Baked Clams

24 littleneck clams

1 stick of salted butter

5 cloves garlic minced

1/2 cup of Italian bread crumbs

Fresh parsley & grated Pecorino Romano cheese for garnish

1. Rinse clams in hot bowl of water so the shells open (this will take 3-5 minutes). Then pry open the shell with a knife and pop off one side of the shell*.*If the clamshells do not open, discard the clam--it means it is bad. The same goes with a clam with a broken shell. *If your clams are fresh from the sea and not farmed, you'll want to soak the clams in a mixture of 1-cup cornmeal to 3 cups cool water for 30 minutes. Then rinse vigorously. Then begin soak in hot water to open the clams up. The cornmeal mixture will help remove all the sand and grit.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F.
3. In a nonstick frying pan, melt a stick of butter with 2 cloves of minced garlic. Cook on medium low heat, until garlic is soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Then add in the Italian style breadcrumbs and mix well. Stuff each clamshell with a generous scoop of breadcrumb mixture.
4. Place each stuffed clamshell on a 11x17-inch baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown and the breadcrumbs on top of the clams are cracked looking (this means the clams are cooked).
5. Remove from the oven, garnish with fresh parsley and grated Pecorino Romano cheese, and serve immediately.