Superbowl Eats - Tampa Bay Buccaneers edition

Like many a snowbird, Tom Brady came to Tampa Bay looking for some fun in the sun. The six-time Superbowl champion found just that in his move to Florida, leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to their second Superbowl appearance with his record-setting tenth appearance in the big game. I don't want to see the Golden Boy win another Superbowl, nor do I care to see his fellow New England Patriot-turned-Tampa Bay Buccaneer Rob Gronkowski win another championship either. And even though they are a much better team than I ever gave them credit for this season, I am completely indifferent about the rest of this Bucs team. But after seeing a profile about their coach Bruce Arians, I would like to see him and his coaching staff win a Superbowl. He seems like a guy I would like to have a pint with after a game as well as play hard for if he were my coach. I got to give credit where it's due, he got more out of a 40+-year quarterback than a certain hoodie-wearing coach could, and that's saying something given he's an automatic Hall of Famer just as his former quarterback will be.  With his forever association with New England, it's fitting to make clam chowder to celebrate Brady's latest (and hopefully last) attempt to make his mark in the NFL history books.

Ingredients

740 g canned chopped clams in their juice
680 g littleneck clams in shells, scrubbed (about 18)
680 g potatoes, peeled and diced into bite-sized pieces
230 g celeriac peeled and diced small
500 mL whole milk
25 mL olive oil
6 parnsnips, peeled and diced small
4 strips of bacon, choped ito small pieces
1 large yellow onion, chopped into small pieces
Kosher salt, to taste
fresh tarragon leaves (optional)

1. Preheat your oven to 205C. Toss the parsnips and the celeriac with the olive oil and spread everything in a single layer on a baking pan. Add the littleneck clams to the sheet and roast for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the clams have opened up.
2. Place a deep heavy pot over medium-low heat on the stove. Add the bacon pieces and cook for 8 minutes until most of the fat has rendered out. Remove the bacon from the pot with a slotted spoon, then cook the onions in the bacon fat until they're translucent, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and the milk to the pot, and bring everything to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let the potatoes cook for about 10 minutes until they're fork-tender. Use either an immersion blender to blend the base, or mix in batches in a blender until smooth, adding it back into the pot as you go.
4. Add the canned clams with the juice, the whole clams, and the roasted vegetables to the chowder base. Bring everything to a simmer and season with salt to taste; the clams and the bacon will be salty enough on their own, no need to go overboard. Makes enough for six servings.

NOTE: The above recipe was taken from one of my favourite cookbooks "The Laws of Cooking (and how to break them)" by Justin Warner, Flatiron Books.