MEET THE DILs
Jessica Coulter
Jessica lives in New York City with her Husband and Dog. When she isn't writing for this here blog, she's a copywriter at an ad agency in Manhattan.
3000 MILES AWAY...
Marites Cristobal Coulter
Marites lives in Los Angeles with her husband. When she's not dabbling as a self-proclaimed domestic wannabe, she's working in PR.
- BEVERAGES
- BREADS
- BREAKFAST/BRUNCH
- DESSERTS
- FRUIT
MEET THE MIL
Pat Tippett
MIL is a chef and food stylist in Portland, OR. For many years she owned Flaming Carrot Catering, pdx's favorite eco-conscience catering company. She takes her passion for art, travel and cuisine back to the kitchen and studio and delicious things happen.
She's currently focusing her talents on food styling and on-site chef services for film scenes and group gatherings (hey tweens - she did the food styling on the twilight movie!). Oh, and writes MIL Missions for this little blog.
Cooking with us? Let us feature a photo of you and your hard work. Email it to 3000milestildinner@gmail.com
3000 miles 'til dinner. |
♥WHEN YOUR MIL (mother-in-law) IS A CHEF, YOU EITHER GET NERVOUS OR GET COOKING.♥
----------------------------------------------- Two busy DILs living on two different coasts getting long-distance cooking lessons from their MIL. |
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recipe
Cousin Ashley’s New England Clam Chowder. (jessica’s attempt)
Original MIL Mission #44: Ashley’s New England Clam Chowder
As the closest 3000MTD blogger to actual New England, I was especially excited when I saw this mission as penned by one of our lovely cousins-in-law, Ashley.
Wicked important stuff (to be read in Boston accent).
♥HOW I MADE IT.♥
I simmered my potato chunks with some salt until tender but not falling apart. I used to find boiling potatoes really intimidating for some reason. Always worried that I would boil them too long or too little and end up with lumpy mashed potatoes, etc. But the more I work with each ingredient, the more I zen understand.
Briefly turning the channel to pig-skinemax so we can check out some food porn…
Yep. Uh-huh. Sooooo good. Ok, and then I set my bacon aside and added my onions and celery to the pan and cooked them until translucent. The smell of celery and onions always makes me think of thanksgiving. Which is coming up! Yay!
Then, just like Marites in her attempt, I blindly made my first roux. I ended up adding some butter because the bacon fat had pretty much cooked out with the vegetables. And a little butter never hurt anyone. Right? RIGHT.
Then I stirred in my fish stock until smooth.
At which point I added my stock/roux into my potato pot along with the clams, bacon, veggies, remaining stock, milk and some pepper and let all that simmer on low for 45 minutes. While that was jamming, I baked some parbaked sourdough rolls in the oven.
♥MIL MISSION #44: ACCOMPLISHED.♥
This recipe was so easy and yields a chowder that is just as delicious as any you’ll find in a restaurant. (especially with that pat of butter. yum.)
This would be a perfect recipe for a low-effort, high-reward cozy meal for a small group of friends. And I might even throw a bread bowl in the mix next time. Because a bowl is just a bowl but a bread bowl is carbalicious.
♥PLATE IT, ATE IT, GRADED IT.♥
scale: 0 (not at all) to 5 (very)
Cupboard to table time: 65 min.
Difficulty: 1.5
Deliciousness: 5 (Like I said, It wasn’t too far from some of the more delicious chowders I’ve tried. Random note alert! I once had a chowder that had a drizzle of bright green scallion oil on top and it made it very special. There is a super fancy new olive oil shop on bleeker near my house and I might just have to make an investment for next time.)
Impressed Husband factor: 5 (He liked it!)
Leftover-friendly: -10 (I’m an idiot and waited so long for the soup to cool before I put it in the fridge that I actually fell asleep and it didn’t make it in the fridge. And I just don’t mess with clams plus pork plus milk that has been left out all night. That’s a recipe for trubs. Talk about tripping at the finish line!)
(posted by jessica)
