Crab and Corn Chowder

The young adults in Real World today did such a good job

of making a revamped version of an old Lily's Cafe standby

that I thought I'd share the recipe.

It is amazing to me how Lily's lives on in

everyone's heart and I am so grateful

While I was doing up the last of the dishes today

Sandra shared with me that her Mom had been sick

for many weeks, unable to eat much

and the other night they were watching a cooking show on 

T.V. and her mom said, "Oh, that makes me think of Lily's veggie sandwich,

I could go for that right now."

The kids today were fighting over the chocolate chip cookies

and many of them didn't want to try to the chowder

and then ended up having two bowls full

It astounds me to be in the heart of many

and I am so, so grateful.

The original recipe for this crab and corn chowder in the Lily's Cafe Cookbook

 calls for canned creamed corn.

Since our goal is to show the students how to cook with

fresher ingredients I swapped this out with frozen corn

and had them make a quick version of creamed corn as the base

It really was delicious, and cooks up quick.

Let me know what you think

CRAB AND CORN CHOWDER

(2) 1 pound bags of frozen corn

3 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup cream

2 cups half and half

3 stalks celery, diced

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 stick of unsalted butter

1/4 cup flour

1/2 pound of crabmeat

Salt and pepper to taste

tabasco

Heat the stock until just boiling

Place one bag of frozen corn in the bowl of a food processor

or the jar of a blender

Add 1 cup of hot stock and the 1/2 cup cream with a pinch of salt

Puree

Place this puree in a small soup pot

along with the celery, remaining stock,

the other bag of corn and chopped onion

Add a bit of salt and pepper if your stock is not seasoned

Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until onion and celery are tender

Stir occasionally to make sure it isn't sticking

Meanwhile make your roux:

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, once melted

whisk in the flour until smooth and let it bubble for a few minutes

remove from heat

(The roux may be omitted for a lighter soup)

Once your celery and onion are tender

Add the half and half  and bring back to a boil

Stir in the roux 

Stir in crabmeat, season with tabasco and adjust the salt and pepper

Serve hot - a little chopped fresh parsley or chervil would be wonderful!

Enjoy.