Clambake for Two

Bring the tastes of a genuine New England clambake to your kitchen with this simple recipe. Make a bouquet garni of fresh herbs to toss in your clambake pot. Just use kitchen twine to tie together sprigs of fresh thyme, parsley and tarragon. A big seafood steamer has a lower container for the liquids and a large upper basket with holes in the bottom to hold all your delicious seafood. Steaming holds all the juices and flavors together in the seafood. To make retrieving items from the steamer easier, bundle them in cheesecloth before placing inside. Tie bundles with cheesecloth and place in the steamer.

Ingredients:

2 cups white wine
1 Tbs. crab-boil seasoning
bouquet garni (tarragon, thyme and parsley)
1/2 lemon, sliced
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 lobster
8 to 10 red potatoes
2 ears sweet corn
10 to 12 clams or mussels
cheesecloth and kitchen twine
melted butter
lemon wedges

Preparation:

Bring four cups of water to a boil in the bottom of a large lobster and seafood steamer. Add wine, crab-boil seasoning, bouquet garni, lemon, onion and celery. Bring mixture to a heavy boil.

The lobster will take the longest to cook, so place it in the steamer first. Wait about five minutes before adding remaining items.

Wrap potatoes in cheesecloth and add to the steamer. Wait about five or 10 minutes, then wrap corn and clams in cheesecloth and add to steamer. Cook for another four or five minutes.

Total cooking time should be about 20 minutes.

Remove items with tongs, cut open cheesecloth and arrange sumptuous seafood feast on a large platter. Serve with lemon wedges and melted butter.