FRED OVERTON'S BONAC CLAM CHOWDER 

1 quart ground clams
1 quart ground potatoes
2 small onions (ground)
1 quart clam juice (reserved from clams)  1 28oz. Can whole peeled tomatoes (broken up)
1/2 quart water
Pinch of thyme
*3-4 slices bacon (see Ed. Note) 
Cook all ingredients except clams until potatoes are done (soft tender). Add clams and bring to a boil. (It is important to add clams at the end - over-cooked clams become rubbery.) Serve immediately or some say it's even better the next day. 
*(Ed. Note: Fred does not use bacon in his recipe. Native "Bonackers" have told me that Bonac Clam chowder originally called for salt pork, for which most people have now changed to bacon. Cut bacon into approximately 1/2 inch slices and fry first before adding ingredients, using the pot in which you plan to make the chowder.)
 

NORA BENNETT'S CLAM CHOWDER

(From the L.V.I.S. "East Hampton Cook Book") 
(This clam chowder is not for everyone, being a two-day affair; but if you have the time, the result is incredibly good.) 
1 1/2 quarts fresh chowder clams
     (measured without liquid)
3 cups fresh clam juice, reserved from the clams
3 cups water
4-5 stalks celery
3-4 carrots
4-5 medium onions  6 medium potatoes, peeled
1 can tomatoes (16 oz.)
6 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cups milk with 3 Tbsp. removed
3 Tbsp. heavy cream
salt
freshly ground pepper 
Note: Specified ingredients must be ground in a grinder, not in a blender, as the result would be too mushy. 
1. Rinse clams, grind, and set aside.
2. Put clam juice and water in a large kettle and bring to the simmer.
3. Grind celery, carrots, onions, and potatoes. Mix and add to the kettle. Add half of the clams and refrigerate the other half. Add the tomatoes, butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a broil, partially cover, lower heat and simmer for 7 hours, adding the milk after 3 hours.
4. Watch that the chowder does not boil (put on an asbestos pad if necessary) and stir occasionally (if at any time the chowder appears too thick, you can thin it with a little water).
5. Cool and refrigerate overnight. Before serving time, add the reserved clams and the heavy cream. Heat for about 15 minutes, but do not boil. Correct seasonings and serve in heated soup plates. Serves 8. 
Note: This chowder freezes well. 

HENRY CHAPMAN'S CLAM FRITTERS 

1 qt. shucked clams (drained)
4 Tbsp. flour  2 eggs (beaten)
1/4 tsp. black pepper 
Grind clams coarsely. Add flour and pepper. Beat eggs well and add to clams. Fry in griddle/pan with vegetable oil (just enough to cover the bottom). When oil is hot, spoon in mixture, turning when fritter is set and slightly dry looking. (Fritter should be the size of an average pancake.) Drain on brown paper in warming oven until all are cooked. 

CLAM PIE

(From the 1965 East Hampton Town "70th Anniversary" Cookbook, Submitted by Mrs. Frank Dayton) 
Cut up 2 cups clams, 1 medium onion (chopped) and dice 1 small potato. Beat 1 egg and add, with 1/4 cup cream, 1 tblsp. Melted butter, 3/4 tsp. poultry seasoning, and pepper to taste. Pour into lined pie plate, cover with top crust, and bake in 400° oven 20 to 25 minutes. 
(Ed. Comments): If you don't have a "chopper", cutting up (dicing) the ingredients by hand will do nicely. We take "lined pie plate" to mean a pie plate with a bottom crust. There are two schools of thought on clam pie - one-cruster and double-cruster - but a double crust is often tastiest, and neater, too. You can also use either hard or soft-shell clams, or a mixture of the two. Most modern clam pies use hard. 

THE SEAFOOD SHOP'S SPECIAL BAKED STUFFED CLAMS 

(Most of the ready prepared stuffed clams that you can buy frozen in supermarkets consist primarily of breadcrumbs with a faint trace of clam flavor. These are really clammy.) Serves four. 
12 cherrystone clams in the shell
1 medium onion, minced
1 clove garlic, forced through a garlic press
Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
Paprika  1/2 tsp. dried oregano or
     1 Tbsp. fresh oregano, minced
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
1/2 - 3/4 cup dried breadcrumbs
Lemon wedges 
1. Shuck clams, reserving shells and juice. Save juice for another use. (The juice can be frozen.)
2. Coarsely chop clams or process in a food processor using pulse button for about 10 seconds.
3. Combine clams and remaining ingredients, except breadcrumbs, in a mixing bowl. Add enough breadcrumbs to bind.
4. Press filling into reserved clam shells and sprinkle with paprika. At this point, the clams may be frozen if desired.
5. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
6. Bake stuffed clams in lower third of oven for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve immediately with lemon wedges. To bake frozen clams, allow 25 minutes. 

BONAC BAKED CLAMS

(From "Burnt Offerings - Springs Fire Department Cookbook, Submitted by Penny Helm) 
1 cup fresh clams, chopped in blender
1 tsp. wet mustard
1 slice American cheese, cut into 1/4-inch squares
1 slice Swiss cheese, cut into 1/4-inch squares  1 Tbsp. chopped onion
1/3 cup bread crumbs
a little milk and clam juice for moisture
1 Tbsp. melted butter 
Mix all ingredients together. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes in real clam shells. 
(Passed on from Eleanor "Tubby" Keyes.) 

BAYMEN'S SCALLOPED SCALLOPS

(From 1st Presbyterian Church of East Hampton - Women's Association Cook Book, Submitted by Ginny Schenck) 
1 Pint scallops
2 cups Royal Lunch Crackers
     (14 crushed)
1 c. bread, crumbled well  1/2 tsp. salt
Dash of pepper
3/4 cup milk
1 bar margarine (melted) 
Mix all of the above ingredients except scallops. Grease baking dish. Make layers of mixture and scallops. Make sure there's a layer of mixture on top. Bake at 350° F. for 3/4 hour, covered. 

GRAM CHAPMAN'S SCALLOP STEW 

1 pint fresh scallops
Whole milk  2 Tbsp. butter (or margarine)
Pepper 
Put scallops in a 2-qt. sauce pan. Add just enough water to cover to 1/2 the depth of scallops. Bring to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes. Add whole milk to top of scallops, butter and pepper and simmer until hot. (Do not cook at too high a temperature or milk will curdle and scallops will toughen). Serve at once in heated soup bowls. 

OYSTER BISQUE

(From the L.V.I.S "East Hampton Cookbook") 
1/2 cup rice
4 cups chicken broth
4 Tbsp. butter
18 oysters
Salt  Tabasco sauce
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup Cognac
Chopped parsley (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper 
Cook the rice in the broth until very soft. Add the butter. Push the rice through a sieve or whirl in the blender. Finely chop 12 of the oysters or whirl in the blender with their liquid. Add to the rice mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper to taste and 2 - 3 dashes Tabasco. Stir in the heavy cream; heat just to the boiling point. Add the 6 whole oysters and heat just until they curl at the edges. Add the Cognac and cook for 2 minutes. Ladle into heated soup cups, putting a whole oyster in each cup. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired. Serves 6. Recipe can be doubled. 

OYSTER CHOWDER, JOHN HOWARD PAYNE 

1 quart Oysters
3 cups milk
2 cups cream
1 cup water
1 cup thick cream
1 bouquet garni  1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. onion juice
1 blade mace
1 Tbsp. creamed butter
2 Tbsp. parsley, minced
2 thyme leaves 
Parboil the oysters in their liquor, drain. Let liquor stand awhile, then pour it slowly into a double boiler, and add the milk, thin cream, water, thick cream, the bouquet garni, thyme, clove, onion juice, mace. Bring just to a boil, then strain. Separate the soft parts of the oyster. Chop the hard parts and add to the liquid and bring just to the boil again. Add the soft parts of the chopped oysters just before serving, and the creamed butter and the parsley. Pour into soup plates, and serve with water crackers. 
(John Howard Payne wrote "Home Sweet Home," and his home at East Hampton, a shrine for many visitors, has been preserved as one of Long Island's treasures). 

MONTAUK STARVE TO DEATH

(From "Burnt Offerings" - Springs Fire Department Cook Book, Submitted by Esther T. Terry) 
1/4 lb. salt pork
2 sliced onions
2 cups cooked, diced potatoes
1 qt. hard clams, chopped
     (save the juice)
1/4 tsp. salt  1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. flour
parsley 
Fry out the salt pork. Fry onions in same until light brown. Add chopped clams, clam juice and potatoes. Add Worcestershire sauce. Thicken with butter and flour. Serve on toast. Garnish with chopped parsley.