Secret Recipe Club: Potato and Corn Chowder

For the month of October's Secret Recipe Club I received Melissa's fantastic blog "Fried Ice and Donut Holes"; see her "About Me" for the full explanation on the blog name which came from her grandpa. My grandpa used to say "Just a little bit for flavor" when it came to scooping up a little of each of the dishes that were passed around at our family meal times. Reading about the phrase that has stuck with Melissa over the years reminded me of all those times I heard my grandpa say those words, which have stuck with me, at a family gathering. Melissa is a teacher who loves her job but says that baking and cooking are her passion - I think a lot of us will find that phrase resonates with us! I am an Executive Admin at Emory University by day, but I spend much of my days, nights, and weekends either dreaming about, pinning about, posting about, or making something yummy (hopefully!) to share with my family.

I hope you will take a moment to visit the  Secret Recipe Club if you've never heard of it before - it's a wonderful group of bloggers who are given a "secret" assignment of someone else's blog each month and our assignment is to pick ANYTHING from their site to make and post about on our designated reveal day! I have been a part of SRC for quite awhile now and LOVE the opportunity to get to know another blogger a little better each month by spending time perusing their blog, reading through their recipes and posts, and finding something perfect for my family from what they've shared.

Melissa's blog is full of an incredible variety of recipes to enjoy - you will easily find something delicious to make and enjoy at Fried Ice and Donut Holes. There are quite a few meatless / vegetarian dishes in addition to decadent desserts, baked goods, drinks, soup, chicken, pasta, etc. The list goes on and on! I started making my "wish-list" as I was browsing, and a few of the recipes I snagged to try include: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Blondies, Apple Cranberry Crisp, Three Minute Peanut Butter Fudge, Chewy Cocoa Brownies, Roast Beef, Pepper and Cheddar Sandwiches, Bennigan's Potato Soup, Roasted Garlic Mac N Cheese, Crispy Avocado BLT Salad... are you getting hungry yet?!

What I ended up making this month is the PERFECT Corn and Potato Chowder, shared below. I cannot say how delicious this soup was. My son absolutely fell in love with it. He claimed all of the leftovers for lunch the very next day (and he ate 2 1/2 bowls of it at dinner!) Such a perfect, simple, and delicious dinner with a loaf of crusty baked bread. The bacon topping is a wonderful addition - you could even sprinkle on a little cheese if you wanted! I think it is fantastic as is - though my husband did say the flavor of thyme was a little too strong for him. You can definitely taste it on the back of your tongue, but I thought it was the perfect accompaniment to this creamy, comforting, perfect for fall soup.

Corn and Potato Chowder from Fried Ice and Donut Holes

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
4 slices bacon
1 medium onion, chopped
Salt
Black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used 2 tsp Gourmet Garden chunky garlic)
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups vegetable broth
2 pounds potatoes, diced
4 carrots, diced into thin rounds
2 cups corn kernels (I used 2 large cobs)
1 cup half and half
1/2 teaspoon thyme
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions

1. In a large cast iron or non stick skillet cook the bacon until slightly crispy, drain on paper towels and set aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large soup pot. Add the diced onion and carrots and season with salt and pepper, cook until onion is tender (about 10 minutes). Add the minced garlic and cook another minute. Stir in the flour until blended in.
3. Add in the broth and potatoes, Cover and bring mixture to a low boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are tender.
4. Add in the corn, the half and half, and season the soup with thyme, salt and pepper to taste, and a dash of cayenne pepper (if desired).
5. Simmer about 5 more minutes, taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
6. Meanwhile, dice the bacon (rough chopped) and place in a small bowl to top the soup with.
7. Use an immersion blended to blend about half of the chunks of potato and carrots into a smoother texture (if you do not have an immersion blender, transfer about half of the mixture to a blender, cover tightly and blend until smooth, then add back into soup pot and stir to combine).
8. Ladle into bowls and top with crumbled bacon.

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