In Chicago, we tend to refer to all non-summer months as "winter." Ignoring the current snap of pleasant weather, we're all presently preparing to be very cold for a very long while. Which means it's time for some soup.
When it comes to soups, there's nothing I love like a cream-based chowder. Furthermore, I like to add corn to pretty much anything. So, on the night of Halloween I was super pleased to find seafood and corn chowder as the soup of the day at D4 in Streeterville. It was delicious. The next afternoon, I was a little surprised to be facing a huge pot of crab and corn chowder at the SoupBox on Chicago Ave., as I'd never seen that soup there before, but I went ahead and had some.
Here's where things get weird. Less than a week later (this past Friday, to be precise), I found myself unexpectedly at Puck's Express, the to-go food station at the MCA. I had the soup of the day. It was seafood and corn chowder. This one had potatoes and celery in it, and it was the best yet.
I had already decided to write this little blog post about my newly-discovered food trend when my father took me to dinner at Heaven on Seven that evening. God's honest truth: seafood and corn chowder was the soup du jour. I had to have a cup. It was fine, but not as good as the one I'd had for lunch.
I'm not sure what's stranger: that, in one week, I was served a soup I'd never even heard of before on four different occasions, or that each of these places was serving this soup as the special, limited-time-only soup on the day I happened to be there. For all I know, Jesus is trying to give me mercury poisoning. You may never come across this food trend at all.
In truth, I doubt this was a fluke occurrence but I've taken the liberty of finding a recipe for seafood and corn chowder, because missing out on such a lovely soup would truly be a tragedy. I ate it four times in a week, and if you offered me a bowl of it right now, I would gladly eat it. That's how good it is. I looked for a recipe that seemed similar to the one I had at Puck's, since that was my favorite. Further increasing the coincidence factor, this recipe is from a Chicago cook and was written on November 8th of 2007, precisely 2 years ago today. I'll try cooking it up soon (I'd recommend adding some chopped celery) and let you know how it goes; feel free to do the same!
Seafood and Corn Chowder, from "A Mingling of Tastes," 11/8/2007
5 strips bacon, chopped
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
1 jalepeno, seeded and diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
pinch dried marjoram or oregano
1/4 cup AP flour
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups lowfat milk
1 medium russet potato, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups frozen sweet corn
1 tsp. mild chile powder
2 tsp. corn starch dissolved in 1 tbs. water
1/2 lb. medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
3/4 lb. sea scallops, cut into 2 or 3 pieces each
Fresh parsley for garnish
Cook the bacon in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Transfer to a paper towel, leaving about one tablespoon of fat in the pot. Add the onion and jalapeno, season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, or until soft and lightly browned. Add the garlic, thyme and marjoram and cook for 1 minute. Sprinkle the flour over the onion mixture and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring well to combine. Add the chicken broth and milk. Raise the heat to high and cover until the liquid comes to a boil. Add the potatoes and return to boiling. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until potatoes are just tender.
Add the corn, chili powder. Return chowder to a simmer and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Add the shrimp and scallops and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, or until seafood is opaque and cooked through. Stir in the reserved bacon. Serve garnished with fresh parsley.
