Buffalo Bills Brewery Orange Blossom cream ale steamed clams

         This is a sure fire crowd pleaser, it takes 10 minutes of cooking time, pair that with crispy bread and a cold, crisp Orange Blossom Cream ale and you will be fighting your guest off with the baguette. Obviously orange and clams go well together. The clams are sweet and tender (when cooked right) and any citrus goes well with shellfish so why not use a cooking liquid full of orange and floral notes to cook these tender morsels. Add a little ginger and tarragon and you have yourself an aromatic "party in your mouth". So take some time this week and cook up a bowl of these and see what I mean.

Steamed clams
Serves: 2
Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
2 pounds cherry stone clams or Prince Edward Island mussels
1 clove garlic (minced)
2 tbsp ginger (grated)
2 sprigs tarragon (chopped)
1 shallot  (minced)
1/2 bottle of Buffalo Bills Brewery Orange Blossom Cream ale
1 tbsp butter
4 slices rustic bread (toasted)

Directions:
Heat a large saute pan (equipped with a tight fitting lid) to a high heat, add the oil and allow to warm, this will happen quickly. Add the shallot, garlic, and ginger, saute for a couple of minutes just until they start to form color. now add the clams or mussels, saute until the pan recovers and becomes very hot again. (this step is important because if you put beer in a cold pan the there will be no steam and you need steam to open the shellfish). as soon as you add the beer place the lid on the pan to capture the steam. now pour the other half of the beer into a glass and wait roughly ten minutes or until the clams open. Now, wasn't that good? Once the clams open remove the lid and add the butter to let reduce for 3 to 4 minutes on high heat. Place the clams in a bowl with a slotted spoon then  add the tarragon and season the broth, pour the broth over the clams, straight from the pan. Serve with the toasted rustic bread.



*important note mussels open twice as fast as the clams in roughly 5 minutes.