Shrimp Lobster Corn Chowder Food

SHRIMP & LOBSTER CORN CHOWDER

Steps:

• 1. Add the oil to a large pot. Add all the shrimp and lobster shells and stir until toasted and lightly browned. This takes about 5-8 minutes.
• 2. Add the chicken stock, wine and four reserved corncobs and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the stock is reduced to about 2 ½ cups (about 25-30 minutes). In a separate large pot or Dutch oven, add the bacon and cook over medium high heat until the bacon is crispy. About 5 minutes. Add the onion, carrots, celery, pepper and corn kernels and cook until the vegetables are starting to get soft. About 5 minutes.
• 3. Meanwhile, strain the seafood and corn stock into the pot with the vegetables. Discard the shells and corn cobs - their job is done. Stir. Add the half and half and dried thyme and bring to a simmer.
• 4. Stir in the potatoes and get the mixture heated back up to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook until the potatoes are tender. About 15 -19 minutes.
• 5. Stir in the shrimp and lobster, chives and a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Add the fresh chives and stir. Cook until the seafood is cooked (about 5-8 minutes). Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Serve in individual soup crocks with saltine crackers and more cut chives on top. FYI: I LOVE my soup crocks with the handles. I originally bought them to serve my French Onion Soup in but now use them for all my soups, stews and chilis. I love that I can grab the handle and serve. So much more convenient than trying to lift a bowl of hot soup; plus, they look great. Enjoy.
• NOTE: This is an old time favorite recipe of mine. It comes out every summer when the corn is fresh and the seafood is abundant. When I first found this recipe, it called for only Live Lobsters. Since fresh lobster can be hard to find at times and because it can be a lot of work, I switched to lobster tails. There is no loss of flavor here. I also substituted shrimp for ½ the lobster meat because it was more economical. Again, there is no loss in flavor. You can use any combination of lobster, shrimp or crab that you like. The key to making this great soup is the stock. And the flavor of that stock comes from the shells and corncobs so do buy your shellfish with the shells on so you can make this. HELPFUL TIP: Whenever I make shrimp, (Which is quite often since it is one of my favorite shellfish.) I put the shells in a baggie and keep them in the freezer. Then, I can just pull them out and make this stock anytime. I do the same with lobster shells. The more shells the better, so load up that pot and make the most wonderful stock using any additional shells you might have in the freezer. This recipe originally called for just heavy cream. Depending on my mood (and how tight the jeans are), I might use the half and half as I've noted here. BUT I've also made this soup with whole milk and skim milk too. Although the soup came out thinner, there are so many veggies and tons of seafood that I didn't mind that at all. The flavor is still there so if you are watching calories and fat, switch it up. Normally, I don't add the spicy hatch peppers but this year, I decided to add a little heat and it was really, really good. The kick cut through the richness of the soup and was the perfect balance. If you don't want the heat, just leave them out. As always, spice is a preference so if you are using the pepper, start out with a half and if you want more heat, add more. Jalapenos would work great here but because it is hatch pepper season here in California, that's what I used. This is a great dish to entertain with. People go nuts for it and it is easy to see why. This is classic chowder that everyone will love. ADDITIONAL NOTE: For the one person who doesn't like bacon (you know who you are) just use one tablespoon of olive oil instead of the bacon drippings to sauté your veggies. It works just fine. Enjoy.

LOW COUNTRY SHRIMP CHOWDER

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the scallion whites, celery and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Add the flour and Old Bay Seasoning and cook, stirring, until the flour is lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Add the milk, 6 cups water and the rice. Bring to a rapid simmer, then reduce the heat to medium and cook until the rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Add the corn to the pot and cook 3 minutes. Stir in the shrimp and cook until they curl and turn opaque, about 3 more minutes. Season the chowder with salt and pepper and stir in the sherry. Ladle into bowls and top with the scallion greens.

ROASTED CORN CHOWDER WITH LOBSTER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the lobster: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Remove the lobster tails from the shells and put into the boiling water. Poach for 2 minutes. Remove the lobster and set aside to cool.
• Once cooled, chop the lobster and mix with the lime juice, cayenne, seafood seasoning, and mascarpone. Taste and add salt, if needed.
• For the chowder: On a sheet pan, toss the corn kernels with a few tablespoons oil, season with salt, and roast until the corn is lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
• In a deep pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over low heat and add the bacon. Cook until the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon to a paper towel and pour most of the bacon fat out of the pan.
• Return the bacon to the pan, add the onion and celery, and cook over medium heat until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the red and green pepper, garlic, and roasted corn, and cook 5 more minutes.
• Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the chicken stock and stir to scrape up any brown bits from bottom of the pan. Stir in the diced potatoes and raise the heat a little to bring the mixture to a simmer.
• Simmer the chowder until the potatoes are cooked, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to avoid burning the bottom of the chowder.
• Taste the potatoes. When the potatoes are fork tender, turn the heat down to low and slowly stir in the cream. Keep warm on low heat.
• To plate: Ladle the chowder into bowls and top each with a mound of lobster. Garnish with sliced scallions.

LOBSTER AND CORN CHOWDER

Steps:

• Remove the lobster meat from the shells, and cut into 1-inch pieces. Set aside. Put the shells and bodies in a large saucepan.
• Gradually stir some of the cream into the cornstarch until the cornstarch is smoothly dissolved. Add the dissolved cornstarch and remaining cream to the saucepan with the shells. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer 6 to 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add corn, potatoes and onions, and cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Strain hot cream mixture into saucepan with corn; continue to simmer 5 minutes or so, until potatoes are tender.
• Add the lobster meat, and season to taste with cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Simmer for another minute; serve.

CORN AND LOBSTER CHOWDER

Steps:

• If using thawed frozen lobster tails, cook in pot of boiling water until almost cooked through, about 6 minutes. Drain. Cool. Using kitchen shears, cut lobster shells open. Remove lobster meat; cut into bite-size pieces. Discard shells.
• Purée 4 cups corn with 1 1/4 cups broth in processor until almost smooth.
• Sauté bacon in large pot over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels. Pour off and discard all but 3 tablespoons drippings from pot. Add onions to pot; sauté until light golden, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 4 cups corn; sauté 3 minutes. Add carrots, celery, and cayenne; sauté until vegetables soften slightly, about 5 minutes. Add clam juice and 1 3/4 cups broth; simmer 10 minutes. Stir in corn puré and whipping cream; simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Lobster, bacon, and soup can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill lobster and bacon separately. Cool soup slightly; chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Bring bacon to room temperature and bring soup to simmer before continuing.) Remove soup from heat; stir in sour cream.
• Melt butter in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add lobster meat and sauté just until heated through, about 2 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish each serving with lobster pieces, bacon, and chives and serve.

SEAFOOD CHOWDER

Steps:

• Cut the shrimp, scallops, and monkfish into bite-sized pieces and place them in a bowl with the crabmeat.
• In a heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter; add the carrots, onions, celery, potatoes, and corn and saute over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are barely cooked, stirring occasionally. Add the flour; reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Add the Seafood Stock and bring to a boil. Add the seafood; reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 7 to 10 minutes, until the fish is just cooked. Add the heavy cream, if desired, and the parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
• Warm the oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Add the shrimp shells, onions, carrots, and celery and saute for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook 2 more minutes. Add 1 1/2 quarts of water, the white wine, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Strain through a sieve, pressing the solids. You should have approximately 1 quart of stock. You can make up the difference with water or wine if you need to.

SHRIMP AND CORN CHOWDER

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the celery, scallions, potatoes and corn. Add the thyme, bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper and cook, stirring, 3 minutes. Stir in the flour until incorporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in the milk, then cover and bring to a boil. Uncover, reduce the heat to medium low and gently simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves.
• Transfer one-third of the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth, then return to the pot. Return to a simmer over medium-high heat. Stir in the shrimp and cook until opaque, about 4 minutes. Season with salt. If the soup is too thick, stir in up to 1 cup water. Divide among bowls and sprinkle with paprika.