MNF New Jersey

The second night of our MNF season was Oct 11. The Vikings, led by the walking Greek Tragedy Brett Favre, went to the Meadowlands to play the New York Jets.

Of course I needed to make Italian food again, but it needed to be markedly different than the SF Italian. I did some research and discovered red clam tomato pie. I knew of white clam pie from Connecticut, and dreamed of it. Charred, bubbled crust, loads of fresh garlic and chewy, sweet clams from a hot, hot oven.
Red clam pie, it turns out, is essentially the same thing, but with tomato sauce. It's a Northern New Jersey thing, and apparently particular to just a few pizza parlors, and now, available in my living room.

I thought it sounded perfect. I used fresh littleneck clams, Fred's excellent tomato sauce, a lot of minced garlic, some wine and a good handful of parmigiano. I left a few of the clams on the shell for appearance. The tomato-y, garlicky, cheesy clams scraped off the shell with your teeth were like the best stuffed clams you ever had.

I also decided 2010 would be the year of the bar cookie. It frankly may continue in 2011. Every American region has a signature bar (meaning every American home cook has a few bar cookie recipes up his/her sleeve), they are easy to make, easy to serve--the whole pan plunked down between empty beer or wine bottles in the 4th quarter, and always so darn popular.
I don't like to push dessert on people on a Monday night, and somehow a bar cookie or two seems like not quite dessert. Just a nice fillip to end the evening.
Go Jets.

The menu:
Antipasti--stuffed mushrooms, salami, olives, smoked whitefish, ricotta salata, assorted pickles
Red clam tomato pie
Salad with Italian dressing (basically red wine vinaigrette with a little oregano and sugar)
Cranberry shortbread bars, in honor of New Jersey being a top cranberry producer

Red Clam Tomato Pie:
Use a wet, nicely fermented pizza dough. I'm lucky to bring home Grand Central's U-Bake dough. Stretch it thin.
Steam fresh clams with tomato sauce, extra garlic and a little wine.
Put all the clams, some still in their shells, on the pie with enough sauce to cover, but not enough to make soggy.
Top with a good handful of grated parmigiano.
Bake in a pre-heated 500 degree oven until it's bubbled and charred and really good looking.