AboutJennifer Brizzi Expertise I can answer any questions on finding and choosing good seafood, as well as how to prep and cook it once you get it home.
Experience I've been cooking for 35 years, some of it for restaurants and caterers, and seafood is a particular passion of mine. I am a culinary demonstrator, teacher, and food writer. I am currently researching and writing a seafood cookbook and can access all kinds of information on the subject.
Organizations International Association of Culinary Professionals
International Food, Wine, and Travel Writers Association
Publications FACES, Ulster Publishing Newspapers
Education/Credentials Several cooking courses at the New School and Peter Kump in New York City.
Awards and Honors Honorable Mention for Apicius Scholarship for the 2007 Greenbrier Food Writers Conference
Question I read your directions for cleaning clams and scrubbing with a brush is what I do and it works really well. But I am wondering if there is any shortcut if I get a mass quantity. Today I cleaned 100 clams, it took close to an hour. That was okay, but if I were having a big party and doing a few hundred it would be much too much. What do people do when they cook a few hundred little necks?
Answer Hi Billy,
I think with that many clams you could get away with skipping the scrubbing by hand, and soak them in a big bucket of water with a whole bag of cornmeal in it, for a few hours to overnight. They will have to stay in the refrigerator, though, and make sure that you still check them scrupulously before cooking to make sure they are all tightly closed-or will close firmly with a tap--to make sure they are all alive.
