Snow Day!

As do most people, I love snow days.  Unlike on a weekend where I will sleep until I wake up at 10:00, the phone call in the morning bringing the good news makes me aware that I would have had to wake up soon, but I get to sleep in instead.  The other bonus about snow days is that there are no previous plans or commitments ... the whole day is open for me to do whatever I want (and catch up on a lot of things too).   Today I cleaned my bedroom and kitchen, ordered a few things off of Amazon, wrote a couple of e-mails, baked bread, made corn chowder, and penned a few blog posts (and it is only 6:30)!

Every snow day I usually try to make a dinner that is hearty and cozy ... it just fits the snow day mood.  So, corn chowder seemed to be a good choice.  I pulled my America's Test Kitchen cookbook off the shelf (the recipes are always amazing) and trudged off to the grocery store to buy a few ingredients I was missing.  Here is the recipe (adapted slightly)

Corn Chowder
4 lbs frozen corn
4 oz. bacon, chopped fine (about 4 slices) 
1 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I prefer Swanson brand if I don't have any homemade on hand)
2 cups whole milk
12 oz. red potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into 1/4 cubes
2 bay leaves
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 cup heavy cream
2 T minced fresh parsley

• Chop bacon, onion, potatoes, and garlic
• Puree 2.5 lb. frozen corn and all the broth together (keep it chunky)
• Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp.
• Add onions and cook until softened.
• Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 sec.)
• Add the corn/broth puree and milk - scrape up any brown bits from the bacon.

• Stir in the potatoes, bay leaves, and thyme - bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are almost tender (about 15 minutes).
• Stir in the remaining frozen corn and cream - simmer for about 5 minutes
• Discard the bay leaves, stir in the fresh parsley, and season with salt/pepper to taste.

The soup was delicious.  The only thing that I would change next time I make it is to puree the corn and broth for less time.  Instead of a thick, chunky base it became more of a smooth broth.  So, I guess it is all a matter of preference.