North Country Corn Chowder Rachael Ray Food

CORN AND CRAB CHOWDER

Steps:

• Heat a deep pot over moderate heat. Add oil and butter. As you chop your veggies, add them to the pot: potatoes, celery, onion, and red bell pepper. Add bay leaf to the pot. Season vegetables with salt and pepper and Old Bay seasoning. Saute veggies 5 minutes, then sprinkle in flour. Cook flour 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and combine. Stir in milk and combine. Bring soup up to a bubble. Add corn and crab meat and simmer soup 5 minutes. Adjust the soup seasonings. Remove bay leaf. Ladle soup into bread bowls or soup bowls and top with oyster crackers, hot sauce and sliced scallions.

NORTH COUNTRY CORN CHOWDER (RACHAEL RAY)

Steps:

• Heat a deep pot over medium to medium-high heat. Add oil and potatoes. Cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add onion, celery, red bell pepper, and bay leaves. Season with Old Bay, salt and pepper. Cover and reduce heat a bit, cook a few minutes more, stirring occasionally.
• Uncover and whisk in flour. Cook a minute more. Add corn, broth, and milk. Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, 7 to 10 minutes, to thicken. Adjust seasonings and serve bowls of chowder with a sprinkle of chopped scallions and oyster crackers.

SMOKY CORN CHOWDER

Steps:

• Heat the EVOO over medium-high heat in a soup pot. Add the bacon and brown to crisp, then remove with a slotted spoon and reserve the bacon bits. To the bacon drippings, add the garlic, onions and chiles, and cook to soften, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the corn and season with the thyme, paprika and salt and pepper, and stir. Add the cobs to the pot along with the bay leaves, potato and cover with the stock. Add a little water to the stock if it does not cover the corn. Cook the soup, partially covered, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the cobs and bay leaves and puree with an immersion blender until the corn is creamed. Stir in the butter and lime juice and add hot sauce, to taste. Cool and store for a make-ahead meal. Reheat over a medium flame.
• Serve the corn chowder topped with bacon, scallions, herbs and cheese.