Crab and Corn Chowder

February 8, 2006 | Filed Under Basil, Cilantro, Corn, Crabs, Fellow Bloggers, Food Blogging Events, Herbs, Parsley, Saltshaker blog, Seafood, Soups/Chowders/Gumbos, Stephen Cooks blog, Tarragon, Vegetables, Weekend Herb Blogging | Leave a Comment 

I’ve never been much of a chowder fan, although recently I saw an enticing clam chowder recipe that made me interested in trying it.

Then, the other day, I stopped by Saltshaker and found another recipe that immediately caught my attention: Crab and Corn Chowder. I’d never heard of this before. I like corn and crabmeat, so, those two ingredients were the deal breaker for me.               I made a mental note to try the recipe sometime in the near future, preferably on a very cold day.

However, the next morning with unseasonably warm weather, I woke up with the recipe in mind and like a person hypnotized, found my way to the store to buy the ingredients needed to prepare it – corn, potatoes, red bell pepper, crabmeat and herbs. Oh, so many wonderful  herbs!       By the way I would have used this recipe for my Weekend Herb Blogging post but I was too late.

The herbs involved a mix of cilantro (coriander), basil, tarragon and parsley. How exciting for me (cilantro being one of my favorites!)!

I returned home and started preparing the ingredients to cook. First, I boiled the corn and then made a corn stock. Yes, that’s right.   Corn stock.   Me. Actually, it was quite easy – boil the corncob and use the results in the recipe.

Call me weird, I’ve become excited about the idea of making stock out of different food products. Initially, I only knew of chicken, beef, and later fish stock. Then from  Stephen, I learned about lamb and red shrimp broth and some of its uses.    Really cool!       So, now I can add corn stock to my list. That’s okay, you can laugh at me.

My cooking momentum was interrupted when I had to walk the dogs and then found out I forgot to buy half and half milk. I had to run back to the store. I almost used canned evaporated milk but didn’t have enough. It’s probably better that I didn’t use the can milk since I’m sure it may have altered the taste of my first time chowder. Can anyone tell me if there’s a difference?

The meal is not hard to make and once I returned from the store, I continued cooking. My favorite part of preparing the meal was chopping the aromatic herbs to add to the chowder. As their combined scents wafted up, making me happy, I started to do my happy dance (See #9 of my  culinary  confessions.).

Soon, my crab and corn chowder was ready and I served it with crusty bread as the recipe suggested. Everything tasted fresh and delicious, from the potatoes to the crab to the vegetables. The mixed herbs especially gave it that added special flavor.

I’m glad I didn’t wait a day longer to try this crab and corn chowder.

Paz

The corn kernels removed from the cob

Making my corn stock

Most of the ingredients together in a pot

Cilantro, basil, tarragon and parsley ready to be chopped

The finished product

Ed. Note: I’m submitting this post for Weekend Herb Blogging #19. The herbs for this week are cilantro, basil, tarragon, and parsley, pictured above. Thanks, Kalyn!

*One can blog about herbs, plants, vegetables, or flowers for Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB). To see the list of other interesting WHB posts, go to Kalyn’s Kitchen, Sunday.