Summer Corn Chowder and Rosemary Drop Biscuits

We have been seeing a lot of corn at the farmer's market recently. A lot of corn. Since we've been seeing a lot and only rarely buying some, we decided it was time to find a recipe that called for a few ears of corn. So we found this chowder recipe that called for 6 and that satisfied our craving! As an added bonus to making this delicious, fresh meal that lasted several nights, we were also able to share its inaugural experience with our friend Noemi, who we were having over for dinner since she was back in town for a few days. It was nice to share our farmer's market fare with someone other than each other, plus the company couldn'tve been better :)

This recipe came not from our favorite cookbook nor our favorite food blog. This is another new one from Will's newest main squeeze, Food 52. I think the most interesting thing we learned was that corn has a milk-like substance that comes out when you cut the corn off in the manner described below. Little did Will know he could add "milking a corn cob" to his list of kitchen talents!

We also made some simple drop biscuits with fresh rosemary from our herb garden to go along and they complimented the chowder perfectly. When we made this again for dinner tonight, we threw in some leftover mozzarella from pizza earlier in the week, which really added a lot to the biscuits so we would highly recommend it.

Cooking Notes: We used turkey bacon instead of regular bacon, a medium green pepper instead of a poblano pepper, grape tomatoes instead of medium tomatoes, and red potatoes instead of boiling potatoes. We also used half and half instead of light cream.

Summer Corn Chowder (adapted from Food 52; serves 6)

6 ears of corn

6 strips of bacon

1 small onion

1 medium poblano, finely chopped 

1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped

1 small celery rib, finely chopped

3 medium tomatoes

2 boiling potatoes, approx. 1 lb, cubed 

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground allspice

Pinch of sugar

1 small bay leaf

2 cups light cream, room temperature

1 cup milk

Freshly ground black pepper

Chopped parsley 

Working over a bowl, cut the corn kernels from the cobs at about half their depth. Then use the back of the knife to scrape the cobs over the bowl, releasing all the "milk."Set aside and begin to heat a large saucepan before tossing in bacon to fry over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally and cook for about 10 minutes. Set aside to crumble over chowder later.

In a large pot, reduce heat to medium (if cooking on same burner for convenience) and cook onion until golden, approximately 4-5 minutes (I accidentally forgot to turn the heat down and ended up burning some of my onions). Add pepper, jalapeño, and celery, cooking until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, potatoes, salt, allspice, sugar, bay leaf and corn kernels/corn milk. Stir well and cook over medium heat until mixture begins to sizzle.

Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 35-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. When potatoes are tender, stir in half and half and milk and bring to just a boil. Remove from heat and season with black pepper to taste. When ready to serve, once the chowder is in a bowl, sprinkle with crumbled bacon, parsley and perhaps a cheese you may have on hand!

Recipe: Food 52: Summer Corn Chowder

Rosemary & Pepper Drop Biscuits (adapted from Budget Bytes; serves 8)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper

1 tsp sugar

approx. 1 cup milk

a bunch of chopped rosemary (or 1 tsp dried rosemary)

optional choice of cheese; mozzarella recommended

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, sugar, rosemary, cheese) in a bowl and stir. Take the butter out of the fridge right before using it. Slice it up and work into dry mixture until sandy in quality. Both Beth of Budget Bytes and Will and I recommend using your hands for this process-it's the easiest way to tell when it's mixed enough.

Starting with 3/4 cup, slowly pour milk into mixture, moistening it until it achieves a paste-like texture. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and drop 8 dollops onto it. Bake for 18-22 minutes (if you have cheese, it tends to take closer to 22 minutes) until golden brown on top. Serve warm.

Recipe: Budget Bytes: Rosemary & Pepper Drop Biscuits