After May 1, the clam must be recognized as the _avant-coureur_ of all dainty feasts. No summer dinner or supper of any pretensions is considered complete without the small clam. All the small clams in market are supposed to come from Little Neck, Long Island. Not one-quarter of the supply comes from this locality.
=Soft Clams in Chafing-Dish.=--Select a dozen large Guilford clams, wash them thoroughly, and plunge them into boiling water for a moment. Drain and open them, and use the round plump part only. Put in a chafing-dish a pat of butter, and when quite hot add a dash of flour, and cayenne to suit the taste; add the clams, and when they are slightly cooked add a gill of light sherry. Cover the dish, and allow it to simmer five minutes. Have ready three slices of toast, put four clams upon each slice, add a little of the hot sherry, and serve.
=Stewed Little-Neck Clams.=--Get two dozen freshly opened, _very_ small clams. Boil a pint of milk, a dash of white pepper, and a small pat of butter. Now add the clams. Let them come to a boil, and serve. Longer boiling will make the clams almost indigestible.
=Soft Clams.=--Select a dozen soft-shell clams; wash them well; remove the shells; trim off the tough neck; place each clam on a half-shell, and add to each half a teaspoonful of finely-chopped bacon, a little cayenne, a very small bit of onion, and a pat of butter rolled in flour; strew over the top a little grated Parmesan cheese, and bake to a delicate brown. Cracker-crumbs may be used instead of the cheese if preferred.
=Soft-Shell Clams, Scalloped.=--Purchase a dozen large soft clams in the shell, and three dozen opened clams. Ask the dealer to open the first dozen, care being used not to injure the shells, which are to be used in cooking the clams. Clean the shells well, and put two soft clams on each half-shell; add to each a dash of white pepper and half a teaspoonful of minced celery. Cut a slice of fat bacon into the smallest dice, add four of these to each shell, strew over the top a thin layer of cracker-dust, place a pat of table butter on top, and bake in the oven until brown. They are delightful when properly prepared.
=Clam Toast.=--Chop up two dozen small clams into fine pieces; simmer for thirty minutes in hot water enough to cover them. Beat up the yolks of two eggs; add a little cayenne and a gill of warmed milk; dissolve half a teaspoonful of flour in a little cold milk; simmer all together; pour over buttered toast, and serve.