potato chowder

Here is another soup to help get you through those cold winter evenings. I started out attempting to make this cauliflower chowder to use up some extra cauliflower that was not eaten at Miles' birthday party. I bought all the ingredients and then on the day I planned to make the chowder I started prepping and cooking. When I got to the cauliflower part, I realized the cauliflower was brown and mushy and not nearly enough for what the recipe called for. So I panicked, texted my husband and told him to go buy cauliflower. Well, he was at our polling station because it was election day and wasn't about to get out of line. Sucks to be me. Plan B or maybe plan C. We had some extra potatoes in the pantry that were on their way out but were still edible. So now I'm replacing the cauliflower that was being used to replace potatoes with potatoes...you follow? In the midst of all this panicking I didn't think very clearly and missed a step in the recipe...oops. I made due and managed to salvage this soup. And it turned out pretty damn well if I do say so myself. So here it is, my potato chowder. I also forgot to take pictures...damn it.

Potato Chowder

adapted from http://damndelicious.net/

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, diced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
4-6 potatoes, diced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup 2% milk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Start out by rereading those ingredients and making sure you have EVERYTHING. Then dice your veggies and bacon (yum).

Heat a skillet over medium high heat and cook your bacon until the fat renders out and you have yummy brown bacon-y goodness. Toss your bacon on a paper towel lined plate and drool a little.

Melt the butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven ( I still like my Lodge enamel cast iron one) over medium heat. Add all the veggies except your potatoes: garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Cook these bad boys for a few minutes until they are nice and tender (three to four minutes should work).

Next add your potatoes, chicken broth and milk and bring to a simmer. Depending on how large of chunks your potatoes are in will dictate how long you will need to let everything simmer. I let mine cook for 10-15 minutes.

Assemble your roux, remember we learned about this last time. I used some of the bacon grease from my skillet and a few tablespoons of flour. Whisk together until the flour has cooked a bit and you have a paste. Mix in some liquid from your soup and then add to your soup base.

Bring back to a simmer and season with S and P to taste. If you were too heavy handed with your roux you can use more stock or milk to thin out your soup. Garnish with bacon and dig in!

What's your favorite comfort food? Hit me up in the comments below.