Kids Will Want Second Helpings Of This Ivar’s-Like Clam Chowder

Dear Merri Lou: Would you have in your files a recipe for clam chowder like that from Ivar’s Restaurant? My kids will eat Ivar’s and no other!

Could you also find a recipe for a cream cheese frosting (for a carrot cake) that is light and fluffy, as though it were whipped. Could one use part cream cheese and part whipped cream? Thank you so much, and thanks for this and for other recipes you’ve provided - Mary, Moscow, Idaho

Dear Mary: Thanks for your patience in getting these recipes. Bonnie Sanchez of Ivar’s in Seattle sends a recipe that’s similar to their restaurant version. They also make a condensed version of their clam chowders (both white and red) that’s available in larger grocery stores.

Also, here’s a cream cheese filling recipe that works just great as a topping.

Ivar’s Clam Chowder

3/4 pound chopped clams or 2 (6-1/2-ounce) cans minced clams

1 cup finely chopped onions

1 cup finely chopped celery

2 cups finely diced potatoes

3/4 cup butter or margarine

3/4 cup flour

4 cups half-and-half (see note)

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

Dash pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Drain the juice from the clams and combine the juice with the onions, celery and potatoes in a medium saucepan (if using chopped clams, cover vegetables with water or add some bottled clam juice). Add enough water to barely cover and simmer, covered, over medium heat until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

In the meantime, melt the butter, blend in the flour and cook, stirring for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the half-and-half, cook and whisk until smooth and thick. Add the vegetables and drained clams and heat through. Season to taste with the salt, pepper and sugar.

Yield: 8 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 432 calories, 32 grams fat (67 percent fat calories), 16 grams protein, 20 grams carbohydrate, 119 milligrams cholesterol, 757 milligrams sodium.

Note: This is an extremely rich soup using the half-and-half. You can easily substitute evaporated skimmed milk and cut the fat calories almost in half (18.3 grams fat per serving, reducing the percentage of calories from fat to 44 percent).

Low-Fat Cream Cheese Topping

Adapted from a recipe by Charlotte Balcomb Lane, from the Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service.

8 ounces fat-free cream cheese

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon lemon extract (optional)

12 ounces fat-free nondairy whipped topping

Combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon extract in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until the cream cheese is smooth and fluffy and the sugar has been completely incorporated. Beat in the fat-free nondairy whipped topping.

Yield: Enough for 1 cake, about 16 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 238 calories, 10 grams fat (38 percent fat calories), 2 grams protein, 26 grams carbohydrate, 2 milligrams cholesterol, 77 milligrams sodium.

Dear Merri Lou: Do you suppose that you could get the recipe for the dressing they use on the spinach salad at the Sherwood Mall’s Metro Cafe? It’s delicious, but I just can’t quite figure it out. Thank you - Marion, Spokane

Dear Marion: Metro Cafe owner Andy “Swanee” Swanson says this recipe keeps for weeks under refrigeration. Its ingredients are things you’ve probably got on hand in your kitchen.

Metro Cafe’s Spinach Salad Dressing

1 cup canola oil (or other vegetable oil)

2/3 cup red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons dry mustard powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

Mix oil, vinegar, dry mustard, onion powder and salt. Add sugar and combine.

Yield: 2 cups.

Note: For Chicken Mandarin Salad Dressing, add 1-1/2 teaspoons ginger powder. For Pasta Salad Dressing, add 1-1/2 tablespoons dried oregano.

Nutrition information per serving: 298 calories, 27.4 grams fat (83 percent fat calories), no protein, 15 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 1 milligram sodium.

, DataTimes MEMO: Have a food question? Looking for a recipe? Merri Lou Dobler, a registered dietitian in Spokane, would like to hear from you. Write to Cook’s Notebook, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210, or e-mail to merrid@spokesman.com. As many letters as possible will be answered in this column; sorry, no individual replies.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Merri Lou Dobler The Spokesman-Review