Corn Chowder

The other day was shockingly cool here in Minneapolis (70 degrees or so, rather than the last few days’ 90). I had a refrigerator bursting with produce, most overwhelmingly including eight ears of corn, but also potatoes and onions from the farmer’s market. And cream, and milk that I meant to turn into ricotta but never did, and celery that I had purchased for some now-forgotten reason. And bacon, lots of bacon, in little ziploc baggies in the freezer (my new way of storing bacon in my one-person household).

In other words, to my happy amazement, I had (almost) all the ingredients for corn chowder. Plus, I had a backlog of podcasts on my computer, including the NPR broadcasts from the Newport Folk Festival. I don’t think it gets more fitting that that.

I had never made corn chowder before, but somehow I intuitively knew what it needed. For the most part, that is. After much recipe scanning, I was unable to find what I deemed my perfect chowder: one that was low fuss and high bacon, basically. I did glean that celery, carrots, and red bell pepper are typical chowder ingredients (surprise), and that thyme is a typical herby flavoring (expected).

In the end, I made my own amalgamation of things — more bacon than anyone called for; simmering the corn cobs in milk because I liked the idea; adding cream because I had it; so on and so forth. And you know what, it came out amazingly. Unsurprising, I suppose, when you throw corn, potatoes, onions, milk, and cream in a pot. Still, with Edward Sharpe playing in the background, it felt like a little bit of late-summer magic.

Corn Chowder

Adapted from a mix of Gourmet and Simply Recipes

Serves 6 or so

Ingredients

-       ¼ lb. (or more) bacon, diced

-       6 ears of corn, husked, corn kernels cut off, cobs reserved

-       1 onion, chopped

-       1 large carrot, chopped

-       1 celery rib, chopped

-       4 medium yellow-fleshed potatoes (like Yukon Golds), cut into ¼ to ½ inch dice (no need to peel)

-       ½ bell pepper, diced

-       7-8 cups whole milk

-       1 cup heavy cream

-       6 sprigs fresh thyme (or more), leaves pulled off twiggy stems

-       2 bay leaves

-       salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. In a large pot, cook the bacon until fat is rendered and bacon is beginning to brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon, leaving fat.
2. Add onion to fat; cook 3-5 minutes, until soft. Add carrot and celery and cook for about 5 more minutes, until soft.
3. Break corn cobs in half and add to pot. Add bay leaves and milk. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover pot (I leave a little gap of air to help the milk keep from boiling over). Let simmer for about 30 minutes. (You may want to check occasionally to make sure it’s on the barest simmer; this will help prevent the milk from scalding the bottom of the pan.)
4. Discard corn cobs and bay leaves. Add potatoes and red pepper. Add salt (I ended up using about 4 tsp., but you should add a tsp. at a time and taste) and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
5. Add corn kernels and thyme; also add bacon back in. Add cup of cream. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add extra milk if necessary to get desired consistency. Adjust seasonings, and voila! Serve.