Corn Chowder

So I take it you guys aren’t big fans of eggplant pasta, LOL. No worries, today’s recipe is much more sinful.

Yesterday’s weather made me crave soup. The wind, the overcast skies – I knew I wanted to make soup after work. You see, living in Sacramento, CA with hotter temps has made us all think 70 degrees is freezing. Break out the hoodies, blankets and Uggs. No seriously, I’m not kidding.

I had remembered seeing corn for super cheap at the store and corn chowder is one of my favorite soups – so I sat in the parking lot of the grocery store and surfed the Internet on my iPhone to come up with a recipe. I ended up combining several recipes to make my own.

The Ingredients:

6 Ears of Corn – I used 3 sweet white and 3 yellow – it was just over 3 cups.
8 Ounces of Bacon – Cut into strips
1 Large Sweet White Onion
1 Large Leek – sliced into moon shapes – slit down center and chop
1 Pound Yukon Gold Potatoes – 3 medium = 1 pound
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
2 Tablespoons Fresh Thyme
2 Teaspoons Ground Cumin
4 Cups Chicken Stock
2 Teaspoons Cornstarch – dissolved into 2 tablespoons water
Salt and Ground Pepper – to taste

Bacon, bacon, bacon… I love me some bacon. I used a dutch oven and set the stove to a medium heat and added the chopped bacon. Once it rendered a few tablespoons of fat, I increased the heat to high and cooked the bacon until crisp and golden brown. I then poured off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat, leaving the bacon in the pot.

I prepped my onion, leek and thyme and measured out the ground cumin and butter.

Adding butter to bacon fat felt so wrong, but so right at the same time. The smells coming from this pot were heavenly. I Sautéed the ingredients, stirring occasionally until the onion and leeks were soft.

I then added the corn, potatoes…

and chicken stock to the pot. I brought things to a boil and cooked for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes were soft. I used a potato masher to mash some of the corn and potatoes in the pot. I reduced the heat to medium.

I added the corn starch and water mixture and waited for the soup to thicken a bit. The mashing really helped to thicken it as well. I let the soup simmer for about 5 more minutes – stirring it throughout. I then pulled it off the heat and let it sit for a few minutes.

I added the super sinful heavy whipping cream and continued to give the chowder a good stir. I did try the soup before adding the chowder and it was really good. You could omit that step if you are really watching calories. Me, not so much. I wanted mine super creamy and rich. I added salt and pepper to taste.

Outdoor photo with what natural light was left…

Indoor photo just before diving in. I seriously had to refrain from eating 2-3 bowls of this chowder. I stopped after one and have been thinking about it ever since. Sort of like the scalloped tomato dish. I have bowls stacked in my fridge ready to go for lunches.

I found so many corn chowder recipes the included bell pepper, cheese and many other interesting ingredients. I am happy that I omitted some things and added others. 2 thumbs up – I will for sure be making this soup many more times.

Dan came through the front door and thought we were having taco night because of the smells. Taco night is his favorite, guess that will need to happen soon.

So are you a fan of corn chowder? How about clam chowder?