leo Kottke is a reassuring reminder that there is music without silicon. The droll, boyish-looking guitarist performed Saturday at the Warner Grand Variety Arts Theater in San Pedro, a refurbished 1,500-seat movie theater built in 1929 that has begun to offer live entertainment.

While testing recipes a few weeks ago, something strange happened. A deep whiff of the Manhattan-style clam chowder I had just made transported me for a brief moment to my grandmother Josephine Cimarusti's kitchen in Lindenhurst, Long Island. A white-and-green striped sugar bowl with a stainless, hinged, flip-top lid sat on the kitchen table; the scent of clam cakes and chowder filled the air. Perhaps you can relate. We all have foods that we 're nostalgic about. For me, chowder is one of them.

Just a handful of ingredients -- including corn, clams and bacon -- come together in a dish that's pure magic. Fresh corn is steamed with clams in a bacon-rich wine broth for a quick-fix dinner. The recipe takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. For more quick-fix dinner ideas, check out our video recipe gallery here . Food Editor Russ Parsons and Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter show you how to fix a dozen dishes in an hour or less! ALSO: Apples 101 ... and 52 recipes Go behind the scenes at the Test Kitchen Browse hundreds of recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen You can find Noelle Carter on Facebook , Google+ , Twitter and Pinterest . Email Noelle at noelle.carter@latimes.com . Steamed corn with clams and bacon Total time: 30 minutes Servings: 4 Note: Adapted from "Seamus Mullen's Hero Food.

What a pretty Chablis from young négociant and winemaker Patrick Piuze, a French Canadian who stopped to work the harvest in Burgundy 11 years ago and basically never went home again. After studying winemaking in Beaune, he oversaw Maison Olivier Leflaive's line of Chablis. Now he has his own project and makes a whole slew of classic grand cru and premier cru Chablis. The bargain, though, is this 2011 Petit Chablis, a Chardonnay made from grapes grown at higher elevations or on mixed limestone soils in the Chablis region of northern Burgundy.

Total time: 2 hours, 10 minutes Servings: 6 Note: Crustacean shells (shrimp, lobster or crab) give this soup real depth of flavor, so, if possible, choose shrimp with heads and shells. 1 pound whole, small shrimp 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 2 leeks, chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 carrot, chopped 1/4 cup brandy 1/2 cup white wine 8 cups simple fish stock, divided 1 cup diced tomatoes Pinch of ground cayenne pepper Salt to taste Pinch of crushed saffron threads 2 slices toasted bread, broken into pieces 1 1/2 pounds boneless monkfish, cut into 1-inch pieces and/or lobster chunks 1/2 pound Manila or littleneck clams (or ¼ cup shucked clams)

Total time: 30 minutes Servings: 2 as a one-dish meal; 4 as part of a larger meal 2 pounds Manila clams (40 to 48 clams) 2 scant tablespoons fermented black beans Chubby 1-inch section of ginger, peeled and finely julienned 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1/4 teaspoon dried red chile flakes 1 large green onion 1/2 cup water 2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry 3 tablespoons canola oil,...

Dear SOS: Over the Christmas holiday season, we quartered at the beautiful Heathman Lodge, Vancouver, Wash., to be near relatives in both Oregon and Washington, and enjoyed its renowned Hudson's Bar and Grill . Among other marvelous presentations was its steamed Manila clams. Do you suppose its chef, Brendan Callaghan, would share his recipe? Robert E. Tumelty Seal Beach Dear Robert: Hudson's Grill was happy to share its recipe for steamed Manila clams, which we've adapted below.

No, we didn't leave out a step. You really don't need to soak these dried beans overnight before cooking them. They take a little bit longer to get tender, but the difference in flavor and texture is more than worth it. In this recipe by Times food editor Russ Parsons, the earthy flavor of the beans is complemented by spicy Spanish chorizo and the sweet, briny flavors of clams and shrimp. Finishing it all is a Portuguese-style touch of tart from chopped pickled green peppers. White beans with chorizo, clams and shrimp Total time: 1 hour, plus 2 hours baking time for the beans Servings: 6 to 8 Note: Spanish chorizo can be found at Spanish markets as well as at select gourmet markets and cooking supply stores.