I like clams...I think...

So...I have a friend who is from Long Island (I hope you said that with the proper accent). During the summer she suffers up there - living on the beach. Sometimes she sends pictures of sunsets over the Long Island Sound. Or the ocean. Or some sort of cove for all I know. The point is - it's a freakin' gorgeous place to be.

Now - like the Riva Howse, it seems that it is a...cozy hovel... Ya know, nothin' faancy or nuttin' - but the setting is fantastic. And I am jealous.

She talked one time about how they go clamming up there. And she likes (?) to dig for clams - but hates to eat them. I said "I love clams" - of course, never having been clamming...and pretty much only having experience with EATING clams. Though, I have kind of a reputation for being this great cook. (perhaps only in my mind...but some people believe it. maybe it's only my mom...) So, my friend offered to bring me some clams when she came back. And of course, I said "sure!"

So, on Saturday she arrives with a cooler of clams - raked and transported just for me! (along with several bottles of wine and some chips!) And I look in this cooler and I think to myself "oh my...what the HELL do I DO with these things???"

You see - I have a problem admitting that I don't know how to do something. Which usually sends me scrambling to my Blackberry to pursue rapid knowledge.

This is how I learned how to cook and clean lobsters (and make Lobster Newburg...which was excellent, if I do say so myself). This is how I managed to cook a crown roast of pork. How I pull off a lot of things.

Well - these are not like the little clams I see at Harbor Inn. And they are NOTHING like the ones from Long John Silver's. Some of these clams are the size of softballs!! I've never seen anything like it! But I smile at my friend and pretend that I know exactly what my plan is. And she, her two kids, 3 guinea pigs, 2 dogs, cat and fish head for home. And I head for my phone.

I Googled and I texted and I experimented. And finally I put the little suckers to sleep in the refrigerator under chilly blankets of seawater soaked dish towels. And the next day I poked at them.

And tonight I was determined to conquer these clams. And thank God, Trudy came to the rescue. She opened a bunch of clams. And taught me a bit about how to open them. (recall...she HATES clams). And I now have harvested a bunch of clams.

Want to know something? Just like when I pretended I had a plan for the clams on Saturday night, though I was clueless...yep, I have now said that I'm making dinner tomorrow night with these clams. People think I have a plan.

Where is my Blackberry?