Georgian Clam Chowder with Old Fashioned Ham and Cheese Pannini

That's right Georgian clam chowder. Believe it or not Georgia has a working shellfish market that is not widely known. One of the things I want to do is promote Georgia food of all kinds and what better way than to promote Georgia Shell fish. I honestly believe that Georgia Shellfish can compete and chowder can compete with any of the new england sort. This recipe can be made with any type of clams. But for the sake of those who can not find fresh Clams and they only have fresh vegetables and herbs this recipe is prefect. As you will quickly see what makes this Clam chowder so different from it's new england counter part is the use of fresh sweet corn. Absolutely delicious. This is an Urban Homestead Orginal derived from our use of fresh clams. Canned clams are use as a substitute for those living in areas where fresh seafood is scarce. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 cup of chopped onion

2 cups of chopped celery

4 cloves of garlic(finely chopped)

1/2 stick of butter

2 large red potatoes(diced)

2 sweet white corn(peeled from the husk)

2 bottles clam juice http://www.theperfectpantry.com/2006/10/clam_broth.html

2 tsp of Clam base http://www.amazon.com/Better-Than-Bouillon-Clam-Base/dp/B00016LA8O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=grocery&qid=1240617170&sr=1-1

3 cans of chopped clam in clam juice http://www.buythecase.net/product/22816/snows_chopped_clams/?engine=yahooshopping

16 oz of half&halffresh dill(chopped)

3 tbs of corn starch

Step:

1- In a soup pot, saute chopped garlic, celery and onion in butter until veges are soft.

2- throw diced potatoes in the pot and blend with step 1

3- pour bottled clam juice and 2 tsp of clam base. Let it cook until potatoes get tender in slow heat

4 -throw corn and half and half and reduce to low heat(Never boil)

5 -put canned chopped clam(with juice) in 4

6- put some chopped fresh dill

7 -mix cold water corn starch and stir in the soup to thicken

8- garnish with fresh dill

Cilantro garlic lime grilled chicken marinade

Using a combination of fresh herbs and pre-packaged seasonings, these grilled chicken thighs came out delicious from only being soaked in the marinade for approximately 1hr and a half. The flavors were explosive and the thighs as they should be were so juicy. The marinade we came up with was:


1 packet of Goya chicken bouillon
7 cloves of finely chopped garlic
10 tbs of finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp of dry sage powder
1 tsp of onion powder
1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper
5 tbs of squeezed lime juice
1tbs olive oil

Mix ingredients and soak 4 chicken thighs in marinade for approximately 1 and 1/2 hrs before grilling.

Mesculine Salad with Roasted Almond, prawns and Raspberry Vinaigrette

Our first harvest this year was a very bountiful Mesculine Lettuce variety. It was great to see a mixture of butter and arugula lettuce along with a few other varieties grow together to form our cool weather crop.

Here is how we prepared our Mesculine salad:

1 pound shelled and deveined medium cooked shrimp
1/2 cup of sliced almonds
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon pepper
7 cups of Mesculine salad
Raspberry vinaigrette

Roast sliced almonds in the oven
Mix shrimp, tomatoes and pepper in a glass bowl.
Place freshly picked Mesculine salad in shrimp mix.

Toss in Roasted almonds
Garnish with Raspberry vinaigrette to taste over individual salad

Chicken pesto panini

Paninis' are a great quick meal to make when time is of the essence. The most ideal way to make paninis at the homestead is to make your own pesto, bake your own bread and use chickens that you have grown for meat. Back in the day paninis were invented from using old bread that was hard and should have been thrown out. But instead the italians took this bread and stuffed it with goodies and compressed it under high heat to exploit the crust. It was a great way to use old bread and it became very popular.

For this meal we bought some bread from the bakery. Most Paninis are made with focaccia bread, but pretty much any type of bread can be used to make paninis'. We were unable to get some, so we resorted to fresh sub rolls. In the near future we hope to bake our own breads. It will mean so much more when we can do everthing right here. As for the recipe we used:

1 chicken breast

2 rolls

5 Grape tomatoes cut in half

Pesto sauce

5 whole baby portabella sliced

1/2 cup of baby spinach

1/4 cup of grated mozzarella

Preperation:

Boil or grill chicken breast. Do not over cook. Slice cooked chicken breast. Cut bread into half and assemble fresh veggies and chicken slices onto bread. Paste pesto to top portion of bread. Assemble sandwhich and compress under high heat until cheese has melted.

Serve with soup, salad or chips.