seafood chowder

My cousin and his wife were in town a couple weeks ago, visiting my ex-husband. They've been good friends for well over 30 years, in fact, I met my first husband through my cousin. Anyway, we had everyone over for dinner and some good conversation before they headed back home. My "ex" brought the brightest red sockeye salmon that I sprinkled with a little lemon pepper, a spread of mayo, and lemon slices, and then baked. Oh, so good!


Also on the agenda was seafood chowder. As summer closes in on us and fall hovers overhead, you might need a good, solid chowder for dinner one night, or two. What's nice about this chowder is you can put anything in it--halibut, salmon, crab, shrimp, scallops or clams OR some of all! Keep in mind that these quantities are just estimates. I generally triple this recipe using 2 lbs of bacon, a whole onion, six stalks celery, five or six cloves of garlic, 5 lbs of potatoes, etc. You might want to add a little more flour than called for too if you like a thicker, creamier soup base.

I love my chowder full of goodness--lots of bacon, potatoes, and seafood. I probably don't put as much water and cream (whole milk) in that it calls for either to give it a thicker base. In this version I added about 3 lbs of halibut, 1 lb of small bay scallops, three cans of baby clams (with some juice), two trays of small Petersburg shrimp, 2 lbs of bacon, and 5 lbs of potatoes. Anyway, this recipe gives you a base to go by and you can feel confident that no matter what you add, it'll be scrumpuous! Add some crusty bread and you've got a meal!

Seafood Chowder

6 slices bacon
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup flour
6 cups water
8 tsp chicken bouillon
2 cups chopped potatoes
1 pound salmon or halibut or a variety of seafood
2 cup light cream

Cook bacon until crisp. In droppings cook celery, onion, and garlic until tender. Stir in flour. Gradually stir in water and bouillon. Bring to boil. Add potatoes. Reduce heat. Cover and cook 10 minutes. Stir in seafood. Cook 15 minutes. Add cream. Heat. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

Bon appetit!