Corn Chowder

It's sweet corn time and this is one soup to make with the sweet, crunchy fresh corn.  This recipe comes from the Barefoot Contessa.  If you like corn, it's the best corn chowder I've had!  The original recipe makes a lot so I cut it in half and it still serves 8-10.

Ingredients:

8 ounces bacon, chopped (you will use half for the soup and half for the garnish)

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups chopped yellow onions (2 large onions)

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter (I used salted butter so I cut down on the salt)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 -1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper  (add it to taste)

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

6 cups chicken stock

3cups medium-diced white boiling potatoes or new red potatoes, unpeeled (dice potatoes in small bite size pieces)

5 cups corn kernels, fresh (6-8 ears)

1 cups half-and-half

10 oz. sharp white Cheddar cheese, shredded (I used Cracker Barrel Vermont Sharp-White)(add 8 oz to soup and 2 oz for garnish)

Method:

In a large stock pot on medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve.  (At this point I drained out most of the bacon grease and left only about a tablespoon)  Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. If using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cobs and blanch the kernels for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain. (If using frozen corn, you can skip this step.) Add the corn to the soup, and then add the half-and-half and 8oz (reserve 2oz for garnish) Cheddar. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed. Serve hot with a garnish of bacon and cheese.

Makes 8 servings

The other day I was cutting corn off the cob onto a cutting board and I had corn all over. I thought there has to be an easier way to do this so I searched-how to cut corn off the cob and this is what I found..
The hole in the middle of the bundt pan holds the corn and all the corn falls neatly into the pan. This is so clever I had to share.