Steamed Clams

Ingredients*

• 1 1/2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 12-16 littleneck clams (about 1 lb.)
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup white wine (depending on how many clams you're using)

*This recipe can be easily multiplied if serving a larger crowd.

Directions

1. Preheat a large saucepan to medium heat. Melt the butter in the saucepan, and stir in the garlic. Cook the garlic until it reaches a tan color. Be careful not to burn the garlic. If the garlic is overcooked or burned, throw out both the fat and the garlic, then wipe out the pan and start over.
2. Pour the clams into the saucepan. Make sure none of the clams are stacked on top of each other, otherwise the weight of the other clams will make it more difficult for the ones on the bottom to open. The clams should only cover the bottom of the pan. Stir them around in the garlic butter until the shells are coated. This will evenly distribute the heat within the shells.
3. Once the clams have been coated, add the wine. This creates the steam required to open the shells. (It will also decrease the overall heat within the pan.) Cover the clams with a lid--the clams will receive heat evenly from all sides.
4. After about 4 minutes, remove the lid. Most, if not all of the clams should be open. Clams, unlike mussels, only open when they are cooked all of the way through. If some of the clams have not opened, they were either not cooked long enough are they are bad and should be discarded. Be careful not to cook clams too long or they become tough
5. Serve as an appetizer, over pasta, or any other desired way.