Manhattan Clam Chowder

1. Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp. Drain on a paper towel and crumble. Reserve 1 tbsp of the drippings in the pan and discard the rest. 2. In the rendered bacon fat reserved in the pan, sauté the onions and celery until translucent. Add tomatoes, clam juice, and wine to deglaze the pan. Transfer to slow cooker stoneware. 3. Add the potatoes, bay leaves and red pepper flakes (if using) and stir well. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours until potatoes are tender. 4. To clean the clams: scrub thoroughly with a wire brush and soak in several changes of cold salted water. Discard any clams that are open. 5. To cook the clams, bring 1/2 cup water to a rapid boil in a large pot. Add the clams and cover, shaking the pot until all the clams open. Discard any that do not open. Strain cooking liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl and reserve. Remove the clam meat from the clams and add to the slow cooker with the reserved clam cooking liquid, cream and bacon. Cover and cook on high for 15 minutes until heated through. Garnish with parsley, serve and enjoy! Note: if substituting canned baby clams, drain and rinse the clams before adding to the soup, You can increase the amount of clam juice if desired to substitute for the clam cooking liquid, but this isn't really necessary.