New England clam chowder

Rinse the live littleneck clams gently and shuck them, draining the liquor into a bowl and cutting the connectors from both sides of the shell to free the meat; the stubborn ones open if left alone undisturbed, or after ten minutes in the freezer.

Keep the shucked clams in a bowl set over ice.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into three quarter inch dice; slice the onion.

Chop the salt pork into small pieces.

Reserve the clam liquor; chop the firm hard parts of the clams finely and run the knife quickly through the soft parts.

Try out the pork in a pan to render the fat and brown it slightly, adding a little lard if not much renders.

Parboil the potatoes in boiling water five minutes and drain.

Add the onions to the pork and fry five minutes until sweating and translucent but not browned.

Lay a layer of potatoes in the bottom of a wide sauce pan with a knob of butter, then the hard parts of the clams and the rest of the clam meat.

Season with half a tablespoon of salt and pepper and dredge everything in flour; add the rest of the potatoes, a little more salt and pepper, and make sure all of it is dredged.

Add one and a quarter cups of boiling water; it thickens fast from the flour, so turn the heat down and simmer ten minutes.

Bring the milk to a boil and let it cool to scalded; add two cups of it with another tablespoon of butter.

Soak six oyster crackers in cold milk until they moisten and add them.

Work a tablespoon each of softened butter and flour into a paste, whisk it into the reheated clam liquor over the heat, and add that to the chowder just before serving -- it tends to make the milk separate, which is why it goes in last.

Serve topped with a couple of crackers and chopped parsley.