I spent the better part of my childhood growing up on Martha’s Vineyard. While not perfect, my childhood was incredibly unique and magical on that island. We got to be free range kids long before it was a thing. I would spend hours outside riding my bike on our quiet street, building tree forts, sledding on the best hills in town during the winter, and swinging on a mysterious (and completely unsafe) rope swing that was hidden down a path on a steep hill in the woods behind my house.

But the biggest perks of living on an island was summer. Swimming in the salty ocean, endless hours on the beach, sea glass collecting, bridge jumping and beautiful beachy sunsets. Yeah, it might sound romanticized, but that is how it lives on in my memory. When we moved I was devastated, then as the years passed I was grateful to live in a bigger community with a little more action, now it has come full circle and I wish for those days again on the island.

Many of my most treasured memories involve food. On the Vineyard we had access to local, fresh seafood and I loved all of it. Every now and then my parents would put together a "clambake" (using the term loosely - no sand pit, stones or seaweed, but same idea) in the summertime and it remains one of my favorite meals of all time. I liked that it wasn't an ordinary meal. You ate with your hands, it was messy, and butter was basically a main course.

It’s been too long since my last visit home and it's left me homesick for the island. To help, I decided to bring a little bit of the island to California and had a clambake with some of my dear friends. It was very delicious and brought back those feelings of being a kid, eating good food and being surrounded by people I love. I also took delight in introducing a clambake to my native Californian friends who had never had such a meal.

Want to have your own clambake? Here is what you will need (portions are for 6 people):

You will want to get a steamer pot like this one to make this meal. One approach is to throw the corn, potatoes, clams, lobster and chorizo in one big pot and let it steam. I decided instead to work in these quick stages:

1. Boil the corn and potatoes together in one pot until they are soft about 30 minutes before you are ready to eat. Set aside, covered to keep warm.

2. While that is being done, grill the sausage to get it nice and charred. 

3. In the steamer pot bring 5-6 inches of water to a boil and place a steamer basket over it. Steam the lobster tails for 10 minutes, remove and cover, then add the clams (make sure you get steamer clams at the market) for 5-6 minutes. 

4. When the clams are in the pot, get your melted butter ready for dipping the clams and lobster in. I put 3 small bowls on the table with 2 tablespoons of melted butter in each. I also took a 1/4 cup of the hot water from steaming and put it in small bowls on the table to clean any left over sand off the clams before dipping in the butter. 

5. The food should then be arranged on the table to be shared family style, and preferably outside in the sun. I used craft paper as my tablecloth so we could throw the shells on the table as we ate. Be sure to have a few nutcrackers to help crack open the lobster tails and sturdy napkins. This is a messy meal! 

6. Serve up with rose or white wine or ice cold beers.