Emmy Award-winning actor and longtime television cooking host Valerie Bertinelli knows a thing or two about clams.
“As a little girl, I fell in love with clams when I was, oh gosh, six?” she told a packed audience at the Food & Wine Classic in Charleston. “I was born and raised in Delaware, and we used to go by the seaside all the time. We spent a lot of time in Ocean City, Maryland and Rehoboth Beach. There was a restaurant on the Philly Turnpike that was all about seafood, and I loved it.”
That’s where the Delaware-born actor first tried clams in all their forms, from fried to sautéed in sauce. “My mom [also] used to make a red clam sauce all the time. So I love clams. My favorite dish in the world is a pasta alla vongole,” she revealed.
Alongside her friend and producer Ross Matthews, Bertinelli showed the audience how to prepare three dishes from her bestselling 2024 cookbook Indulge, including clams casino. (Bertinelli is also set to release a memoir early next year, Getting Naked.)
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Although it likely originated in Rhode Island in the early 1900s, Bertinelli recalls clams casino as a popular appetizer during her childhood in the ’70s. “Clams casino is a great old-fashioned dish,” Bertinelli said of the classic stuffed clam preparation. It always includes clams, bacon, and breadcrumbs, but variations abound.
For her version, Bertinelli steams littleneck clams in dry white wine, sautées shallots and red peppers in bacon fat, and broils the clams with panko and bacon.
Clams casino has become a regular recipe in Bertinelli’s rotation. She often makes this dish “if I have a bunch of people coming over and I don’t have time to go back to the grocery store.” But if you don’t cook clams regularly, you might feel a little intimidated. Fear not — they’re easy to prepare, with these three essential rules from Bertinelli.
Soak them in cold water
It’s essential to remove debris from clams before cooking them. “You want to scrub them a little bit, put them in some cold water, and let them release all their sand and dirt,” Bertinelli explained. A stiff brush does the trick for scrubbing. Bertinelli suggests soaking them in cold water for 20 to 45 minutes before proceeding with a recipe, but you can soak them for up to two hours. Make sure to discard any broken or open shells.
Steam them until they open
Steaming is an excellent way to cook clams because it prevents them from getting rubbery. Bertinelli steams her clams with white wine (you can also use water or broth) in a large saucepan over medium heat, covered, and checks after a few minutes to see if any of the clams have opened. “The nice thing about having a glass [lid] is you can see when the clams start to release and open up,” Bertinelli noted. Once they’re opened, they’re ready — remove from the heat, or they might overcook.
Discard any that remain closed
If you have clams that don’t open, that indicates that they’re dead. Bertinelli put it simply: “If a clam has not opened, don’t eat it. Throw it away. It’s not worth it. You will not feel good. I guarantee it.”