Monday, August 16, 2010

Clam dip

Several weeks ago, a reader left this comment on my rendition of Alton Brown's onion dip recipe:
Great recipe!

Now, would you mind sharing your clam dip recipe? I've been searching for years for the one my parents used to make in the 60's. Nothing so far comes even close, but of course I am battling memory....
Here's the clam dip that I've been making since the 1980s. It's basically the same as the classic Kraft Foods recipe.

STEVE'S CLAM DIP

Let the clam flavor dominate. Don't overdo competing ingredients. Add dash of your favorite hot pepper sauce. Substitute horseradish sauce for garlic.

2 (8-ounce) cans clam
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste

Drain clams, reserving 1/2 of the liquid.

Combine clams, reserved clam liquid, garlic, cream cheese, lemon juice, Worcester-shire sauce and seasonings; mix until well blended.

Chill 2 hours before serving to blend flavors. Serve with potato chips, crackers or raw vegetables. Makes about 1 quart.

Description:
"One of Kraft's most popular recipes; this appeared on a commercial in the early 1950s."

2 comments:

  1. Steven,

    That's not the way I make the famous Karoly clam dip! Mom gave me this recipe:

    8 oz cream cheese
    1 can clams
    garlic powder
    1 T. Worcestershire sauce
    Tabasco sauce

    Cream softened cream cheese with a mixer, then add clam juice from can. Add some garlic powder (maybe 1/2 t.), Worcestershire sauce and a bit of Tabasco sauce. Stir in clams with a spoon.

    I use 12 oz cream cheese to stretch it a bit. It gets eaten :)

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  2. Thanks, Lib: As often happens with my approach to family recipes, I take my memory of the recipe and set out to recreate it without comsulting mom.

    Some of her recipes have been commited to memory because I typed he recipes on 3x5 cards in 1971 when stationed at Lemoore.

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