Corn Chowder

Corn chowder was one of the first Mexican soups I tried. I really liked it. They say you can tell the quality of a Mexican restaurant by it’s soup. So far, that rule of thumb has worked out for me. The best soups I’ve had seem to come from great Mexican restaurants.

Eating out all the time to get corn chowder, or any other soup for that matter, is ridiculously expensive, though. I had to learn to make my own. I think this recipe stands up pretty well to it’s restaurant relatives.

A hot corn chowder might be best suited for Autumn nights after harvest time, so freshly harvested corn can be used, but it works pretty well for cool spring evenings, too. This recipe specifies two pounds of frozen corn, but ten ears of fresh corn can be easily substituted. I don’t recommend using canned corn. Blech.

Freezing the bacon for about 15 minutes will make it easier to cut, or you can cook it first and cut it later.

Equipment needed
Mixing bowls
Blender or food processor
Cutting board
Measuring cups and spoons
Dutch oven or other large pot
Garlic press (optional)
Large spoons

Ingredients
2 pound frozen corn, thawed
4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups whole milk
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 table dried parsley
1 cup heavy cream
Salt
Pepper

Directions
Put half the corn and all the stock into a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Set aside.

Cook the bacon in a large Dutch oven or kitchen pot over medium heat until crispy, about 8 minutes. Stir in the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes more. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in the broth mixture and the milk, scraping up any of the browned bits (fond) off the bottom of the pot. Stir in the potatoes, bay leaves, thyme, and parsley. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes and just starting to get tender, about 15 minutes. Add the remaining corn kernels and the cream. Keep simmering until the corn is tender, but still has a bit of resistance to it, and the potatoes are cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Discard the bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.

Canned Soup: The Real Story

As a foodie I would never admit to ever making canned soup. That would be a blasphemous affair just short of the sort of things you have to confess to your Bishop to fully repent of. Fortunately, the Atonement makes any times I may have accidentally opened up a soup can and heated up the contents, with the intent to consume, something I don’t have to admit to.

According to Doctrine and Covenants, Section 58:42, “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.” If the Lord isn’t going to remember them, I’m certainly not going to bring them up.

With that in mind, I want to reveal to you the real directions for making canned soup. These have been gleaned from countless experiences doing so. By other people. Don’t ask is they were my experiences. Then I’d have to repent for lying.

Directions:

1. Laugh at the directions on the can. Openly mock those involving a stove while merely ignoring those describing the microwave.
2. Open the can by either using a can opener or pulling sharply up on the pull tab. If using a pull tab, use colorful language as the pull tab breaks before the lid comes off. Attempt to pull the lid off using a multitude of inappropriate kitchen tools before giving up and just grabbing the darned thing
3. Immediately slice open thumb on lid. Curse more while cleaning and bandaging the wound. Ignore the blood in the soup. Throw the lid forcibly into the garbage can to punish it for what it’s done.
4. Dump the contents of the can into a microwave safe (meh) bowl. Loose appetite while looking at the congealed mess that bears little to no resemblance to soup. Add water, as desired, to thin the mess down. Never use more than half of the recommended amount.
5. Microwave on high until it reaches the temperature of molten lava and burns to the sides of the bowl.
6. Remove from the microwave and eat directly from the bowl, trying to avoid burning yourself until it cools, but failing.
7. Ignore the mess left in the microwave from the exploding soup and let someone else clean it up.

Chunky Slow-cooker Chili

Many of you already know of my love affair with the slow-cooker. I have a slow-cooker with a removable pot. I particularly enjoy setting things up in the pot on a Saturday night, then pulling the pot out of the refrigerator Sunday morning and letting it do it’s thing all day until Sunday dinner. It certainly makes my Sunday’s less stressful.

I wanted to figure out some way to cook chili in the slow-cooker, but I couldn’t find any recipes that really got me excited. Instead, I modified a stove-top chili recipe that I really like. The original recipe uses ground beef. I had some cheap cuts of beef hanging around my freezer, so I substituted them to make a chunkier version. You can  certainly use hamburger, if you like. Knowing I wasn’t going to get as much of a reduction in the liquid using the slow-cooker, I decided to drain the tomatoes, first. I think the results were pretty tasty.

Equipment Needed
Cutting board
Chef’s knife
Measuring cups and spoons
Garlic press (optional)
Colander
Large skillet
Slow-cooker
Large spoon
Paring knife
Mixing bowls

Ingredients
2 onions, peeled finely chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (15 oz.) dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 pounds stew meat or other beef, cut into small chunks
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained
1 can (20 oz.) tomato puree

Directions
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the meat and cook until just browned. Transfer to the slow-cooker.

Return the pan to the heat. Add more oil if needed and reduce heat to medium. When the oil is shimmering, add the onions, chili powder, cumin, bell pepper, cayenne pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 15 seconds more, until fragrant. Remove from the the heat and transfer to the slow-cooker. Turn off the stove. Everything else will be done in the slow-cooker.

To the slow-cooker, add the beans, diced tomatoes, tomato puree, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir together. Cook on high for 6 hours, or low for 8 hours. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.

Makes 8 servings.


Garnish with sliced scallions, sour cream, grated cheese, chopped onion, or diced avocados as desired.