Clam Chowder Fiasco

Last week, I decided I was going to make clam chowder for my family—served in homemade sourdough bread bowls, no less. This is how that adventure unfolded.

I started on Sunday by mixing up a sourdough starter. I waited the required two days and then spent the next five days babying that bread like a newborn. If I had known what I was getting into, I’m not sure I would have been so ambitious. Every twelve hours I was feeding the starter with water and flour, kneading everything together by hand, watching and waiting. Four days in, Myriam walked by and casually asked, “Why are you mixing that by hand? Use the KitchenAid.” I stared at her—this revelation after nearly a week of elbow grease. I hadn’t used it because I assumed there was too much dough.

Earlier that week—Friday, to be exact—the dough wasn’t rising properly, so I headed to the store to grab yeast and just wing the rest of the recipe. While I was there, I thought I’d pick up canned clams for the chowder. I grabbed some, checked out, and went home. I mixed in the rapid-rise yeast, which finally got the dough moving in the right direction.

The plan was to make the chowder the next day. But Friday afternoon, my wife asked where the clams were. I proudly pointed them out. Then she gave me a smirk and said, “Read the label.” I picked up a can and realized I had bought—not clams—but crab meat. I just stared at it and said, exhausted, “Oh.” We laughed for an hour. Eventually she went back and picked up the real clams and everything else we needed.

-- RUUSVUU

Here's the Recipe:   Clam Chowder Recipe