San Francisco Sourdough: A Soup and Sandwitch

Chicken and Avocado Sandwich on Sourdough Bread

This is a delightful sandwich on a delightful bread. Spread a little mayo on the bottom slice of bread.  This is a mild sandwich. If you want a little more tang, you can use a salad dressing or another spread.  The avocado creates a smooth topping on the top of the sandwich, so a spread on the top slice is not necessary.  

Against the bottom slice of bread is a layer of provolone cheese, not a thick slice.  Be sure to sprinkle the sandwich with salt and pepper. It's amazing how much seasoning improves a sandwich.

You can make this a grilled sandwich if you want.  Put the avocado on after grilling.

This will be a delightful sandwich. Chowder goes great with this bread.

New England Clam Chowder with Bacon Recipe

If you like chowder, you should try this recipe with your bread. It is easy to make, even for someone who is new to chowder.

This recipe uses canned clams. You can get larger cans of clams at Sam’s Club. Because this recipe also has bacon, it calls for fewer clams.

This is a very meaty recipe. If you want a less meaty chowder, thin it with milk as you finish cooking it.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces thick-cut bacon, diced
• 24 ounces of clams, canned
• ¼ cup butter
• ¼ cup flour
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 1 ½ pounds potatoes, diced
• 2 tablespoons Gresham & Myers Cajun Seasoning or another spice blend

Instructions

• In a large pan, combine potatoes, clam juice, and enough water to cover potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender. Do not drain.
• Cook the bacon in a frying pan over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain all but one tablespoon of the drippings.
• Add the onion and celery to the frying pan and cook until softened. Add the butter. When the butter is melted, stir in the flour and cook until slightly browned.
• Stir the vegetable mixture into the potatoes in the clam water. Add the clams and cooked bacon and cook until thickened. When the chowder is thickened, heat the cream so it doesn’t cool the soup, and add it with the seafood seasoning. Heat until the clams are warmed through.

 Troubleshooting Your Clam Chowder

1. If your chowder is too thick and pasty tasting, either you have too much thickener or the soup was cooked too long. Thin your chowder with warm milk.
2. If the flavor is disappointing, either not enough of the main ingredients are used or too much liquid is used.
3. If the soup is bland, too much cream may have been added, masking the clams' flavor.