On Sunday it rained big heavy rain drops. It was coldy to the bone and I was looking for something toasty warm to feed my family. I made corn chowder, warm corn chowder and it was perfect. Everyone liked it. Repeat : everyone liked it. Deep happy sigh.
Corn chowder sounds big and scary. It rhymes with clam chowder, that yummy creamy soup thing I had in a bowl made out of bread in Boston. That expensive dish I have at Fisherman's Wharf every time I'm in San Francisco. Corn chowder always seemed like a very complicated dish to make but after reading a couple recipes I came up with one that I was very happy with, something straightforward and not time consuming. Adios crock pot.
I have a list of recipes that I archive in my head called "for my restaurant."These are the fail proof really yummy recipes I can eat over and over again. Like the asparagus-gruyere tart or the creamy blackberry frozen yogurt. In fact I should serve the tart and corn chowder together and then the frozen yogurt for dessert in my imaginary future restaurant. It's a cozy place, nothing fancy. It will have vintage china that I find in thrift stores and will be extremely kid friendly, so kid friendly your kids will want to live there. There will also be various comfortable chairs so moms can nurse while eating their food (come on you know you've done it) and there will be awesome babysitters, like your 12 year old neighbor who comes to your house after school just to play with your kids because she thinks it's so F-U-N. You will be able to eat in peace guaranteed or your money back. Speaking of money you won't need much, meals will be very inexpensive and if you want to wash dishes afterwards we'll call it a trade.
You should totally come to my future restaurant, specially on a rainy day, it will serve up a killer corn chowder.
yields 8 servings
(printable version)
- 4 ears corn
- 2 15 ounce cans whole kernel corn
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 3 ounces prosciutto finely chopped (bacon would also work great)
- 1 red onion chopped
- 3 medium potatoes diced
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Cut kernels from ears of corn and reserve in a bowl.
- Puree the canned corn in a food processor. If you're using a blender you might want to add some of the chicken broth so make it smoother while you blend.
- Cook onions, cut corn kernels, and prosciutto in Dutch oven over medium heat until the corn is softened (8-10 minutes)
- Add potatoes, corn puree, and chicken broth to Dutch oven and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender (15-20 minutes)
- Stir in cream and and cheese and serve warm.
