Corn & Vegetable Chowder

With the cold weather upon us, nothing tastes better than a hot bowl of soup. When paired with some crusty bread it makes the perfect lunch or light dinner.  This soup started as a corn chowder but I've added a variety of vegetables to give it more interest and body.  It is surprisingly easy to make and comes together quickly making it an ideal weeknight dinner.  You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand.  Just make sure that you don't overcook any starchy vegetables.

CORN AND VEGETABLE CHOWDER

4 ounces pancetta, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 bay leaves
1 cup baby red potatoes, skins on diced
1 1/2 cups corn, fresh if available, canned or frozen if not
1 cup heavy cream
3 1/2 cups whole milk
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup dry sherry

1) In a heavy soup pot over medium-high heat, cook the pancetta until browned, stirring occasionally.

With bacon as a base, how can you go wrong?

2)  Reduce the heat to medium.  Add the onion, celery, carrots, bell pepper, and bay leaves.  Cook 8-10
     minutes or until vegetables have softened.

Lots of veggies.  You can add just about any that you have on hand

3)  Add the potatoes and corn then stir in the cream and milk.  Season with salt and pepper

There's a full serving of vegetables in every bowlful

4)  Bring to almost a simmer.  Reduce the heat to low and cover.  Cook for 30 minutes or until the
     potatoes are tender.

5)  Adjust seasoning and swirl in the sherry.

Enjoy!

Double Corn and Thyme Cornbread

The only cornbread my family
will eat

I love to serve a good cornbread as an accompaniment to a bowl of chili but have never been able to find one that is moist enough to satisfy my finicky boys (yes, both of them).  This one, from Joanne Chang's Flour Cookbook, turned out to be a winner.  (In fact, every recipe I have made from this book has been a success.  As an added bonus, ingredients are listed in both standard American measurements as well as by weight which saves those of us in Europe from having to do those painful conversions).

The recipe called for creme fraiche but lacking both the creme fraiche and my usual substitute of sour cream, I made my own substitute of 7/8 cup of buttermilk (re-hydrated buttermilk powder from King Arthur Flour since we also don't have fresh buttermilk in Albania) and 3 tablespoons of melted butter.  This substitute seemed to do the trick but I am looking forward to making this again using creme fraiche.  I think that will take the bread from very good to outstanding.   The recipe also called for baking the bread in a 9-by-13 inch loaf pan. Preferring to serve the bread in wedges, I used a 10-inch round cake pan instead and this worked out well.

DOUBLE-CORN AND THYME CORN BREAD

1 cup (200 grams) coarse yellow cornmeal
2 1/2 cups (350 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 cup (56 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup (50 grams) canola oil
1/4 cup (55 grams) packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup (240 grams) milk
3/4 cup (180 grams) creme fraiche
1 cup (160 grams) fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme


1)  Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350 degrees F / 180 degrees C.  Butter
      a cake pan.

2)  In a large bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until
      combined.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, oil, and brown sugar until a thick
      slurry forms.  Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, and then whisk in the milk and creme fraiche.

Dry ingredients

3)  Pour the egg-sugar mixture into the cornmeal mixture, and then, using a rubber spatula, fold together
      until all of the cornmeal is completely incorporated.

Egg mixture

4)   Fold in the corn kernels and the thyme until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.  The batter will be thick and pasty.  Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Corn and thyme

Ready for the oven

4)  Bake for 40-50 minutes (mine baked for 45 minutes in the round pan), or until the top is a light
     golden brown and the center springs back when you poke it in the middle with a fingertip.  Let cool
     completely in the pan on a wire rack, then cut into 12 wedges.

5)  The corn bread can be stored, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 2 days
      or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.  If frozen, thaw at room temperature for 3 or 4 hours and refresh
      in a 300 degree F /150 degree C oven for 8 minutes.