Corn Chowder for the Crew

For the moms like me who live in SEC country, you know that every Saturday during football season is Game Day and whether you are watching the Georgia Bulldogs play (like we are) or some other team, the day is devoted to football, friends and food. Many Saturdays you find yourself hosting a small crowd and I'm not just talking about your husband and your kids. If your husband is like mine, he likes to watch the game with friends. And if the friends aren't available that day, you still have to have the food. So here is a recipe that is easy, delicious and feeds a crowd. Your husband will love it. His friends will love it. And most importantly, your kids will probably even eat it.

Corn Chowder*

serves 20

1 diced red bell pepper

1 diced green bell pepper

1 diced yellow bell pepper

1 medium diced onion

4 stalks diced celery

1 small can undrained cream style corn

1 small can undrained whole kernal corn

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/2 tsp black pepper

2 bay leaves

2 qt chicken stock

1 qt whipping cream

2 cups roux (50/50 ratio of fat and flour)

3/4 cup sugar

salt and pepper to taste

In a large stock pot, saute the peppers, onion, celery, corn, cayenne pepper, black pepper and bay leaves--sweating the vegetables. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. Add the roux and simmer 10 - 15 minutes. Gradually add the heavy cream as you stir. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with warm, crusty bread.

*This recipe is an adaptation of the recipe for Corn and Crab Chowder found at Flamingo Cafe in Destin, Florida. To create the original recipe, simply add desired amount of crab upon serving the chowder. We tried the recipe both ways and prefer the corn chowder minus the crab.

I made a pot of this chowder a couple of weeks ago and shared it with our Georgia Southern alumni neighbors who also loved it. They are a family of five and we are a family of four--and we were all still eating on it days later. Each day it tasted better and better because the ingredients had time to come together so feel free to make this ahead of time, store it in the fridge and warm it up before the guests arrive. This is one of those great dishes to make on game days, over winter vacation or anytime you are entertaining a crowd. Try it--you won't be disappointed.