Oven-Roasted Garlic Clams with Charred English Muffins

Preheat the oven to 475°.

Scrub the clams under cold running water. Discard any questionable ones: live clams with the shells open or those that don't close when tapped, those with broken shells, or those that you can jiggle the two shell halves from side to side.

Combine the butter and the garlic in a small microwave-safe bowl; microwave at high 30 seconds or until the butter melts.

Place the clams in a bowl and toss with the melted butter.

Coat a large deep roasting pan with cooking spray. Lay the clams in the roasting pan. Roast at 475° for 15 minutes or until the shells pop, and not a moment more. Remove the pan from the oven, cover with foil, and let them rest 5 minutes.

Now, set your oven to broil on high. Place the English muffins on a baking sheet, split sides up. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly on the split sides of the English muffins.

Broil 2 minutes or until slightly charred. You can leave the oven door slightly ajar while you're broiling the muffins. Just be careful. The top should be gloriously toasty/charred, and the bottom will be almost soft and steamy.

Go back to the clams and pop them out of the shells. Discard the shells. Keep the liquid. Combine the clam meat and juices with the parsley, wine, and crushed red pepper.

Lay 2 toasted muffin halves on each of 4 plates and evenly spoon the clam mixture on top. Serve immediately.