Ham and Corn Chowder

On a never-ending quest to clean out freezers and pantries, I found a ham bone leftover from Christmas.  And with the summer corn finding its way into the local markets, I decided to make a ham and corn chowder.  I looked at several recipes I had and then found this "base" recipe on-line.

And what a wonderful base it is!  This recipe makes a lot, which gave me the chance to individualize every cup I heated up.  Here are some I tried and also more possibilities:

* smoked paprika
* fresh tarragon
* green chilies and Mexican-blend cheese
* lightly steamed julienned carrots
* cooked broccoli florets
* cooked shrimp and/or crabmeat

I do prefer that the chowder have a touch of heat to it, so I always used either a hot sauce (Louisiana Hot Sauce) or a spicy seasoning like Nunu's (www.nunus.com/products/seasonings) or Joe's Hot Stuff (www.nosoc.com (General Store) or www.joeshotstuff.com.

I don't know if I had just the perfect ham bone or if I happened to get a particularly perfect couple of ears of corn or if the planets were in the perfect alignment, but simply put, this was the perfect chowder.  So if you don't happen to have a ham bone on hand, tuck this recipe away for a time when you do.  Make a little "Chowder Bar" and let everyone customize their own chowder.  This makes me yearn for football season!

HAM and CORN CHOWDER (makes approximately 10 cups)

1 ham bone, with visible meat
1 medium onion, diced
4 cups chicken broth
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 small red pepper, finely diced
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp  black pepper
5 medium red potatoes (do not peel), cut in 1" cubes
3 ears fresh corn (I used one white, one yellow, one bi-color), kernels cut off of the ear
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups half-and-half or milk, warmed
Hot sauce or seasoning, to taste

Add first 7 ingredients (ham bone through black pepper) to a Dutch oven.  Bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes.  Shred meat off of bone and add to liquid.  Add potatoes and cook until tender.  Stir in corn kernels.

In medium saucepan, melt butter.  Add flour, whisk.  Gradually add milk.  Whisk into the potato mixture.

Season with salt and any additional pepper, to taste.  Add herbs or any other additions you  or your guests would like.

Recipe Source: base adapted from www.food.com