Corn Chowdah

Nothing says the return of fall like good soup. We're loving the crisp autumn weather in Ann Arbor and thought we'd celebrate football season, cooler temps and delicious corn with corn chowder. Or, as I like to pronounce it, "chowdah".

I've tried a couple different Corn Chowdah recipes and this is the one I like the best. We like ours with a little kick so also add hot pepper flakes (and I've also put in jalapeno before). Its good just on its own. Its from the old classic, Joy of Cooking.

Corn Chowder
About 6 Cups

Cook, stirring, in a soup pot over medium-low heat until beginning to crisp, 10-15 minutes:

• 4 slices bacon, chopped (I tried turkey bacon and there's really, for soups, no substitute for the real deal).
  

Leaving the bacon in the pan, spoon off all but two tablespoons of fat. Add and cook, stirring until tender and slightly browned, 10-15 minutes

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 medium celery ribs, diced

Meanwhile, remove the kernels from:

• 6 small ears of corn

Set the kernels aside and add the cobs to the pot, along with

• 4 1/2 cups milk
• 2 medium potatoes diced

Submerge the corncobs with the milk. Bring the milk almost to a boil, reduce hte heat and simmer, covered, until the potatoes are tender, 10-15 minutes. Remove the cobs and stir in the reserved corn kernels with

• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white or black pepper.
  

Simmer gently until the corn is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. With a slotted sppon, remove 1 1/2 cups solids from the soup and puree until smooth (or use your immersion blender until desired consistency is reached). Return to the soup and add

• 1 Tablespoon of butter (we don't do this but its in the recipe!).
  

Let stand until the butter is melted, then stir and serve.

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