Thursday, October 8, 2009

Barefoot Bloggers - Cheddar Corn Chowder


I won't kid you...I wasn't in to making this week's Barefoot Bloggers pick. In typical Ina fashion, it calls for oil, butter, cream and cheese (and bacon, but I ignored that part). Some of the comments indicated it was thin or a little weak on flavor. I thought and thought about how to elevate the flavor and the texture. In the end, a few simple changes made this a slammin' good dish. I eliminated the bacon, reduced the cheddar a bit, upped the fresh corn, used whole milk instead of half and half, and cooked the flour a little longer to deepen the flavor. Lastly, I added some smoked Spanish paprika, not a huge amount, but enough to add flavor to the background and elevate the corn and other ingredients.

This was so good, I kept wandering by the cooling pot to sneak another bite. The flavors were rounded and balanced, and nothing upstaged the other ingredients. Perfect. If you'd like the recipe, you can find it here.

Many thanks to Jill of My Next Life for hosting this week. I'm sorry I doubted your pick, and I'm so glad I made it.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I had to reduce the amount of liquid because my pot wasn't big enough but didn't realize it until after i put the flour so it ended being really thick!
Here's mine

Anonymous said...

Sounds delicious. I like your changes.

Michele said...

Yum! Your soup sounds amazing.

Eva said...

When I read the recipe I thought this can't be bad, it's got oil, butter, cream, cheese bacon and corn. What's not to love? I actually cut the fat back a bit in mine too and it was still really good.

Kayte said...

I made this recently to serve with the BBA Cornbread. I added cooked white chicken to it, and believe me, the guys were licking their bowls. Ina knows her stuff. Yours looks wonderful, wish I had a bowl right now.

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

I like the changes you made to the recipe. A little ingenuity goes a long way.

Melissa said...

I love corn chowder - making some tomorrow, actually. I like to add some red peppers to mine just for look more than anything. I never use the cream, either; I usually sub evapourated milk instead. Much less fat, but it still gives that nice rich, creamy taste. I wish I could just have a bowl of yours right now. :)