Sweet-Corn Chowder

Today was a rainy day--a really rainy day!!....And after all day of rain, it was starting to feel a little 'chilly-damp' in the house.  Perfect time to try my hand at corn chowder!  I've been collecting the cut-off  kernels of our uneaten cobs from our nightly corn-on-the-cob addiction in the freezer. (and when I say 'addiction', I mean it--we have steamed corn every.single.night. during the summer!!)

Here's how I made my chowder:

In my big soup pot (love my le creuset)  I fried up some diced pancetta to crisp, added some diced onion, and sauteed until soft.  I had 3 uncooked corn cobs...I sliced off the kernels and set aside.   Then scraped the corn 'milk' from the cobs into the pan and  added flour to thicken and to make a roux.  I added  a pint of half & half  and maybe a cup-plus of chicken broth and 4-5 cloves roasted garlic cloves. (I had some leftover roasted cloves from a previous nights meal). 

In separate pan, I boiled diced potato til soft. (I threw in the reserved corn kernels at the end of cooking to blanche.) Then I drained off the water.

 

To the soup pot, I added a big cupful of cooked frozen kernels I've been collecting over the last few weeks in the freezer.  Added the drained potatoes,  then a little paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper.

 

I served it topped with shredded cheddar, a dash of sherry and minced fresh jalapeno.