The next day, the quahogs appeared in my refrigerator while I was at work. 

Thankfully, there was only a gallon size Ziploc bag full. Most where little necks or (illegally?) a bit smaller. Since I don’t know how to properly open a raw quahog (bucket list goal), I knew I would need to resort to opening them by cooking them first. Then there is the issue of my family. They only enjoy quahogs in the stuffed form: meat chopped fine, mixed with Ritz crackers, butter and crispy nuggets of linguica then stuffed back into the shell and baked. Served topped with a pat of butter, a squeeze of lemon and plenty of Tabasco sauce and don’t forget the beer as mentioned before…wait! That’s me.

Then I had a vision. One of my favorite soups of all times is lobster bisque. Creamy with the flavor of lobster and a good amount of sherry. That was it! While I didn’t have any lobster on hand and I wasn’t interested in steaming and shelling one, I opted for shrimp: the next best thing to add along with those hard shelled gems. Let’s go.

Seafood Bisque
(Serves 6)

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons diced shallots (about 1 large shallot)
4 tablespoons diced celery
4 tablespoons diced red pepper
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
6 tablespoons AP flour
5 cups whole milk (warmed)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sherry wine
16 unopened little neck quahogs (wash to remove grit)
1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp (size 16/20)
4 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley (for garnish)
Sourdough or crusty bread for serving

Melt butter in a large soup pot. Add shallots, celery, red pepper and salt. Saute until vegetables are softened. Add flour and combine. Cook for 5 minutes. Slowly add warmed milk while stirring to incorporate flour mixture. Simmer until beginning to thicken. Add pepper and tomato paste. Stir until completely combined. Add cream and sherry. Warm through.
Add quahogs. Submerge into soup base. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. (Do not boil!). Check to see if the quahogs are beginning to open. After a few open, add the shrimp. Cover for 2-3 minutes. Once the shrimp are opaque and lightly pink and all quahogs are open, ladle into bowls. Garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.

If there are any quahogs that won't open, discard. Do not eat them.

This is my Everyday Bread recipe. If you wish to make your own, mix the dough the night before and bake it in the morning before making the Seafood Bisque.