SANDRA’S 30-MINUTE POTATO ‘N BACON CHOWDER

A welcoming hot chowder

on a blustery winter day that takes

minimal time to prepare...

Servings: (4)

Prep: 5 Mins.

Cook: 30 Mins.

INGREDIENTS

4 strips center-cut bacon, cut into ½” wide slices

½ yellow onion, chopped

½ red bell pepper, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

¼ cup all-purpose flour

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

3 russet potatoes, peeled, and cut into ½” cubes

1 teaspoon old bay seasoning

1 teaspoon dried basil

½ teaspoon white pepper

½ cup condensed milk (not sweetened)

--Fresh sprigs of parsley for garnish (optional)

METHOD

Brown bacon until crispy in a medium heavy-bottom saucepan over medium-high heat.  Retain drippings, and remove bacon to drain on paper towel.

To the saucepan drippings, add the onion, bell pepper, and celery.  Saute until onions are translucent.  Add garlic; saute for 30 seconds. Add flour, and stir to fully incorporate while cooking for 1 minute.

Add chicken broth to saucepan; stirring to incorporate.  Add potatoes, old bay seasoning, basil, and pepper.  Bring to boil, and reduce to low to simmer for 20 minutes, while occasionally stirring, just until potatoes are tender.

Add drained bacon and milk to chowder; stirring to combine.  Cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, just until thoroughly heated (do not boil).

Ladle chowder into 4 serving bowls and garnish with sprigs of parsley. ~ Enjoy!

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Tip:  I served the delicious hot chowder with warm French bread slices, and a nice garden salad drizzled with vinaigrette.

SANDRA’S COMFORTING NEW ENGLAND STYLE TRI-SEAFOOD CHOWDER

A deep-flavored, luxurious-textured chowder

with generous chunks of white king salmon,

lobster tail chunks, and shrimp adorned with a few simple ingredients

so the seafood takes center stage...

Servings: (6 to 8)

Prep: 10 Mins.

Cook/Stand: 40 Mins.

INGREDIENTS

4 ozs. thick, center-cut hickory smoked bacon, cut into 1” slices

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 white onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, cut into 1/4” thick slices

2 carrots, cut into 1/4” thick slices
1 teaspoon old bay seasoning

1 dried bay leaf

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1.5 lbs. red potatoes, scrubbed (unpeeled) and sliced into 3/4” cubes

3 cups low-sodium chicken stock

1 cup quality white wine

¾ lb. boneless, skinless white king salmon cut into 1” chunks (or halibut)

¾ lb. cooked shrimp

¾ lb. cooked lobster tail chunks, thawed (from Costco)

2 cups heavy cream

Freshly ground sea salt

Ground gray pepper

Garnish

2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped

--Warm, crusty French bread

METHOD

Fry bacon in dutch oven over medium-high heat until brown and crispy.  

Remove cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate using a slotted spoon, 

and set aside.

Retain 2 tablespoons of drippings in pot and add the butter, onions, celery, carrots, old bay seasoning, and bay leaves; sauté until onions are translucent.  

Add flour, and garlic, then sauté for 1 minute.

 Add the potatoes, broth, and white wine to cover vegetables 

(add water if more liquid is needed to do so). 

Bring to a boil, scrape bits off of bottom of pot, 

then cover and boil for 10 minutes. 

Reduce the heat to low, 

then gently fold in white king salmon chunks, 

and cook over low heat for 5 minutes.  

Gently fold in lobster tail chunks, shrimp, 

and reserved bacon, 

(being careful not to break up white king salmon chunks), 

then cook on low for 3 minutes.

Remove pot from heat, add heavy cream and allow chowder to sit, 

covered, for 5 minutes to ensure 

that the fish continues to cook 

(without overcooking the fish or other seafood).

 Taste for seasonings; adding salt and pepper to your desired level.  

Toss bay leaf. 

Serve chowder in individual bowls, topped with fresh parsley, 

along with warm, crusty French bread 

for sopping up the delicious broth. ~ Enjoy!

SANDRA’S SPRINGTIME BACON and FRESH VEGETABLE CHOWDER

I came up with this recipe from 
an assortment of fresh vegetables 
and herbs I had on hand, 
as my Full Circle order 
arrived this afternoon; 
hence the need to make room
 in the refrigerator...(This chowder is fab!)

Servings:  (4 to 6)

Prep: 5 Mins. |
Cook 25 Mins.

Posted by Sandra

INGREDIENTS

***First set of ingredients:

4 strips of bacon, cut into ½” slices
3 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon old bay seasoning
1 whole bay leaf
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ in cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ onion, chopped
1 carrot, scrubbed and chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
½ red bell pepper, chopped

***Second set of ingredients:

1 small zucchini, chopped
1 cup broccoli florets, cut smaller
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (optional)

***Third set ingredients:

1-1/2 cups 2-percent milk

--Warm and crispy bread (optional)

METHOD

Heat a medium heavy-bottom pot to medium-high heat; add the bacon, and brown, until crisp.  Add the flour, and saute for 1 minute (for the flour flavor to cook out).  Add the seasonings, and chicken broth, while scraping bits from bottom.  Add remaining first set of ingredients, bring to boil, cover, and reduce heat to low to simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the second set of ingredients, stirring to combine, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add milk, stir for 1 minute, and remove from heat; tossing bay leaf.  Ladle into chowder bowls, along with a side of warm and crispy bread. – Enjoy!

SANDRA'S SENSUOUS LUMP CRAB AVOCADO BISQUE

This bisque, I must say, is one of my most 
favorite creations to date...

Servings (4)
Prep: 5 Mins.
Cook: 15 Mins.

INGREDIENTS

***Bisque:
2 avocados, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light olive oil
1/2 small Spanish (yellow) onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 heaping tablespoon of all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1 cup freshly cooked lump dungeness crab (or quality canned lump crab, drained)
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

***Bread:
1/2 fresh baguette, sliced
1 garlic clove, halved

METHOD

Mash together avocados and lime juice in a medium bowl, and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place slices of bread on a baking sheet, and set aside.

Saute chopped onion in butter and light olive oil in a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat, until translucent. Add garlic, and continue sautéing 30 seconds more. Add all-purpose flour and stir for 1 minute to cook out raw flour flavor. Add chicken stock while whisking until smooth, and bring to a boil just to thicken. Reduce heat to low to simmer; add avocado mixture to liquid and cook low and slow for 5 minutes. Add cream, crab, parmesan, parsley, including kosher salt and cayenne pepper, then simmer for 3 minutes more (do not boil).

Meanwhile, bake bread slices for 3 to 5 minutes, just until lightly golden and crispy. Remove from oven, and while hot rub with a raw garlic clove that has been cut in half, and set aside.  Toss used garlic.

When crab and avocado bisque is done, ladle into bowls, and serve with toasted garlic bread slices. ~ Enjoy!

SANDRA'S STEAMING SWEET and SMOKY SALMON CORN CHOWDER

[Yay! My photograph of this 
Sweet and Smoky Salmon-Corn Chowder
 was featured on 6-12-11 at:  
http://www.bfeedme.com/
a-craving-for-creamy-corn-chowder/]

Serves (4 to 6)

Prep: 10 mins. | 
Cook: 50 Mins. to 1 hr.


I like to finely mince veggies to make my chowders to form a flavorful broth, rather than using too much flour as a thickening agent.

Posted by Sandra

INGREDIENTS:

¼ lb. bacon, cut into ½” strips 
--(I use Jerry’s Meats double-smoked peppered brand)

1 white onion, (½ finely minced, ½ chopped)

1 carrot, scrubbed (1/2 finely minced, and 1/2 chopped)

1 russet potato, peeled (1/2 finely minced, and 1/2 chopped)

1 rib of celery with leaves (1/2 finely minced, and 1/2 chopped)

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon old bay seasoning

3 cobs of fresh corn, husked, with kernels cut from cob (also, use the back of the knife to extract corn milk from cob onto a plate – and place the corn kernels on it as well, and set aside.)

1/2 lb. smoked salmon, kippered fillets, or jarred strips, with skin removed, and flaked
1 cup half and half

1 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

METHOD:

In medium heavy-bottom pot we’ll make the broth by sauteing the bacon until browned, adding the ‘minced’ veggies, and garlic, and then stirring until cooked. Sprinkle in flour and stir two minutes longer. Add some kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste, bay leaf, and old bay seasoning. (Reserve ‘chopped’ potatoes and carrots in a small bowl of cold water to prevent oxidation, and set aside.)

Add water to the pot so it is a couple of inches over veggies, (more for a soup, or less for a stew or chowder consistency).  Bring to boil, while scraping bottom to release bits, and reduce heat to low to simmer, cover,  and simmer for 30 minutes to make a nice broth (the vegetables should have nearly disappeared by then so you should now have a thickened consistency).

Add remaining ‘chopped’ veggies (but drain the water from the potatoes and carrots first), corn kernels and corn milk, smoked salmon, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, just until chopped veggies are tender. Check seasoning for salt and pepper, and if too thick add a bit of water at this point.

Remove pot from the heat (because we do not want the half and half to curdle when we add it next), now add the half and half, and fresh parsley. Remove bay leaf and toss.

Serve with prepared and warm french loaf slices that have been cut on the diagonal, and placed alongside your serving bowls of Sweet and Smokey Salmon-Corn Chowder. – Enjoy!

SANDRA'S WORLD-CLASS ALASKA TRI-SEAFOOD CHOWDER - NEW ENGLAND STYLE

An exceptionally textured Alaska seafood chowder
as it is super flavorful because it's thickened
using cooked down vegetables, not flour...

Servings:  (8 to 10)
Prep: 15 mins. |
Cook: 50 Mins. to 1 Hr.

INGREDIENTS:

½ lb. bacon, cut into ½” strips
2 onions, finely minced
3 carrots, peeled
--(2 finely minced, and 1 chopped)
3 medium russet potatoes, peeled
--(1 finely minced, and 2 chopped)
3 stalks celery with leaves
--(2 stalks finely minced, and 1 chopped)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons flour
2 bay leaves
1-1/2 teaspoons old bay seasoning
Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste
1 lb fresh halibut, cut into 1” cubes
1 lb fresh salmon, cut into 1” cubes
1 lb. fresh shrimp/prawns, peeled & de-veined
1 pint half and half
2 tablespoons fresh parsley

--Prepared warm and crusty French loaf slices

METHOD

In dutch oven, to make broth saute bacon until browned, add 'minced' veggies, and stir until cooked (be sure to place the remaining 'chopped' potatoes and carrots covered with cold water in a small bowl to prevent oxidation). Sprinkle flour into pot and stir two minutes longer. Add some salt and pepper, bay leaves, and old bay seasoning.  Add water to pot to cover veggies by a couple of inches, (more for a soup, or less for stew or chowder consistency). Bring to boil, while scraping bottom to release bits, and reduce to a simmer, cooking for 30 minutes to make a nice broth that will be used to make the chowder (the vegetables should have nearly disappeared so you should now have a thickened consistency).

Add remaining 'chopped' veggies and let them simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, just until potatoes and carrots are tender. Check seasoning for salt and pepper, and if too thick add water at this point.

Add halibut, salmon, and shrimp. Allow seafood to cook just at a low simmer until tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Don’t overcook, just until salmon flakes. When seafood is done remove from heat (we do not want the cream to curdle), now add the half and half, and fresh parsley. Remove bay leaves and toss.

Serve with the warm french loaf cut into diagonal slices, and place them alongside of bowls chowder. ~ Enjoy!


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Tip:  You can use alternate seafood, including clams, scallops, lobster, etc.