Clams with Cream and White Wine

This is the simplest way to prepare and serve small clams or cockles. Although most recipes for clam soup require a flavor base of herbs, onions, or other vegetables, the briny juice that clams release during cooking has such an intensely pure flavor of the sea that these other accents seem almost superfluous.

Baskets of crusty French bread are essential for convivial dipping and slurping.