clams going royal

clams and beer
Bee r and clams go together well in this finger food appetizer. If you cannot use beer, substitute with clam juice.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
· 1 stick (1/4 pound or 8 Tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
· 1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
· 1/4 cup beer (clam juice may be substituted)
· 1 small sweet onion, minced
· 4 garlic cloves, minced
· 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
· 1 teaspoon basil
· 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
· 1/2 teaspoon rosemary
· 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
· Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
· 4 small (6-1/2 ounces) cans minced clams, drained (juice reserved)
· 36 toasted baguette slices
· 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Line baking sheets with Silpats or lightly grease. Combine butter, bread crumbs, beer, sweet onion, garlic, parsley, basil, oregano, and rosemary. Add salt and pepper to taste, and mix thoroughly. Stir in clams. Add additional clam juice if mixture appears too dry. Spread clam mixture on toasted baguette slices. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Increase oven heat to broil. Return clam rounds to oven and broil until golden. Serve hot.

clams casino
Classic clams casino are topped with a savory breadcrumb mixture and broiled on the halfshell atop a bed of salt. This is a quick and easy dish, great as an entree or appetizer.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
· Rock salt
· 24 quahogs, little-neck size, opened and left in the half shell
· 3/4 cup soft bread crumbs (French or Italian)
· 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
· 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
· 5 Tablespoons chopped parsley, preferably flat Italian kind
· 4 to 6 Tablespoons olive oil
· 1 clove garlic minced
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Partiallly filll a shallow baking dish (a rimmed cookie sheet is suggested) with rock salt. Set the half-shell quahog clams on the salt. Mix the bread crumbs, black pepper, 3 tablespoons of the parsley, and the optional cayenne pepper. Spoon this mix equally over the clams. Mix the oil and garlic thoroughly; pour carefuly over each clam. Bake for about 10 minutes. If the crumbs have not sufficiently browned, place the dish under the broiler till golden. Sprinkle clams with remainder of parsley and serve immediately.