Ina’s Cheddar Corn Chowder

Soup is not my first choice for tailgating in Texas because it's usually too hot for soup. However, the Barefoot Bloggers are making the Barefoot Contessa's Cheddar Corn Chowder as one of the October recipes. Since it makes a big pot and got rave reviews on the Food Network, I thought I would give it a try for the tailgate this Saturday. I'll have to make some adjustments to the recipe because I can't in good conscience use bacon fat, olive oil AND butter in one soup! I think we'll just go with a little bacon fat!!

Find your inner prep chef, because there's a lot of chopping to do! Chop the BACON, chop the ONIONS, chop the potatoes and slice the CORN off the cob! The recipe called for TURMERIC which is not a spice that I use often. It was expensive to buy a whole jar, so I headed to the bulk spice section of the store. I only needed a ½ t. but bought about 2 t. for ONLY $.06!!!

I didn't use the olive oil to fry up the bacon, just a little spray of PAM in the pot to keep the lovely bacon from sticking!

Whew! 4 large yellow onions chopped is a lot of onions!!

If you cut the corn off the cob while standing it up in a large bowl, the corn will end up in the bowl and not all over the kitchen!!

Stirring in the flour, salt and pepper into the lovely sautéed onions!

After adding the broth!! You know it's really hard to get a good photo of a steaming hot pot. The steam kept fogging up the camera lens J

Okay, I AM taking the soup to the tailgate BUT I had to try a bowl!! Yummy! Ina knows how to make great chowder! I think it will even taste better after sitting in the frig for a day. The sweet corn will meld with the potatoes and onions to become a dish of delish! Be prepared. This recipe makes a BIG pot! Personally, I might like a little hot sauce because we Texas girls like a little spice in everything! The only alterations I made to the original recipe were to eliminate the olive oil and butter, and I also took out 2 cups of potatoes before adding the corn and pureed it in a blender. I added the pureed potatoes back into the soup to give it a thicker texture. What's not to like about a little crispy bacon on top!!

On Saturday, I will heat the soup at home and put it in a beverage cooler to keep it hot, but we we'll use a ladle to serve the chowder and not the beverage spout!!