This week at Food and Football, we are all about the Seattle Seahawks facing the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night. The NFC West is a murderer’s row this year, with all four teams—Seattle, San Francisco, L.A., and Arizona—capable of winning every game on their schedule.
That’s why winning games against one another is of the utmost importance, especially if you already have a couple of losses like Seattle does. Seattle did care of business against San Francisco last weekend, and now they need to do that against L.A. if they want to stay in this hunt.
What’s up with Seattle this year? In short, they’ve had problems on both sides of the ball. And while their defense did give up 21 points to the 49ers, it was the offense that looked like it found its groove last weekend, on its way to putting up a respectable 28 points. If they can carry that energy back from the Bay to Lumen Field in front of their fans, this could be the week when perceptions about Seattle begin to change for the first time this year.
The Rams have their motivations to win this game. Like Seattle, they need to stay ahead if they want to go to the playoffs in this talented division. Unlike the Seahawks, the Rams lost last week to the Arizona Cardinals, who are playing lights out in their undefeated season so far. Before the Rams’ loss to Arizona, it looked like L.A. might have been the better team thus far. We will learn more as the season progresses.
Since we are in Seattle this week, let’s talk about clam chowder! And before you point out that clam chowder is really from New England, you must also admit that if you hang out in Seattle enough—at Pike Place Market, on the ferries that crisscross the Sound every day—it certainly feels like chowder belongs here. Not only does it fit our weather, but we have the local clams to make our chowders pop.
Speaking of clams, try to buy them alive. They are more fun to work with that way, which will make it more enjoyable to eat. Here’s a quick video presentation of how to make this hearty dish, and here are some tips for the intrepid home cooks:
- Go out and buy your live clams the same day you plan to cook them. Clams don’t do well just sitting in a refrigerator
- After steaming your clams open, use some of that liquid as the base for your soup!
- Everything in your chowder should be nice and tender by the time you eat it; no one likes crunchy potatoes or vegetables, so take your time cooking them
- Clam chowder tastes good with the basic ingredients—clams, potatoes, onions, milk—but it tastes better if you season it up with a couple of drops of Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, fresh herbs like parsley and thyme, and some kind of pork product like crispy bacon pieces
- Serve your chowder with something Northwest like an IPA or a pinot gris from the Willamette
If the weather forecasters are correct, Thursday night’s game should be played under cool and cloudy skies. Perfect weather for eating chowder and beating division rivals.
