Clams Casino

I have wanted to try to make homemade clams casino for forever. I finally found a local grocery store here that actually carries clams so I couldn't wait to try to make them. I looked at some recipes online for inspiration including this one and this one. Then I kind of threw things together to make my own, and they came out AMAZING. They were a total homerun! Here is what I did:

Dice about 3 or 4 slices of bacon and fried in a skillet until mostly done and not super-crispy. Remove bacon from skillet leaving drippings in pan. Then add some diced red bell pepper and saute until soft and just barely starting to brown. Now add some butter to the pan, and then add minced garlic and saute about one minute (do not let garlic get very brown). Add some white wine and let cook down a little bit. Add fresh/soft breadcrumbs, oregano, basil, parsley (fresh would be better but I used dried), salt, pepper, paprika, some olive oil and more white wine as necessary to moisten the mixture. Take some clams on the half shell and smash the bread crumb topping on them. Bake at 425 for about 10 or 15 minutes or until crispy on top.

These were totally incredible.

I almost wonder if you could use minced clams and bake this sort of like a souffle, if it would still be pretty darn good. I bet it would. Taste of Home has a recipe along those lines- Calico Clams Casino.

And look! I finally remembered to take pictures. Don't ask me why they are sideways.