Corn Chowder

This is what I decided to make for the soup yesterday. Somehow the butternut squash soup had lost its appeal. I think because we had pumpkin pies, so I wanted to move to a different flavor profile, and thought corn chowder just might fit the bill.

Years ago, I was a great Make a Mix advocate. I knew I had one of the corn chowder recipes of theirs, but I didn't want to mak a mix! So I turned to my friends on the internet.

Mimi's Restaurant has probably one of the best commercially offered corn chowders out there. I decided to go see if they had a recipe. Amazing, but true they did! They not only have the corn chowder but others as well.

Here's the recipe:
Corn Chowder
(Yields 2 1/2 quarts)


4 tablespoons butter or margarine 3 cups frozen corn, thawed
6 tablespoons onion, chopped 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup celery, large dice 2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups hot water 1 pinch white pepper
2 cups raw potato, peeled and cut in 1/2" cubes 3 tablespoons flour
1 quart Half & Half

Method
On medium heat, melt butter, then simmer onion and celery for 5 minutes until soft, but not brown.

Add water, potatoes, corn and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are barely tender.

Whisk the flour into 1 cup of the Half & Half, and stir into the soup. Add the remaining 3 cups of Half & Half. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the soup has thickened to a creamy consistency.

Correct the seasoning with additional salt and pepper if needed. In order to correct the consistency or the soup you may add a little milk to make it thinner. To make the soup thicker, simmer another 5-10 minutes.

I didn't have room in the refrigerator to store the soup overnight, so I tried something different. Once I had added the half and half and stirred it together, rather than thickening it in the pot on the stove, I poured it into my crock pot. Put it on low and let it simmer all night. In the morning it was thick and ready to eat!

My mother-in-law had to have the recipe. Since she wanted it, I figured you'd like it too!

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God is God

That title is adapted from a line in Cecil B DeMille's The Ten Commandments. Yul Brenner as, Ramses II, says to Nefretiri (Anne Baxter) "His God is God" when explaining why Moses is not dead. Why this reference on a food blog?

Well today is Thanksgiving Day here in America. A day set aside for family and friends and a usually huge feast with Turkey as the centerpiece. There are other machinations of the feast by all kinds of people, even some who have a taco feast instead of Turkey. The whole idea of the day is to sit down with people you care for, break bread, and show a large amount of gratitude for the blessings in your life.

Food. It is a basic necessity to life. It is different wherever you go. The wonder of it all, is that it is there. Food springs forth on its own, without a lot of help of man. If it is nurtured and tended to it yields a great bounty. Still, it is there. No need to manipulate the seed too much to produce great and flavorful things. God designed it that way so man would not only survive, but thrive.

The Monsantos of the world need to be stifled. Manipulating the food supply to manipulate the poor is an evil too difficult to describe for me. We must allow real farmers to grow real food. Instead of limiting the seed to one season and terminating God's plan. Farmers are good people. World wide farmers have been sold a bill of goods by large corporations only to find they have no crop with the seeds they saved from the prior years harvest. It is the circle of the harvest, to save seeds to use the next year. It is the basis for our gratitude. That God, nature or however you wish to label it, continues to work to provide for the planet.

Let's go back to that good harvest. Happy Thanksgiving all.

S'mee asked for a link to represent the evil that is being done by corporations like Monsanto. Here's one: Monsanto in India. It makes you wonder why there were terrorist attacks there against Americans recently. Also, this is a huge problem, not just being done by Monsanto, include Cargill, ADM and others. Also note, the first thing that was done when we invaded Iraq was to raid their seed inventories and have Monsanto take over farming and farmers.

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Thanksgiving, Turkey, Dressing/Stuffing, Gravy, potatoes

I find it comforting that the day we have set as a day of gratitude is during the fall. Of course, it was the bounteous harvest that started it all I presume. This year we may all have a lot more to be thankful for than usual. Having a roof still over our heads, not being behind on credit card bills and the fact that most people in the country (California excepted) are paying less than $2 a gallon for gas are at the top of the list this year for most people.

I have spanned the web to see what special stuff people are cooking up this year. There will not be one link to anyone making savory cupcakes. No! Savory cupcakes are muffins folks! Cupcakes = sweetness and light. So on to the round-up of linkage:

First up? Apetizers!
Pinch My Salt has a delicious sounding Smoked Tuna Dip that will start your festivities on the right path. If, however, you are not a fish fan...
Erika at Tummy Treasure has a Walnut Gorgonzola spread that I'm now craving. Yep, this one is going on my table!

This year I have also decided that we need a soup. It hasn't been cool enough here to warrant a soup but the TopChef guys have me thinking. Small shot glasses filled with something smooth, creamy and tasty just might round out the appetizers perfectly. Mmmm. This Butternut Squash soup at Melting Your Mouth is just the right one.

The usual suspects: Turkey, Dressing, Gravy and potatoes.

My sister Cathi, makes the best mashed potatoes in the world. However, she hasn't posted her recipe online. The closest I could come was over at Elise's. Elsie suggests using a spoon to beat the potatoes after they're mashed. I know sis gets out her small electric mixers and gives it a minor twirl. Not too much!

Anne has the best roasted Turkey recipe ever! Who would have thought a traditional turkey recipe would come from Stockholm? Hey why not? It's delicious and moist, and adapted from a recipe by Nigella Lawson.

Stuffing is a hot topic. A debate worthy of congress, Cornbread or Sage? Oysters or dried fruit! The great debate indeed. I've decided to give my gal Grommie a nod this year. She has just learned she has celiac and is trying to make the necessary changes in her diet to eat gluten free. So this one's for you! Gluten Free stuffing from Shauna the gluten free girl.

Gravy. World over gravy seems harder to make than cold fusion. I have always found it easy, now jinxing myself for sure! A bit of pan dripping, a smattering of seasoned flour, wonderful broth, and voila! Gravy. For those of you needing further knowledge and skillz click here. The Rouxbe school has a great Thanksgiving meal planner. Step 14 gets you to the gravy segment. Watch the video and you'll have it down!

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