Prep Time: 20-25 min.
Cook time:30 min. or longer
serves :4
Ingredients
2c. corn(off of the cob or frozen)
1/2c. celery finely chopped
1c. finely chopped sweet onion
1/2c. finely chopped carrots
1/2 package of chopped bacon
3 medium peeled/chopped potatoes (yellow or red are fine)
2-3 large scallops per bowl of chowder
1/4c. of grated parmesan cheese
2-3 large garlic cloves chopped
olive oil
3 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 rounds of cracked pepper
1/2 tsp. Garlic salt
1 tsp. onion flakes
fresh flat leaf parsley(top before serving)
finely chopped chives (top before serving)
1/4c. cognac or white wine
1c. chicken stock
2c. milk
1/2c. cream
Directions:
You will need a large simmering pan on medium high heat.
add the chopped bacon and cook down until crisp.
take out the bacon and put it aside in a small dish.
pour a little more than half of the bacon fat out into a jar and set aside.
With the rest of the bacon fat in the hot sizzling pan add chopped onions, carrots celery chopped garlic and potatoes.
add the corn
cook for 10-12 minutes on medium then add the flour over top of the veggies and stir it all in until the flour is cooked down.
add pepper, onion flakes and garlic salt
stir and incorporate the seasonings in.
add the cognac or white wine and stir in with the veggies and flour.
add the chicken stock and stir until the mixture thickens up and the lumps are out. (if the chicken stock has salt in it then lessen the salt you add later)
add the milk and cream to the rest of the mixture
add the seasonings stir and simmer.
At this point and time I added the corncobs that I cut the fresh corn off of and added 2-3 of them to the chowder to simmer.
It really adds a more sumptuous corn flavor and great color to the chowder.
at the last minute add the parmesan cheese and some of the bacon into the chowder and stir.
taste for salt and add extra if you need.(due to the bacon and chicken stock they can have extra salt in them for sure.
When the chowder is ready to serve just take the cobs out.
{Never bring the chowder to a boil or you can break the milk & cream}.
I love to let mine simmer on low for a 30 minutes or so.
I did use a hand blender and just blend some of the chowder up. I brings the flavors of the chowder together. as well as a good way to give that extra thickness. Remembering to leave half of the chowder alone so there are nice mouthfuls of corn and other veggies.
Scallops of any kind
{if you're serving scallops as a main course with sides, plan on around 6 ounces per person. That would be 4-6 large sea scallops and 8-10 medium sized. Appetizer portions would be half of that. Sea scallops, or diver scallops, are the large variety while bay scallops are the smallest}.
In this case I will be using 2-3 sea scallops per bowl with the chowder.
Butter Seared Sea Scallops
To sear scallops you will need:
1 searing pan
2-3 Sea-scallops per person
3 tbsp. of butter
salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
Always make sure the sea scallops are fresh, infact really fresh fish should not have a strong smell at all. It should smell fresh!
make sure that the muscle on the scallop has been removed.
Rinse off the scallops and the dry with a paper towel. Enough that you can have a good sear on them.
after drying and seasoning them on both sides.
I am not an expert on cooking scallops but it's not that hard either.
I added butter to a pan until nice and hot
add 3-4 scallops at a time in my pan.
You should hear the sear when you put them in that hot butter.
Do not touch them while they are searing, then turn them over so the other side can sear.
2 minutes per side and they should be nice and brown on each side.
baste with the butter in the pan.
When they are finished drop on a paper towel,
Serve on the top of a bowl of chowder.
add some fresh flat leaf parsley or finely chopped chives and bacon to finish the dish.
I find this dish amazingly comforting. But I am a northern girl at heart and always will be. You can serve toasted crusty bread to the chowder.
To me this is just one of those comfort dishes that you can cook low and slow. I love those days when its rainy & stormy or cold &wet. It just brings me such comfort to cook over a hot stove and make comfort food for the people I love.
This is a day that I put my soft music on and fill my house with beautiful smells of a stew, or corn chowder or even roasting a whole chicken with the essence of a homemade apple pie in the works. These beautiful creations of love just saunter through my house and it brings me home every-time. When it comes down to it, it's all about family . I love the way food just brings people together and closer.
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