Half Baked Harvest Corn Chowder Food

HARVEST CREAMY CORN "CHOUP" WITH PARSLEY

Steps:

• Heat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat with extra-virgin olive oil. Add bacon to hot oil and cook until crisp at edges. Add onions and corn, zucchini and potatoes and bell pepper as you get them chopped. Also add to the soup pot the bay leaf, thyme sprigs, paprika, and salt and pepper, to taste. Cook for about 7 to 8 minutes to begin to soften the vegetables. Sprinkle flour into the pot, stir and cook 1 minute. Stir in the stock and let it come up to a bubble and thicken up a bit. Then stir in cream, parsley and hot sauce, to taste, and simmer 5 minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper and serve with crackers or popcorn to float on top.

CORN AND POTATO CHOWDER

Steps:

• Sling the butter into a soup kettle and melt over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook till crisp. Scoop out the bacon and drain on paper towels. Save for later--don't nibble too much.
• Pour off all but 1/4 cup of fat from the pot. Toss in the onions and peppers, seasoning them with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook till soft and then throw in the garlic, cooking it all for 1 minute more. Sprinkle on the flour and mix into the veggies. Dump in the broth and potatoes. Cover the pot and bring to a boil; then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or till the potatoes are tender. Add the shredded carrots and corn. Cover and simmer everything 5 to 6 minutes longer to blend the flavors.
• Stir in the half-and-half. Season with the thyme, cayenne, some more salt, and lots of freshly ground black pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and the bacon bits you've been saving. Give it one last stir, and ladle it up piping hot.