Happy Birthday Rhode Island! A celebration of Quahogs, Coffee Milk and Cabinets

By Katie Barreira

The holiday weekend was full of commemorative festivities. In addition to yesterday’s observance of Memorial Day, on Saturday, the smallest state in the union celebrated a big birthday, number 221.

It was May 29th 1790 when Little Rhody, the last remaining colony of the original 13, became a state. And how better to rejoice in Rhode Island’s coming of age than with a tribute to the region’s delightful culinary peculiarities?

To get the Homemade Coffee Syrup recipe and shopping list on your smartphone (iPhone, BlackBerry, Android device) or PC, click here. For the Quahogs on the Half-Shell with Smokey Poblano Cream Sauce recipe and shopping list on your smartphone (iPhone, BlackBerry, Android device) or PC, click here.

Homemade Coffee Syrup
While native Rhode Islanders can drop into any market for a bottle of Autocrat, the quintessential and, of course, locally produced brand of coffee syrup, the rest of us are left to roam the ice cream aisle, only to emerge with a diluted and overly processed version of the original. The simple solution is…tah-dah! a simple solution of extra-strong coffee and sweetener that’s easy to make at home.

9 tablespoons freshly ground coffee
2 cups water
1 cup sugar

1. Brew coffee with 3 tablespoons of grounds and 2 cups water. Discard used grounds and re-brew the 2 cups of prepared coffee with another 3 tablespoons grounds. Repeat with the twice-brewed coffee and remaining 3 tablespoons of grounds.
2. Whisk sugar into hot coffee until dissolved. Cool, pour into airtight container and refrigerate. Keeps about 2 weeks.

“Coffeemilk”
To make a tall glass of the caffeinated beverage that locals pronounce as a single word, and which puts store-bought Frappuccinos to shame, simply stir ¼ cup of coffee syrup into 10 ounces of ice cold milk.

“Cabinet”
Rhode Island for milkshake: blend 1 cup coffee ice cream with ¼ to ½ cup coffee milk, depending on desired thickness.

Soda Shoppe Special - Prepare and serve this frappe in a frosty metal mixer, just as it would be at the counter of an ice cream parlor. Combine ice cream and milk in the base of a stainless steel cocktail shaker and blend with an immersion blender. A fun presentation for any shake!

Quahogs on the Half-Shell with Smokey Poblano Cream Sauce
The hard clams known as Quahogs are the official shellfish of Rhode Island.

1 poblano chile
18 Quahogs or large clams, scrubbed
2 ounces soft-cured cooking chorizo, cut into ¼-inch dice
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
½ cup finely chopped red onion
1½ tablespoons flour
½ cup milk
1 ounce Gruyère cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons chopped chives, divided
Lime wedges, for serving

1. Over a gas burner or under the broiler, char chile on all sides. Peel away the charred skin, then stem, seed and finely chop.
2. In a large skillet, bring 1 to 2 inches of water to a boil. Add clams, cover, and cook just until shells open, 3 to 5 minutes, removing clams as they open; discard any clams that do not open. Pour cooking liquid into a heatproof bowl and reserve.
3. In the same skillet, brown the chorizo in ½ tablespoon of the butter over medium heat; transfer to paper towel with slotted spoon. Add remaining tablespoon butter and cook the onion until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in chopped chile and flour and cook, stirring, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk along with ¼ cup of the reserved clam liquid and cook, stirring often, until quite thick, about 8 minutes. Stir in the cheese until melted, then season with salt and pepper and add 1 tablespoon of the chives. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
4. Preheat the broiler. Remove top shells from the clams, discard, and place the clams on the half-shell on a rimmed baking sheet (or in oven-proof broilers as pictured) and top each with a dollop of sauce. Broil until the sauce is bubbling, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with reserved chorizo and the remaining chives; serve with lime wedges.

Choosing the Right Chorizo
Sausage is one of the most confusingly described ingredients in recipes. When testing recipes, I must often refer to the method in order to surmise which type the author intended.

Chorizo can be particularly confounding with its various forms, each behaving differently when cooked, and thus knowing which type to use is essential to successfully executing the recipe.

Here’s how I’ve come to categorize chorizos, and because you’ll find little consistency on this matter in the recipe canon, I’ve provided a brief description of how each is used, so that you too can consult the text to know what kind to buy.

• Fresh chorizo – Raw sausage links (can also be called for as “bulk,” meaning no casings, as in any ground meat). Either cooked as whole links, which can then be sliced etc., or the casings are removed and the raw sausage is crumbled, formed into patties, balls, etc., before cooking.
• Semi-cured or cooking chorizo – Fully cooked and lightly cured sausage that yields under pressure. Typically sliced or diced before cooking, but can also be cooked whole. While fully cooked, it is not usually eaten cold; think of it as the hot dog of chorizos.
• Hard-cured chorizo – Sometimes referred to as “Spanish-style” chorizo. Drier, pepperoni-like sausage that can be stored at room temp and is often eaten thinly sliced on charcuterie platters. It can also be cut up and browned, but isn’t cooked whole.

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