Fresh Corn Chowder

January 2025

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated All Time Best Soups, America's Test Kitchen, 2016, p. 83

In the cooler months we like homemade soup for dinner. I have made corn chowder before using a family recipe but this time I decided to try an ATK recipe. Among other things it uses fresh corn, which is not easy to come by in the winter. But the supermarket had some packages of ears of corn that I could use. While they are probably not very fresh their availability made this dish possible.

The recipe specifies 10 ears of corn. The packages I bought had 4 smallish ears of corn each and I bought 2. The kernels were cut off 3 of these and the remainder were grated on the large holes of a box grater. Finely chopped bacon was cooked in a Dutch oven until crisp. One finely chopped onion was added and cooked until softened then 2 cloves of minced garlic were added and cooked until fragrant. Flour was sprinkled over the mixture and cooked for a few minutes. Chicken broth and whole milk were stirred in slowly. Cubes of red potato, bay leaves, thyme, and the grated corn were added and the chowder brought to a simmer. When the potatoes were almost tender the corn kernels and cream were added and cooked until the corn kernels were tender. Finally, minced parsley was added along with salt and pepper to taste.  Total time was around 100 minutes.

The chowder is good. I can't compare it with the family recipe chowder as it has been a while since I've had the latter. The kernels of corn provide sweet, slightly crunchy bits that are enjoyable to eat. Overall, though, the chowder could have had more corn flavor, probably a combination of not enough corn plus lack of freshness. Making this chowder in the summer with fresh corn should improve it. While we don't usually have soup in the summer this recipe might provide some inspiration to change that pattern.

Peanut Brittle

 January 2025

Recipe from Cook's Country, December 2024

I don't have much experience making candy. However, during the holidays, my wife, Diane, often makes several batches of nut brittle. She uses a family recipe that relies on a microwave oven to cook the candy. I enjoy eating the brittle, especially peanut brittle, so I was interested in trying the ATK recipe published recently in Cook's Country.

I made one ingredient substitution, using salted Cocktail Peanuts in place of salted dry-roasted peanuts. Getting all of the ingredients and needed hardware ready in advance was very helpful. Water and butter were cooked in a large saucepan until the butter was melted. Sugar and light corn syrup were added to the middle of the pan then stirred to moisten the sugar. This was brought to a boil and heated, without stirring, to a temperature of 300°. The heat was reduced and the mixture cooked until it reached 325°. Peanuts, which had been warmed in a 350° oven so the candy would not be cooled too much, were stirred into the mixture. Off heat, baking soda was stirred in; unfortunately it did not foam as expected. Working quickly as the candy hardens quickly, the candy was poured onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper sprayed with oil then immediately sprinkled with sea salt. After one hour to cool, the brittle was broken into pieces and stored in a sealed container. Total time, not counting the cooling, was one hour. 

The candy taste good but was hard rather than brittle. It could still be bitten and eaten but it did not have the expected consistency characterized by small holes throughout. This is because of the lack of foaming when the baking soda was added, something I was expecting from watching Diane make brittle. I suspect the baking soda was too old, it was well past the date printed on the box. I will have to try again with some newer baking soda, once I eat up this batch!

February 2025

I made this again with a fresh box of baking soda and using slated dry-roasted peanuts. The texture of the candy was a little better, a little lighter than with the old box of baking soda. The type of peanuts didn't make a significant difference.