Maine Corn & Fish Chowder

I took a cooking class in Bar Harbor, Maine last week. The instructor, Sharon Joyce, shared recipes for blueberry muffins, popovers, steamed mussells, and this chowder. Sharon explained the traditions and food culture of the region, while whipping up a feast for the class, with our occasional assistance.

This chowder recipe was my favorite of those shared (all were delicious, but I think this is the one I'll make with the most regularity - um, sans lobster). This recipe is almost 100 years old (if not older), and was given to Sharon by a woman who worked as the head house keeper to a very wealthy Maine family many years ago. When the family would travel for business or pleasure, they would always request this chowder (with corn or white fish) for their first meal after arriving home. It's so simple, no bacon (sniff) or stock, I can see why it was a go-to dish.

Even though it was warm outside, I made this chowder while we were still in Maine so we could capitalize on the low-cost seafood. I am SO jealous of Mainards and their ability to buy lobsters and still afford to eat for the rest of the week.

I love this recipe because you can also make it with haddock or grouper - more realistic for an upstate New Yorker.

This is a loose chowder, so if you are looking for a thick one, you'll have to find a different recipe. I don't think adding a roux to this one would work well. It uses water for the majority of the liquid.

This recipe is so simple and can be made really inexpensively as a plain corn chowder. It's one of those "file it and make it in a pinch" type recipes.

Thanks to Sharon for sharing her stories and recipes!

Mangia~

Lora

Maine Corn & Fish Chowder

1 large onion

2 tbsp butter

2 cloves garlic

2 potatoes - such as yukon gold, peeled

Fresh thyme, or pinch of dried to taste (it doesn't need any herbs, but I had thyme on-hand so I added it)

Fresh corn from two cobs and/or a couple of filets of white fish

1-2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup cream

Saute 1 large onion chopped in 2 tbsp butter, until translucent (do not brown)

Add 2 garlic cloves, minced (honestly, I added this. you can't make ANYTHING without garlic!!)

Saute for 2 mins and add 2 large yukon gold potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces

Stir the potatoes and coat with the butter and onions

Add water just to cover potatoes and simmer (do not boil) until potatoes are tender

Add fresh corn, and/or white fish chopped into bite-sized pieces

Add whole milk to cover the corn and/or fish (about an inch or so)

Simmer for 7-9 mins until corn and/or fish are cooked through

Salt and pepper to taste

Add 1/2 cup of cream and simmer for a few minutes more.

Serve with crusty bread or Maine's traditional popovers!

If you happen to have a lobster - this is how we cooked it before we added it to the chowder:

Place a 1 1/2 - 2 lb lobster in the freezer, for approx 30 mins prior to boiling (seen as a humane way to end the little guy/gal's journey on earth)

Bring a large stock pot filled with water to a rolling boil

Salt the water heavily

When the water is at a rolling boil, place the lobster in the pot and cover with a lid

Set your timer for 12 mins

Once the timer rings, place the lobster in a shallow bowl and allow it to cool for several minutes, until you can comfortably handle it.

When cool, pick it up and crack the tail away from the body. The green goop inside should be removed (once thought edible, it's no longer recommended you eat it). The body of the lobster actually has hardly any meat, and it's not really worth the effort of getting at it. Pull the tail meat out and chop. Crack the claws and pull out the meat. The leg meat can be eaten by cracking them at the joints and then using your teeth to push the meat into your mouth (kind of like a freezy pop - but much more delicious).

Mahi Mahi Tostada

So, here's the deal. Unlike my sisters and my mom, I can't cook meat. That's why I like organic chicken thighs - you basically can't dry them out. I like making pulled pork. But, it's pretty much fool-proof. Steak? ugh. I could make a filet mignon taste like a t-bone. A poorly cooked t-bone. I love pork, but I'll never make pork chops as well as Tracey. So I never try.

I think I've found an alternative protein source. Turns out, I can actually cook fish. We've been trying to eat more of it, and we are all pleasantly surprised when it turns out!

These tostadas were originally planned as tacos, but we tasted the tortillas and weren't crazy about them...so what else is there to do with food that is a bit lack-luster? Fry it of course!

I just rubbed the fish with some salt, pepper, garlic powder, oil and a little lime juice. Then cooked it in some oil for approx 4 mins per side. I topped it with this citrus vinaigrette (doubled the amount of cilantro), cabbage w/lime and cilantro, chopped tomatoes and sour cream with minced garlic.

To fry the tortillas, just heat 1/2 inch of veg oil in a shallow pan and fry until golden on each side (a minute or two per side). Drain on paper towels.

It's a tasty meal (and you don't have to stress about the main ingredient being leathery)!

Mangia~

Lora

Entry #5: Mama Rae's Italian Sausage Clam Chowder

This is a family favorite. Mama Rae used to make a triple batch of this unbelievably good soup for family picnics when we were small. We have dreams about it.

3 lbs ground sweet italian sausage
1/2 lb ground hot italian sausage
1 "huge"can of chopped clams from BJs (you'll have to ask her for the actual size!), reserve juice
2 large onions chopped
1 red pepper chopped
1 "small" can chicken broth (see above)
2 large containers sliced mushrooms (see a pattern here?)
2 heads of garlic chopped (that one is for real!)
3-20+ oz cans of crushed tomatoes
3 cups hearty burgandy wine

Brown sausage and then add mushrooms, chop them up into meat as they cook. Add a little water or broth to prevent mixture from sticking. Once mushrooms are browned and tender remove meat mixture from pan. In same pan saute onions, garlic, and pepper, over medium heat until sweated.
In large stock pot combine both mixtures. Add cans of tomatoes and rinse contents of cans with chicken broth and empty into pot. Drain clams and set aside. Add clam juice to soup. Add 1 cup of wine and simmer soup for 25 minutes. Add another cup of swine and continue to simmer.
15 minutes before serving add clams and the last cup of wine.

Simple Shrimp with Tomato and Angel Hair

This shrimp was one of those things you grab at the store on an impulse, without any real purpose in mind. Sometimes pre-cooked is an easy way to get us eating seafood. Then, if I am making something that Abel-son might be unsure of, I usually mix it with pasta. Because... really, kids love noodles. Mix in a quick and cheap sauce: saute garlic in olive oil and add fresh tomatoes and salt, and voila! And to this I added a few more things I had in the fridge.

By now there is a common theme on this blog. Garlic. :)



Saute 2 cloves garlic chopped in 3 T olive oil plus some crushed red pepper, just cook until tender.
Add 2-3 chopped fresh tomatoes and cook until they are soft. Smash with potato masher or glass bottom until smoother sauce is formed.
Add 1/2 c sour cream about 1/4 c parmesan and mix until smooth and bubbly
1 T dry sweet basil
salt and lots of pepper

1/2 lb cooked angel hair, and I added the cooked shrimp in when the pasta needed a couple min left to cook in order to warm it up.

Seasoned Salmon Filet, Spinach Saute, and Cornbread

In my house, we try to force fish into our diet as much as possible. We have even made a fish convert out of one person. Well, at least he'll eat salmon and tuna. Scott (husband) and Abel (son) are hugely into this salmon and Scott has been perfecting his seasoning on this fish for months. It's terrific, give it a whirl!

Both apprentices (see side bar) worked hard on the cornbread and helped with the spinach. And afterwards they gave the meal two thumbs up!

When I was young, my favorite meals were the ones my mom made with simple ingredients. Steak, salad, and baked potatoes. We had salad 6 out of 7 nights growing up and the odd night out was reserved for some other veggie. I always swore I would not make salad when we ordered pizza in MY house. Guess what.

Mangia~ Tracey

Salmon:
4-6 oz filets
Egg wash (sometimes we add honey)
Flour, sage, parsley, and Adobo seasoning for breading
Pan fry in a little butter and olive oil until cooked through or your preferred doneness

Spinach:
1 med onion
3-4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
Saute in a little butter and season with either salt and pepper or Adobo

Cornbread:
Jiffy mix all the way! Love that stuff and you can throw in any extra ingredients on hand- corn, cheese, cream cheese, onions, black beans, banana peppers, or do like we do and drizzle some honey on top and add an extra egg.