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(Photo: Rooey202/flickr)
With the days getting shorter and the temperatures getting a little cooler up here in New Hampshire, I decided the other day that I was going to attempt some semi-home made corn chowdah (that’s using the proper accent for the region – this would be chowder in other parts of the land). This was my very first attempt ever at doing this and while it came out OK, it does need a little work. I’ll first describe what I did then at the end, will discuss a couple of add-ins for next time. Feel free to chime in and add your own recommendations on how to improve this.
Since this was just for me, I knew I couldn’t make any big batch of things so here are the ingredients I used:
1 boneless chicken breast
1 potato
1 slice of bacon
1 to 1 1/2 cups milk
1 slice of oan-yoan
1 can of creamed corn
Sea salt and black pepper
This really was fairly easy to make. The only thing I had to purchase was the can of creamed corn as everything else was already available. The chicken breast was the last one I had found in my sister’s freezer so I just defrosted it then par boiled it for a couple of minutes in some water with a dash of salt and extra virgin olive oil, took it out and chopped it up and set it aside. I peeled the potato and chopped it up into a microwave safe bowl with water, salt and EVOO then into the microwave for 2 1/2 minutes then drained in the colander. I fried up the slice of bacon then put it on the paper towel to drain then chopped up the slice of oan-yoan. I thew the oan-yoan and the chopped pieces of chicken breast into the skillet with the bacon grease and sauteed until the oan-yoan was translucent then poured this all into the colander with the potatoes. I shook this all around and mixed it together then into a 2 qt sauce pan, crumbled the bacon in as well, added the can of creamed corn, the milk, a little sea salt, and about a tablespoon of cracked black pepper. I stirred it all together then brought it to a simmer, covered it, stirring occasionally and waited for it to thicken up. When it had reached a nice consistency, I checked and the potatoes were nicely done as was the chicken breast. Total prep time was less than 30 minutes and the stove top cooking time after was about an hour or so (but that is also subject to your own personal tastes for how thick you want things).
In the end, it was a little bland. Next time I will most likely add carrot and some celery. I think I may experiment with some additional spices as well (maybe some paprika?) but all in all I found it tolerable and this amount gave me two good meals. I had it with toast and some cantalope chunks on the side.
21 Comments
Sounds good, and I like a touch of cheese so think some jalapena cheddar with it would be good.
Thanks for the idea, dakine, I started cooking down a huge kettle of swiss chard to make a cream of chard product for meals today and some for the freezer. I have added organic chicken stock, have a large bunch of garden carrots, corn would be a great color to add.
A cheese similar to that which Ruth suggested for some zing. This is a new recipe for me, just because the chard is in its glory and I needed to use it.
Am also preparing a crusty rye loaf this morning also. Cool enough to bake, warm enough to let the fresh autumn air in through the screen door at the same time.
I started my little spurt of kitchen domesticity with a shallow covered baking dish and a dozen large garlic bulbs set to roasting. It would be pretty easy to locate my home by smell this morning.
Unfortunately for me, I am not a cheese lover; rather the opposite in fact but for those who do like cheese, sounds like you both have a goo addition to this recipe.
‘a goo addition’
lovely typo.
(Preview is my friend. Preview is my friend. Preview is my friend)
Oh well, not like it’s the first or last time letters don’t register when I type. :})
We just finished a simple order of scrambled eggs with tomato, onion and bits of ham, topped with a light sprinkle of shredded sharp cheddar for our breakfast quota of goo. You two have a great day.
When I was volunteering in the kitchen at MEND, the chef introduced me to cumin.
I use it in soups and sauces. I don’t think it’s very expensive if you want to buy a small amount and try it.
((dakine))
Hmmm. Now that’s a thought. I use cumin mainly in chili or as part of a rub for steaks so usually do have some around though there may not be any here (at east already opened)
You have sleepy fingers this morning. :)
sleepy fingers…love that!
dakine, what kind of milk did you use? If it’s skim or 1 per cent, you might get better results with full-fat, or cream, or part evaporated milk. Then again, that’s more for thicknerss, but it does affect flavor, too. And I’m not sure chowder isn’t meant to be bland.
All those years in Fl (and weren’t you here in TX too for awhile?) may have just gotten you used to spicier, more seasoned food, which traditional New England foods aren’t.
Or you could put more corn in it, too. Even use unpeeled potato; more vitamins that way, too.
Hmmm. Is 70 degrees cool enough for chowdah? Rather have clam chowder, though….
I used whole milk – I’ve noticed when making gravy it doesn’t thicken near as much as I like when I use 1% (never have gotten to a skim milk level – a bit too thin for me). That’s why I knew the ‘cream’ from the can of cream corn combined with the whole milk would thicken enough for my needs and likes.
Yeah, I lived in TX between stints in FL but I’ve really lived all over the country and rarely for longer than 2 or 3 years at a time. The corn chowder though is something that I most generally do not have when I eat out, unless maybe at a lunch meal. Reality is, I very rarely eat out these days since it just costs too much for muy pocketbook. I think for me, it’s just a matter of my tastes changing with age.
Hi Dakine and all. Great topic! Corn chowder is a favourite around here, I usually toss in a splash of worcestershire to perk it up.
I use canned creamed corn usually, but when I get nice fresh corn from the farmer’s market, like I did last week, I use that. Cook the cobs as usual, and left-over is fine, cut the kernels off the cobs (not worrying about being neat about it) and then scrape the rest of the using the back of my sharp knife. I find that if I hold the cob vertically on a cutting I can scrap it clean and the resulting pile of scrapings gives me the effect of the ‘cream’ in creamed corn.
I have also added red and green pepper on occasion, and bacon (um, bacon…). And used a splash of Cholula in addition to/instead of the Worcestershire.
LMAO! oan-yoan! yes, we have those here, too!
Ya know, I usually do add some Worcestershire sauce to just about everything but missed it this time. That just might be what I was missing.
Kathryn, I like to get that Justin Wilson effect in there sometimes. :})
If you are already a W’sause fan, I can guarantee you will like it in your chowder!
Scuse me, that would be Woostahshah Sauce.
The recipe looks good, but you’re going to have to work on your headline/title skills. I saw that “semi-homemade” and thought you must be taking off on Sandra Lee (aka the Semi-first lady of New York) and her Food Network show “Semi-Homemade.”
Dakine, you’re no Sandra Lee.
Thank God.
Oops. never even crossed my mind about Sandra Lee. Whenever I use the “Semi-whatever” phrasing, I’m usually thinking of the sportswriter Dan Jenkins and his book “Semi-Tough”
I met dakine years at that gathering of Pups at my watery place that you missed because you got lost. That must have been what, five or six years ago?!
It took me a minute to figure out what oan-yaon was. I thought perhaps it was another Hawaiian word. I have had pleasure of tasting several yummy chowders lately. The local non-profit retirement community on whose board I sit is upgrading itself. Along with physical expansion we also have a new food service with a high falutin’ chef. His chowdahs are all made with heavy cream and all have been delicious. (Although the clam chowdah wasn’t as good as Legal Seafood’s)
Not real big fan of clams or other crustaceans but have to say that most meals I have gotten at Legal Seafoods have been exceptional. It has been a while since I’ve eaten there though – like probably 10 years or more.
And yeah, I’ve been living back in Florida since I guess middle of ’09, so it has been it looks like 5 years since the first pic-a-nic