MY USUAL MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST ON TUESDAY - CHEDDAR CORN CHOWDER - 10 TO 12 SERVINGS

Soup weather and we love soups. I found this one at a favorite, Ina Garten at the Barefoot Contessa website, original link for the recipe is here.

Cheddar Corn Chowder - 10 to 12 servings

8 ounces bacon, chopped

1/4 cup good olive oil

6 cups chopped yellow onions (4 large onions)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

12 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

6 cups medium-diced white boiling potatoes, unpeeled (2 pounds)

10 cups corn kernels, fresh (10 ears) or frozen (3 pounds)

2 cups half-and-half

1/2 pound sharp white Cheddar cheese, grated

In a large stockpot on medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about five minutes.

Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. 

Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions and butter to the fat. Cook for 10 minutes or until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the flour, salt, pepper and turmeric. Cook for three minutes. 

Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, or 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 you are using frozen corn you can skip the above step.)

If using frozen corn, add it to the soup, then add the half-and-half and Cheddar cheese.

Cook for 5 more minutes until the cheese is melted.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.

Our verdict was that this was an excellent soup. In the photo above, I went overboard on the bacon but it still tasted great. I left bacon off the second night and liked it just as much, maybe even a little more.

 I have never added turmeric to anything but keep 

hearing good things about it and now have a few recipes where it is used, mostly in beverages at the moment. 

People add it to soups for both its flavor and its health benefits. It is said that it provides a warm, earthy and slightly peppery taste, and a vibrant golden color. Additionally, it is prized for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, with its active compound of curcumin being enhanced when combined with black pepper. Anyway, it had a pleasant flavor I've never tasted before, hard for me to describe as it was in the background, but I wouldn't hesitate to use it again.

I thought maybe next time I would reduce the amount of whole corn kernels and add an extra can of cream-style instead. This is just for our personal preference.

We served it with a crusty roll which was very good. 

We have lots and lots of leftovers so I won't be cooking for the next few days. Our main meal is set but we may end up freezing a few portions for another day.

We didn't make any changes as we had everything on the list of the ingredients. 

I wanted to show you what it looked like before the pepper. I added a good sprinkling as there are times I feel like it and other times not. Apparently, freshly ground black pepper activates the good properties in the turmeric. I have to read more on the subject.

The full address for this soup is below, just in case you prefer to copy and paste rather than click on the link at the beginning.

https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/cheddar-corn-chowder

Thanks for dropping by and I hope 

your day is a great one.

Bon appétit!