Chef offers recipes for your Super Bowl party

LELAND, NC (WWAY) — If you want to make your Super Bowl party a little more authentic this year, one chef is telling you how to make a dish from each team’s hometown.

First up, something that New England is famous for.

“It warms the soul. it makes you feel like you’re in the Northeast,” said Chef Scott Euvrard, chef at The Forest at Cape Fear National.

With Wilmington right on the coast, Euvrard says, why not make some New England Clam Chowder?

Euvrard says it’s not hard to create this classic New England dish to make your super bowl party authentic this year.

“It really has a minimal amount of ingredients. Most of them you would have at your house, other than I guess the clams and the clam juice, which are always available at your local supermarket,” said Euvrard.

Euvrard says the great thing is that you can easily take out an ingredient or two along the way if you want. He says the chowder can be an appetizer, a snack, or even an entree.

“The clams do not need to cook very long. The less time the clams cook is actually better,” said Euvrard. “If you want thinner soup, add more stock. add more cream.”

Euvrard tops it all off with some clam shells.

“It just makes the presentation really nice. It shows that you used some fresh clams in there,” he said.

Euvrard says the whole process only takes around 20 minutes before you can dig in. He says it just screams New England.

Don’t worry, Rams fans. Friday night on WWAY NEWS at 7:30, Euvrard will show you how you can add an LA-centric dish to your Super Bowl party too.

Here is the recipe for New England Clam Chowder:

• 3 strips thick-cut bacon
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1 rib celery, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 medium-size white potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups bottled clam juice, divided
• 1 pound chopped fresh clam meat, with juices
• Kosher salt to taste
• 3 cups light cream
• 1 teaspoon white pepper

Set a 4- to 6-quart pot over medium-low heat. Add the bacon and cook, turning occasionally, until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the bacon, leaving the fat in the pot, and crumble into small pieces; set aside.

Add the butter, onion, celery, thyme, and bay leaves to the pot. Cook, stirring often, until onions are tender and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes.

Return the bacon to the pot and stir. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, while you prepare the potatoes.

In a 2- to 3-quart pot on high heat, boil the diced potatoes in salted water until tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Turning back to the onion/bacon mixture, increase the heat to medium-low.

Add the flour gradually, stirring continuously, until a thick paste forms. Stir and cook 5 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium and slowly add the bottled clam juice, 1 cup at a time, incorporating it into the mixture before adding more.

Increase the heat to medium-high and add the potatoes and clam meat with its juices. Keep stirring 5 minutes, until the clams are tender.

Add the cream slowly; then stir in the white pepper.

Discard the bay leaves before serving. Serve hot.