potato chowder comfort

On a chilly wind-lashed day in spring, after a winter of temptingly mild days, we need comfort for supper tonight.  And to a descendant of good Swiss-German stock, nothing spells comfort like potato chowder.  This one has a  velvety-thick, cheese-laced base of milk and broth blanketing chunks of potato (cooked long enough that the edges are rounded), cubes of ham (or sausage rounds) and hard-boiled egg, seasoned with onion, garlic, and celery.

I often embark on potato-chowder-making with only my sieve of a memory on hand instead of a recipe, and since tonight's rendition smells particularly promising, I decided to write down the process for you, me, and posterity (case in point:  after making the soup, writing this post, and eating the soup, I remembered that I usually also put in corn).  Sorry, amounts are estimated.  We're making basically a dutch oven's worth of chowder.  (What is that, 4-6 quarts??)

First, peel the potatoes (no, I don't scrub them first since I'll be peeling all that scrubbed skin off).  Rinse (see, I'm not a total culinary heathen) and cut into cubes.  I used maybe six fist-sized potatoes tonight.  Pop them into a pan with an inch of water and about a teaspoon of salt and cook them (boil, then simmer) about 10 minutes.

While the potatoes cook, make your ambrosia, I mean white sauce.  Melt 3/4 stick of butter, throw in some diced onion (I used a half an onion tonight) and maybe a 1/3 cup of flour (this is not the time to substitute whole wheat).  Let it bubble a smidge for the flour to lose its raw flavor, then pour in 2 cups of milk (if you happen to use raw milk, slightly soured is even better) and stir constantly (or give the job to an eager youngster nearby) until it bubbles again.  Keep stirring, counting a minute.  By then it should be mouth-wateringly thick.  Now you just toss in all the goodies.

Tonight, that included:
3 hard-boiled eggs
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cheddar sausages, sliced into half-rounds
the top third of four stalks of celery, minced (including the leaves)
maybe a cup or so of grated cheddar/monterey jack cheese
[and the afore-mentioned, forgotten 2-3 cups of corn]
2 cups of chicken broth
and, of course, the cubed, cooked potatoes and their water

[no, there is nothing magic about the threes ... just how it fell out tonight]


Stir every so often until everything is heated through.  Do NOT boil or even simmer after the white sauce is thickened.  I forget why (it clumps? separates?) but I think it is dire.  If you're curious, try it and let me know what happens.

Now, I know this is not exactly a vegetable-laden stew, but I do not serve it with any additional vegetables.  The virtuous among you may enhance the nutrition of the menu with a tossed salad.  I, however, am going for comfort with this soup, and I serve saltines or toast.

Enjoy!  I know we will ....



[p.s. I know some people put cooked carrots in their potato soup.  Go ahead if you like that - it adds great color, but I personally think it completely ruins the flavor.  Too vegetable-ly.]

crab soup, Maryland-style

I first had this soup for lunch with a friend in a very busy and crowded restaurant (which I think is the best endorsement you can give an eatery) in Northeast, MD, en route to Chincoteague, VA for a camping weekend, if I remember correctly (good grief, that was nearly 20 years ago!!).  Our tent (and, more importantly, our sleeping bags) got soaked in a deluge and I got pulled over on suspicion of driving under the influence (at 10 in the morning and 18 years old, needless to say, the only influence I was under was excitement ... although I admit that driving with my left foot out the window may not have been the savviest move).

But that's a story for another time.  Back to the crab soup, which was so good that as soon as I got my hands on some crabmeat, I tried to recreate the experience.  Unfortunately, that wasn't until five years later, in small-town coastal Japan, but my tastebuds have a better memory than the rest of my senses, and I think I came pretty close.  Here's the recipe I'm serving tonight, with cheddar-garlic biscuits adapted from Betty Crocker's cookbook:


Maryland-style Crab Soup

1/2 lb shrimp - steam and shell, set aside
1/2 lb crabmeat (I use the real deal, in a one pound refrigerated can - the other half pound goes for crab dip, another crowd-pleaser.  Maybe I'll post that recipe another day)

4 potatoes, cubed and cooked (I add the potato water to the soup, too)
corn / carrots / green beans (optional - about 1-2 cups total, depending on how thick you want the soup)

While the potatoes (and vegetables) are cooking, use butter to saute:
onion
garlic
red bell pepper
celery (in a pinch, celery seed will do)

To the potatoes and sauteed vegetables add:
28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
2 cups each chicken broth and shrimp broth (I use the water I cooked/steamed the shrimp in, or just more chicken broth - and see here for how to make the best chicken broth you've ever eaten)
1 bay leaf
splash of Worchestershire
pinch each of clove and cayenne (more than a pinch of the hot stuff if you like it spicy)
a few grinds of black pepper

When all vegetables are tender, add the shrimp and crab.  You're just heating them through.  Don't boil them or they'll get tough (although I've done that by accident and the flavor is still fabulous).  In fact this soup is great made the day before and just heated up at mealtime to serve.  Garnish with cilantro, and prepare yourself to hear raves from your family or guests......