Corn Chowder

We had so much corn last week from our CSA.  So much corn that I made the hilarious pun that we have corn coming out of our ears and got a pity laugh.  I think.  In any case, eight ears of corn is a lot for two people to manage.  I used one ear in the Cucumber, Tomato and Corn salad, and we had grilled corn with burgers for dinner, but that left me with five ears of corn to use up before it got old and weird.  I had never actually had corn chowder before, but I like clam chowder, and it's essentially the same swapping clams for corn, so I figured I'd give it a try.  Plus, it seemed like a good vehicle to douse with hot sauce, parsley, and mop up with big hunks of bread.  I read over a few recipes to get some ideas, but this is one of those cases in which you can customize based on how much of each ingredient you have.

Corn Chowder

3-5 ears fresh corn, kernels cut off (A good way to remove the kernels without spraying them all over your kitchen is to hold the ear vertically in a large bowl, and use a knife to cut down each side.  I would have shared a picture, but it's too hard to hold corn, hold a knife, and hold a camera.  Maybe I need a tripod.)

1 pound potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 onion, diced

2 stalks celery, chopped (I ran out of celery, because my fridge went crazy and froze it, but this would have been a good addition.)

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon canola oil

3 cups milk

salt and pepper

In a large soup pot, heat the butter and oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and celery and cook until onion is translucent, about 4-5 minutes.

Add in potatoes and milk to cover.  You can adjust the amount of milk you use based on how thick you want your chowder.

Bring to a simmer and cook, covered for about 10 minutes until potatoes are softened.

Add in corn, salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for 5-10 minutes more.

Serve with parsley and hot sauce for garnish.