Having little experience with cooking some of the seafood, I was not feeling confident about the dish. To test for doneness, check the potatoes â when they’re tender, the rest is ready to go! When I offered to host Christmas Eve this year, I thought it would be super fun to host a Christmas Clambake! Architectural Digest may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. STEP 4:. Don’t miss the ultimate guide to hosting your own clambake this summer. Learn how to host your own clambake with these easy tips. For the Christmas Clambake, I used Sam Adams Winter Lager and the dish was AWESOME! Uh oh! Today, this humble yet extravagant meal is the perfect centerpiece for a summer get-together. Because I wanted the highest quality ingredients for the clambake, I pre-ordered most of the seafood a week ahead from one of our local markets. I had everything in bowls ready to go before guests arrived. She provides easy-to-follow, easy-to-do garden, home decor, lifestyle & DIY inspo. Since this recipe cooks on the stovetop, it can be made anytime of year as long as you have access to the ingredients. Clambakes have a way of bringing people out of the woodwork. Clambakes are one of the best events to host in your home. Enjoy your day! The New England Clambake is a beloved culinary tradition that uses seawater and seaweed to steam seafood and vegetables in a large hole dug in the sand. Because it drives me crazy when clams or mussels have even the slightest amount of sand or grit, I go through the cleaning process twice and scrub the clams off with a bristle brush after the first cleaning. In either case, you will need a … So I hope to do it again next year. Whenever I entertain, I try to do as much prep work as possible before guests arrive. Tips For Hosting a Clambake. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I love quick, simple recipes that are major crowd pleasers. I'm Stacy LIng! STEP 6:. © 2020 Condé Nast. “But for larger groups, having a few days of prep is recommended.” Murphy suggests purchasing four clams, four mussels, and 1¼ pounds of lobster per person, all served family-style. “I like to get my shellfish and fish the day of,” says Murphy. That summer, I made her stovetop clambake recipe over Labor Day Weekend. The ingredients were readily available, the preparation was straightforward and the recipe was easy to follow. They gave me whatever fresh mussels they had on hand and these frozen ones that were already cooked and open. It looked so good we all had to take pics with it! I was surprised how simple this recipe was to make! And come on…it’s from Martha!!! The private beaches and spacious grounds of historic Tupper Manor are the perfect place to hold a clambake, and family and friends can be a part of North Shore history. This saved me a lot of time from referring back to the recipe while entertaining guests. Stacy Ling is a master gardener who loves home decor and creating beautiful spaces. I also created a cheat sheet from Martha’s recipe so I knew how the ingredients were layered and cooked in the stockpot. Not only are they lively and delicious, but they give your friends and family a truly unique experience they will never forget. It was a huge success! Three trays to serve the meal and three for the discarded shells. To me, this is a personal choice. “Hosting a clambake is the best way to do that and enjoy the delicious bounties of the sea.” The good news is that it’s just as easy to host a clambake as a traditional barbecue. And be sure to follow me @bricksnblooms on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram where I share lots of the behind-the-scenes of my home, garden and personal life. Guests stood around the table, ate with their hands and discarded shells right on the table. (Posts on stacyling.com may contain affiliate links. T. Martha Stewart’s Stovetop Clambake Recipe. As part of my pre-guest arrival prep, I cleaned the shellfish and debearded the mussels then let them sit in water again to get any final grit out before tossing in the stockpot. All you have to do is wrap the clams and other ingredients in foil and grill. I also just used whatever beer I had on hand. Places to host a party often include backyards and beaches, but these may be small and many forbid open fires. Another plus: If you’ve got a deep pot and a gaggle of friends, you’re already halfway there. The few times I hosted, I opted for aluminum trays to keep it a little neater and easier to clean up.