Round two of culinary boot camp at the local cooking school began this past weekend.  The first five weeks focused on learning proper technique in the kitchen and now the subsequent four will be putting said techniques to good use.  We intend to do just that whilst eating our way across the country in true Johnson and Wales fashion.  This past Saturday focused on the foods of New England.  Think seafood, seafood and more seafood.  We steamed up a clam bake, boiled a live lobster and created the ultimate crock of baked beans.  We pressure cooked a fabulous boiled dinner of corned beef with cabbage and, of course, we made chowder.  Four kinds of chowder.  There was the classic New England, the Manhattan tomato based “chowda”, Maine chowder which incorporates a splash or two of half and half and Hatteras (not New England but done for comparison none the less) which is simply broth based – no cream or tomatoes….

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