Corn Chowder

By now, you know I love soups, and that I love corn chowder. I'm always up for a new corn chowder recipe. Yesterday, Andy and I had lunch at a local cafe called the Comfort Food Cafe. I had a cup of their corn chowder with my lunch, and it was so delectable! Loaded with potatoes, sweet corn, and a ton of bacon, I was in heaven. Andy had recently brought home six ears of organic corn, so I knew what I would be making today! This is Tyler Florence's recipe, a little modified, and wow, it is good. I'm thinking this is probably my most favorite corn chowder recipe that I have ever made. Just like the Comfort Food Cafe's chowder, this soup is loaded with potatoes, sweet corn and lots of bacon. But the added fresh parsley gives a great earthy flavor to this soup. Tyler uses only heavy cream. I cut mine with half-n-half, but it is still plenty rich. I'm packing all mine up, and it will be dinner one night this week.

Corn Chowder
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half-n-half
2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced
6 ears corn

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Garnish: bacon

1. Heat the butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme and cook until the vegetables are good and soft, 8 to 10 minutes. 

2. Dust the vegetables with flour and stir to coat everything well. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the cream, half-n-half, and the potatoes; bring to a boil and boil hard for about 7 minutes, until the potatoes break down (this will help to thicken the soup and give it a good texture).

3. Cut the corn kernels off the cob and add to the soup. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the corn is soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the parsley and top with bacon. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.