Corn bacon chowder

Although the blog might not reflect this, I pinky promise that we have eaten more than soup since I posted about my love of soup in the fall.

Really.

I should also tell you, dear reader, that I have this habit of zero-ing in on a food I want to make and thinking about it for a really long time.

A really long time.

And I spend months looking over recipes for said food for months and months and then I come up with some combination of all the recipes and finally make the food and then I can move on with my life.

I've been dreaming about corn bacon chowder since Michael and I got married.

And it was worth it. Significantly worth it.

I loved the flavors! Using fresh corn was a major bonus. I recommend that if you don't feel like eating it right now, you should freeze some fresh corn and make it some time in the future. If fresh corn isn't available for you, you could certainly make it with frozen corn.

There's not much more to say other than one teensy tiny confession: I made this soup in the same pot I'd made barbeque sauce in the day before. I thought I'd washed it well enough, but I'm embarrassed to say... there was some barbeque sauce residue on the pot. Which ended up lining the bowls. So that ring around the soup...it's from the barbeque sauce.

There, I said it!


Corn Bacon Chowder
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
4-5 slices bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2tsp pepper
1 large potato, peeled and diced
6 ears fresh corn, corn removed from ear (about 3c corn)
4c chicken broth
1c half-and-half, cream, or whole milk
1/4c cilantro

Directions:
Cook bacon in a soup pot until well browned. Remove bacon and drain. Discard all but 1-2 Tbsp bacon drippings. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper. Saute until tender. Add garlic, salt, and pepper and cook 1 minute more. Add potato, corn, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer 15-20 minutes or till potato and corn are tender. Turn off heat and stir in half-and-half and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Garnish with remaining bacon.