Linguine alle Vongole at Home

I love when a night's dinner menu is created spontaneously in a grocery because of the freshness of the day's ingredients. Walking through Whole Foods can be so inspiring. At the seafood counter, we saw there were some great looking fresh Manila clams. We had to get it. It was so fresh (as in, if you hit the shell a little, the muscle would move inside) that we had to eat it for dinner that night. So what to make with fresh clams? Linguine alle Vongole!

With a tomato, some garlic, parsley, and delicious white wine, the clams were tossed in and steamed to open. Then we mixed in the cooked linguine. The result: A flavorful pasta with dimensions of flavor from the clam juice and the white wine.

To cap the meal, we enjoyed a cheese course, thanks to the great cheese selection at Whole Foods. And, of course, it was paired with some port which is a fantastic way to balance and heighten the experience of a cheese plate.

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Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slideshow here.