My Favorite Clam Dip

My Favorite Clam Dip

Ingredients:

1 large, 24-ounce round loaf of crusty old bread (but NOT moldy bread), non-sliced
2 8-ounce packages Philadelphia brand cream cheese set at room temperature
3 7-ounce cans clams, drained with juice reserved
2 Tbsp white onion, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp hot sauce (e.g., Tabasco), or to taste
Sea salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

Utilizing a sharpened knife, remove a slice from the top of the loaf of bread and set aside. Hollow out the loaf, leaving a shell 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. Rip into and tear the removed bread into 1-inch cubes.

In a large bowl, severely beat the cream cheese until smooth. Stir in clams, 1/4 cup of the reserved liquid, the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, onion hot pepper sauce, and the salt and pepper.

Center the hollowed out loaf on a piece of aluminum foil sufficiently sized to wrap into it and pour the clam mixture into the loaf. Cover with the reserved slice of bread and wrap in the aluminum foil.

Bake in a 250F oven for 3 hours. Serve on a large serving platter surrounded by the bread you ripped into a tore from the inside of the loaf, along with some raw vegetables if you like (e.g., baby carrots, miniaturized corn, celery, etc).

Once empty, the bread shell can be cut up, ripped into or torn apart and devoured veraciously.

Serves up 8 to 12 hungry farmer boys and/or farmer girls.