So how do you take a classic such as corn chowder and not only "kick it up a notch" to quote a famous TV chef, but completely blow it out of the pot? Well take a stroll with me into my kitchen and see what the kids had for lunch today.
The ingredients were simple. The method pushed around a bit. The results? Fantastic!
Curried Corn Chowder
1 can of creamed corn although frozen corn would work well too.
1 large onion (the biggest one you'll find in a 5lb net of onions - not one of those super onions) - diced
3 stalks of celery - diced
1 tsp flour
1 quart of chicken stock
1 cup milk
1 cup 18% cream
1 large russet potato, washed, peeled and diced
salt and white pepper to taste
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp butter
Paprika (opt.)
In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter with the oil. Once the the butter was melted, I added the diced onions and celery. I let that cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes or so, stirring every so often so that my vegetables caramelized instead of burned. Once the vegetables have browned nicely, I added the curry (you can adjust the amount if you like less spicy, or more spicy...), stirred and then added the flour. I cooked that for a minute or two then I added the stock. I brought that to a boil, added the diced potatoes and simmered until the potatoes were tender. I added the corn at this point since it was already pretty tender.
Then came the fun part. Blitzing with my hand mixer until everything was puréed. Then I added the milk and cream. I heated everything up and served warm.
I had reserved a bit of the corn to top the soup, then I sprinkled a bit of paprika on top. Not only was the soup enjoyed for its taste, it looked good too. The kids devoured it!
So what do you do in your kitchen for fun?
