I’ll be the first to admit that I have been slacking on my Barefoot Bloggers duties. This summer wasn’t conducive to cooking and blogging all that much and then I couldn’t muster the energy to participate in September with the double dose of cake recipes. I don’t even really like cake all that much so to make two cakes in one month? Not.Going.To.Happen. So I decided that October would be my month! But then October crept up on me and didn’t look at this month’s recipes until this past Thursday and realized that that was when the first posting was due. Le sigh. I’m back in the game!
This recipe came in good time. It is FREEZING in Toronto. As I write this it is 5C. I don’t know what that is in Fahrenheit but it’s likely in the 30s. There couldn’t be a better day for some soup. And I love chowder. Give me clam chowder, corn chowder, it doesn’t matter.
I followed this recipe to a tee (well, I halved it) and was in love with the results. I mean soup topped with bacon? bring it on! One thing that I didn’t love was the amount of oil visible on the surface of the soup. think next time I’d puree a some of the soup to make it creamy without the use of cream. I don’t think I’d forgo sauteeing the onions in bacon fat and butter though. A girl must have standards.
Shouts to Jill from My Next Life for picking such a fab and seasonal appropriate recipe!
Cheddar Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 8 ounces bacon, chopped
- 1/4 cup good olive oil
- 6 cups chopped yellow onions (4 large onions)
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 12 cups chicken stock
- 6 cups medium-diced white boiling potatoes, unpeeled (2 pounds)
- 10 cups corn kernels, fresh (10 ears) or frozen (3 pounds)
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
Directions
In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.
Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. If using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cob and blanch them for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain. (If using frozen corn you can skip this step.) Add the corn to the soup, then add the half-and-half and cheddar. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.
(From The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten via The Food Network)
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
Love the idea of pureeing! I really enjoy pureed soups, so I will have to give that a try.
5C=41F. It’s 75F today here
I cut back the fat a lot (left out the butter, cut back the amount of oil and bacon, used milk rather than half and half) and I still found it very rich. at least you made it back now!
It looks great! I enjoyed this as well. And your right….you can’t forgo sauteeing the onions in the bacon fat. It makes it too freaking good!