Hello 2012!

Happy New Year!  This year one of my resolutions is to be a better blogger!  There's so much to look forward to this year!  Graduations, weddings, kids coming home from school, kids going away to school, birthdays, travel....and I want to capture these moments in my blog.  Since the kitchen is nearly completed, I also hope to share recipes that I've tried {and loved}!  So cheers to a new year, a fresh start, the first day of the rest of my life!  Here's a recipe that I tried for our New Year's Eve bash~


Grilled Clams with Basil Breadcrumbs 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups coarse bread crumbs, toasted
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 6 sun-dried tomato halves in oil, drained and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 24 littleneck clams, scrubbed clean (I used manila clams from Costco)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions

Heat a gas grill or prepare a charcoal grill with hot coals.

Combine the bread crumbs, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, pine nuts, salt and pepper in a large serving bowl and set aside.

When the grill is hot, place the clams in 1 layer on the hot grate and allow the heat to open the clams. They'll open gradually for about 5 minutes, then pop-open wide when they're done. Using tongs, remove the clams from the grill and place them in the bowl with the bread crumb mixture and toss together. Drizzle with the melted butter, and serve hot.

from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/grilled-clams-with-basil-breadcrumbs-recipe/index.html

I first saw this recipe prepared on Ina Garten's show Barefoot Contessa on Food Network and have been dying to make it and I'm SO glad I did!  They're a fun and sexy appetizer that'll make a seafood lover out of anyone! I can't tell you how many of my guests said they didn't like clams, but they loved this!  There wasn't a clam left by the end of the night!  I used the manila clams from Costco (I live in the Pacific Northwest where they are readily available) and doubled the crumb recipe...but other than that I didn't change the recipe.  We had over 30 guests in our tiny, little bungalow and the dish was a big hit...AND it was fun to make AND eat!