Monday, January 4, 2010

corn chowder recipe.

so i'm making corn chowder for clint's birthday dinner tonight. well, i just finished making it. and let me tell you...it is fab.u.lous.

honestly. it's so cold outside, we wanted a hot soup. but we had potato last week, and we both wanted something different. so...i found this on foodnetwork.com today.

and i made this and my mother's chocolate creme brulee recipe. o.m.g. i can't believe it, but God smiled down on me..and it's actually perfect. taste, consistency. everything.

okay. here's the corn chowder recipe. i actually halved it. because it makes 6 to 8 servings. and they are big servings. and i find we don't eat leftover soup like we should. so...i made 3 to 4 servings.

corn and potato chowder

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
1/4 pound bacon, diced
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped green pepper
salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups chicken broth
or stock
4 cups peeled, finely diced all-purpose potato
1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Directions

Sling the butter into a soup kettle and melt over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook till crisp. Scoop out the bacon and drain on paper towels. Save for later--don't nibble too much.

Pour off all but 1/4 cup of fat from the pot. Toss in the onions and peppers, seasoning them with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook till soft and then throw in the garlic, cooking it all for 1 minute more. Sprinkle on the flour and mix into the veggies. Dump in the broth and potatoes. Cover the pot and bring to a boil; then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or till the potatoes are tender. Add the shredded carrots and corn. Cover and simmer everything 5 to 6 minutes longer to blend the flavors.

Stir in the half-and-half. Season with the thyme, cayenne, some more salt, and lots of freshly ground black pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and the bacon bits you've been saving.

Give it one last stir, and ladle it up piping hot.

the recipe is apparently from a book titled, "dinosaur bbq" by john stage and nancy radke. and if any of the other recipes in the book are as good as this one...it'd be a purchase you might want to make.

cooking the bacon and using some of the leftover grease gives it a really hearty taste. and the smell of onion, bell pepper and garlic on the stovetop...well, there's just nothing better.

oh, one more thing. i actually used a hand blender to blend up the ingredients once i had added everything. it gives it more of a creamy consistency. if you don't have a hand blender, you can transfer it to a food processor and get the same result. just be careful. it will splash...and it IS hot!

enjoy.

4 comments:

Laura said...

yum!

Chris & Whitney said...

sounds soooo good! can i get the creme brulee recipe too? chris isn't much of a cake/cookies kind of guy, but creme brulee is one of his favs!

Ben and Bethany said...

looks like we're going to be having this for dinner tonight since

1) it sounds amazing
2) it's stinkin cold outside!

oh and I actually have these ingredients!

Cookie said...

I am so proud of you. I used to make that at the invisible chef and it was a big hit. Looks pretty good to me as I am in Mexico where it's supposed tobe warm and it's 36 and our room has no heat.

you know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. - dr. seuss

About Me

My photo
i'm a girl who likes to write. not a girl that's necessarily good at writing. it's cathartic, i think. and boy do i need that from time to time. i married a wonderful man named clint in may of 2007. he is everything i am not. he is calm. he makes plans. he is organized. his truck is always clean. his clothes are hung by types of shirt/color/size/etc. i'm full of nervous energy. i'm spur of the moment. i can't ever find what i'm looking for. we live in my car...pretty much. i'm lucky if my clothes are within ten feet of my closet. God gave us a precious angel of a baby in september of 2008. his name is pratt allen. he is 2.5 years old.we have another little one on the way. his name is max wesley. and he is due may 19th. somehow i'll be the mother of two boys. craaaaa.zy. i spend my days cleaning house. picking worms and caterpillars out of the flower beds. cooking meals. shopping at target. washing clothes. playing on the floor. reading books. doing puzzles. traveling to sonic. and the library. and blogging. i hope you enjoy our blog. feel free to leave a comment. hopefully it's a nice one. i tend to wear my heart on my sleeve.