Cheater Seafood Dinners!
From RB Quinn & Mindy Merrell, co-authors of Cheater BBQ

Here are two of our favorite cheater seafood dinners.  One is a New England favorite that you can now do in the kitchen with stuff right from the grocery store.  The other comes from down the coast combining shrimp, sausage and smoke.  Both are just right with corn and potatoes and plenty of crusty bread.  Dry white wine is highly recommended.

Rhode Island Clambake in a Bowl
This stovetop stew is a loose interpretation of the three-day beachside fest known as the New England clambake, that picture-perfect steaming seaweed pit immortalized each August by every shiny food magazine. How do all those beautiful people stay so crisp and clean after digging a sand pit and hauling rocks? One summer, on the beach in Charlestown, Rhode Island, we were actually asked by the crew of a popular food television program to stay out of camera range until they finished a shoot. Our cluttered site didn't convey casual flawlessness.

Rhode Island Clambake in a Bowl is not only less work, it's a much cheaper cheater because we're skipping the lobster. Instead of a plate of steamed seafood with a little piece of corn on the cob, a sausage link and a stray potato, this stew is meant to be served in bowls with bread for sopping up the clam broth.

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound smoked sausage, mild or spicy, quartered and cut into small chunks
3 medium red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 3 to 4 cups)
2 cups dry white wine
2 cups water or 1 cup clam juice and 1 cup water Kosher salt, to taste One 16 ounce package frozen corn, thawed
4 dozen cherrystone clams, rinsed and soaked in ice water Chopped fresh parsley Hot pepper sauce Warm French bread

Method:
1. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or heavy soup pot with a lid. Add the onion and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.
2. While the onions cook, brown the sausage in a large skillet.
3. Add the sausage, potatoes, wine, and water to the onions. Bring the broth to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are just tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.
4. Stir in the corn and bring to a boil. Season the broth lightly with salt, to taste. Reduce the heat, add the clams, and cover the pot. Simmer until the clams open, about 5 to 7 minutes. Discard any clams that don't open.
5. Spoon the clam bake stew into large bowls and top with parsley.Serve with fresh lemon slices, hot pepper sauce, and warm French bread.

Smoky Shrimp and Sausage Boil
A traditional low country boil is a whole lot easier in a kitchen than on a deck with all that huge pot, outdoor burner and propane tank business. Usually, the corn on the cob and the new potatoes are cooked right in the boil with everything else, but in a regular kitchen stockpot, we think it's easier to cook the vegetables separately to serve with the shrimp and sausage. We like the extra depth that a little bottled smoke adds to the shrimp boil.