Back to Bacon: Summer Corn and Shrimp Chowder with... Bacon!

Sorry for the extended hiatus- now that I've finally recovered from finals, hopefully I can get this blog going again! I actually did quite a bit of cooking during the finals-prep month, but after plowing through hundreds of pages of Federal Personal Income Tax and Property law, the thought of writing anything extracurricular was definitely beyond my capacities. But, that means that I have some good stories and recipes stored up, so here we go.

This chowder is one of my favorite soups to make at home, and also comes with a great set of vacation memories. I went to the Outer Banks in North Carolina last Memorial Day weekend and stayed at a fantastic hotel called The Sanderling, in the gorgeous and pristine Duck area of the Banks. As with any trip, I eagerly checked TripAdvisor and local websites for food and restaurant recommendations, and kept coming back to one repeated tip- "you MUST try the corn chowder at The Sanderling!" Obviously, I went to the hotel's restaurant on the first afternoon (my blood sugar was low, I needed soup!) and thankfully, the corn chowder lived up to its hype. Even better, there was a recipe posted online, so I made the chowder immediately upon returning to D.C. and have continued to do so all year.

The online recipe is not the best in terms of attention to detail- the first time I made this, I diced the requested red bell pepper and then realized it was still sitting on the counter when the soup was done, since there was no mention of when to add it in! So I've adapted it somewhat, as well as removed the crab meat option and doubled up on the shrimp. Nothing against crab meat, but I just prefer shrimp with all of these gorgeous summer vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 3 slices of bacon, small diced
• 2 stalks of celery, small diced
• 1 medium onion, small diced
• 1 carrot, small diced
• 1 small green pepper, small diced
• 1 small red pepper, small diced
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 10 oz can of cream style corn
• 2 cups chicken stock
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 2 splashes Tabasco
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 splash Worcestershire sauce
  
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ lb. small-size peeled and deveined shrimp (frozen work great here)
  

Directions:
Heat a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon pieces and cook until crispy. Add onions, celery, peppers, and carrots; cook about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add butter and let melt. Add flour and stir well until all of the butter is absorbed by the flour. Add both types of corn, stock, cream, and seasonings. Mix well and allow chowder to simmer 20 minutes. Just before serving add shrimp and stir well; they will cook in about 2 minutes.

Roasted Shrimp and Broccoli

This recipe is my answer to everyone who tells me that there's never any time to cook a decent meal during the week. I started making this at 8:43 (and Lilly can vouch because that's when we got off the phone!), put it in the oven and sat down on the couch at 8:55, and was eating and watching "LOST" at 9:05. Twelve minutes, people! Twelve minutes of "cooking," and I really use the term loosely for this delicious dish.

(Photo courtesy of The New York Times...
trust me, you'll know when they aren't mine!)

Melissa Clark, the fantastic food writer for "The New York Times", published this recipe last month and I have made it four times since- it's truly the perfect quick weeknight meal. Two main ingredients, a small batch of spices, oil, and lemon come together in surprisingly complex flavors for their simplicity, and there are only two dishes to wash at the end! Perfection.

(Patron saint Ina Garten watches over the preparations)

Here's what you need:

*Shrimp: 1 lb.
-I always keep a bag of shelled, tail-on shrimp in my freezer for occasions such as this. They thaw in minutes in a colander with a stream of lukewarm water and are perfect for impromptu, throw-together dishes.

*Broccoli: 2 lbs.
-I used broccolini, which is more slender and slightly sweeter than normal broccoli, but both types are equally delicious here. When using broccolini, you can use the entire stalk, but just use the florets when using broccoli.

*Spices: Coriander (1 tsp. whole seeds or 1/2 tsp. ground), cumin (1 tsp. whole seeds or 1/2 tsp. ground), 1/8 tsp. chili powder, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. pepper.

*Olive oil: 4 Tablespoons

*Lemon: 1 1/4 tsp. zest (the zest from one lemon), and the juice.
-I like this recipe because it makes use of an entire lemon. The zest is used to flavor the shrimp, the juice is squeezed over the whole finished dish, and you can throw the used lemon halves into the disposal for a fresh-smelling kitchen. Martha would approve!

Here's what you do:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, toss the broccoli with 2 tablespoons oil, coriander, cumin, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper and chili powder. Spread broccoli in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes.

(Yummy spices and broccoli)

2. Combine shrimp, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, lemon zest, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper (I use the same bowl from the broccoli). Add shrimp to the baking sheet and toss with broccoli. Roast, tossing once halfway through, until shrimp are just opaque and broccoli is tender and golden around edges, about 10 minutes more. Serve with lemon wedges, or squeeze lemon juice all over shrimp and broccoli just before serving.

(Did I mention this took 12 minutes?!)

Yields 4 servings, which can feed 2 hungry people! Tonight, I halved the recipe for myself and polished off the whole plate.

Once prepared, it can be served alongside rice or orzo, but I've never had any complaint from just eating it solo. I've also included tofu cubes along with the shrimp before, and recommend adding them with the broccoli so that they have time to get crispy and delicious. Enjoy! And trust me... you have time.