I have an itch to make clam chowder. What would go with it?

[suzigirl]

I would like to have some clam chowder, but I would like to veer off the beaten path. I don't really want the soup and salad/sandwich combo. I will be serving crusty bread for sure. Any other suggestions?

[tim irvine]

Mo's clam chowder recipe with a couple of pieces of toasted sourdough with sharp cheddar melted on them. Maybe a cold beer.

[MagicMarkR]

First, be "well rounded" do you mean healthy? Someone mentioned bacon below in the context of sprinkling it on the chowder. Here's an alternative. Get some pork bellies, cube them, put them on a baboo skewer and grill them, like you might get at a Japanese izakaya. Or sauteee them along with, say, okra. This would be a nice complement unless you use a lot of pork flavoring in the chowder.

[kubasd]

serve it in a sourdough bread bowl.... my favorite way to eat clam chowder!

[bitchincook]

I'd do the chowder as a first course and follow it with beef tenderloin with a nice dark red wine and beef broth-based sauce.

[coll]

Mussels marinara, or in white wine, is a complete meal with clam chowder, in my book.

[porker]

Not sure where you're from, I'm guessing Florida, so my suggestion might seem "wrong". With that said, here we go...
In my neck of the woods (Southern Quebec) people really like fries smothered with gravy. They take it another step, add curd cheese, and call it poutine. Maybe you know it, maybe not;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine
Anyway, lotsa places around here make non-traditional poutines like "Italian" with toamto sauce and curd cheese, or "hot chicken" with chunks of chicken, peas and curd cheese, etc etc.
I had a novel clam chowder poutine awhile back and it was very good.
Nice bowl of fries, smother with piping NE clam chowder, top with fresh curd cheese (about a handful). Wait a few minutes to allow the cheese to soften. Enjoy.
You can substitute grated mozzarella or skip the cheese altogether.

[suzigirl]

Skip the cheese? Who would ever skip the cheese? And lucky me, the Amish fresh air market carries curds and they are minutes from me. I love poutine. I world some twenty years ago with a girl from Ohio. She asked the cook to make her this but with a cheddar blend and we all thought she was nuts. It was delish. Thanks Terry Lynn.

[wadejay26]

Big ole lobster roll (or 2)

[ChefJune]

Yum! Can we talk about gilding the lily?

[suzigirl]

Wish I could afford lobster right now. :-)

[suzigirl]

Great ideas. Yum

[angelsmom]

Spicy grilled shrimp by Mark Bittman or spicy coconut shrimp or bacon wrapped shrimp.

[suzigirl]

I do have shrimp in the freezer. Hmmmm

[angelsmom]

I love bacon with clam chowder....mmmmmm

[suzigirl]

Do you use it like the salt pork or sprinkle on top..... or better yet, both?

[angelsmom]

Both, in clam chowder, but I was thinking of the shrimp with bacon complementing the chowder.

[suzigirl]

I am picking up what you are putting down, girl. Bacon shrimp. I thought you meant the chowder. Still, both are delicious. Bacon on a kitchen sponge, still good.

[Cheese Boy]

New England Clam Chowder and Manhattan Clam Chowder. I guess this should work well for both. Prosciutto is my first choice. That with crusty bread and your chowder is a filling meal. If that doesn't work well, then I would stay with the seafood theme if possible. Shrimp cocktail, skewered shrimp kebabs, fish tacos, corn and black bean salad. HTH.

[todao]

Wow!! You don't make it easy. I'd' have said Caesar salad but you don't want the soup/salad thing so allow me to go way out on a limb. Your clam chowder will be starchy enough, but if you can find a squash you (and bf) like, you might use the baked squash (cut in half and hollowed to accommodate the soup) as a bowl for serving the soup. Running further out into never/never land, how about a chili relleno.

[ChefJune]

There are at least three types of Clam Chowder. What goes well with it depends at least in part upon which kind you're making: Creamy New England, Tomatoey Manhattan or Clear Rhode Island.

[suzigirl]

Good point. That does make a huge difference. New England heavy cream style.

[ChefJune]

Well, every January I like to get up to Boston to go to a favorite restaurant for Chowder and Indian Pudding. But that's a pretty wintry combo for such a hot day.

You don't want a salad or a sandwich? What about grilled shrimp or scallops? With a side of garlicky green beans.

[suzigirl]

I must have been unclear. I want to make it a little more of a rounded meal. My bf can eat. And a bowl of soup and a roll or crackers just won't cut it. And i have served sandwiches and chopped salad in the last few days. Looking to mix it up a bit. Thanks

[ChervilGeorge]

Last time I made clam chowder, I also made salmon cakes and a slaw. Might not be quite what you're after but I sure enjoyed it.

[suzigirl]

That is more along the lines of what I was after

[njmarshall55]

Sorry...I have a terse sens of humor. I understand. Just with great chowder, IMHO, nothing else is needed. Well, maybe a cold beer...AND some oyster crackers.

[njmarshall55]

Oyster crackers.

[grangie angie]

Yes....Oyster crackers or Saltines,forget the bread.