Corn Chowder

I thought about writing the intro to this like a rap song. It's an ode to another time in my life ... college. I've had many conversations with my friends about how we miss Maine. So when I saw Rachel Ray making Fish and Corn Chowder the way people in New England make it, it made me reminisce. There are some dish that are just made better in New England. I found that out when I tried to order a lobster roll and was fed a cold lobster sandwich with mayo.

When I decided to try this recipe I knew I had to enlist the help of a very truthful friend. There are a couple of friends I know I can ask when I'm trying recipes out and I was lucky enough to have my girlfriend come over and be a guinea pig. But I had to make some adjustments. She doesn't eat pork and seafood is a no, no too. But I really wanted to make this dish. I had been craving a new England dish since we cancelled our trip to Maine.

Luckily, I figured it out. No epi-pens needed. Whew. Though I may try this dish again, with pork bacon and crab. I will continue to add additional potatoes and corn starch (or maybe flour) because I like my chowder thick.

But back to my initial thought... I have to go with it. For my friends that do not eat pork

"This goes out to you. This goes out you. This goes out to you, and you and you..."

Corn Chowder

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of olive oil

2 ribs of chopped celery

1 heaping tablespoon of minced garlic

1 diced onion

2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons of thyme

1 teaspoon of paprika
4 slices of turkey bacon

4 ears of corn (kernels removed)

4 red potatoes diced

1 cup of heavy cream

1 cup of almond milk

2 cups of chicken stock

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Salt and ground black pepper

green onions - optional

sriracha - if you like spice it's really good -optional
chicken or Crab -optional

*Note: You can eat this dish by itself or add crab or chicken. It is also ok to use seafood stock instead of chicken stock. It's your preference.

Directions:

Pour a tablespoon of olive oil into a large pot over medium heat. Allow the pot to get hot then add bacon. Allow the bacon to brown and crisp.

Once the bacon is crispy, add celery, onions, garlic, bay leaves and thyme. Once onions and garlic begin to brown use a paddle or spoon to scrape the bottom of the pot.

Add the corn, potatoes and paprika to the pot and cover. Allow everything to cook for 5 minutes.

Then add chicken stock to the pot and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

In a separate pan on medium low heat, allow butter to melt and add heavy cream.

Then add cornstarch and whisk together until mixture is thoroughly combined. For even thicker chowder add flour. Add mixture to corn and potatoes, then add almond milk.

Allow chowder to simmer on medium low heat for another 10 minutes.

Salt and pepper to taste. The amount of salt you add greatly depends on how salty your bacon is.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.