Hearty Corn Chowder Recipe

There's quite a few recipes out there for corn chowder and in the main I think they're just bland.  This recipe is based on couple of the more interesting ones I've found with a few added twists all my own.  While not exactly vintage, corn chowder has been around since at least the 1800's.  What sets my recipe apart is the use of organic and fresh ingredients as opposed to frozen or canned.

Hearty Corn Chowder

4 Slices Smoked Bacon, Chopped
1lb Fresh Spicy Italian Sausage (about 2 links)
1 Large Organic White Onion, Diced
1 Red or Orange Bell Pepper, Diced
3 Cloves Organic Garlic, Minced
5 Ears Bi-Color Corn, Strip kernels from cob with knife
2C Chicken Stock
2C Whole Organic Valley Milk
1/4C Flour
1/2tsp Sage
1tsp Salt
1/2tsp Pepper
1/2tsp Smoked Sweet Paprika
Organic Green Onions for garnishing
Aged White Cheddar (Optional)

Prep all ingredients then in a heavy bottom 6qt pot heat on stove over med-high heat.  Cook chopped bacon until crisp then remove with slotted spoon reserving fat in pot.  Add corn kernels and saute until slightly browned.  Remove sausage from casings and add to corn, breaking up with spoon.  Fry until browned then add Pepper, Onions, Garlic and all spices.  Cook about 5 mins until onions are translucent.  Sprinkle with flour and cook a few minutes more stirring constantly.  Add in chicken stock and stir well then add milk.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 20 minutes until thick.  Serve in bowls topped with bacon pieces, sliced green onion and if desired, some grated aged white cheddar.

Note:  For the Italian sausage try to get it at a butchers like The Fresh Market or another reputable dealer.  Standard Italian Sausage sold in the grocery store is of questionable quality.

Antonio y Cleopatra Cigars

In the wide wide world of drugstore cigars Antonio y Cleopatra is unquestionably one of the better ones available.  Yes it's a machine made cigar but with a pedigree stretching back to the founding of the company in 1879.  Originally handmade in Cuba they were forced to move like so many other cigar makers after Castro's nationalization of the cigar industry.  Today they are made in Cayay, Puerto Rico and still are a great value in the wilds of the brands available in drugstores.  Certainly easier to find than cheap avo cigars.

Seal of Approval

I recently came across the Bon Appetit website and their list of products that bear their seal of approval.  It's an interesting list, somewhat grand in it's scale and almost an exercise in hubris if you take into account the $5.99 can of tuna that they are suggesting.  Here at the Vintage Recipe Blog while we shoot for flavor, texture and overall roundness of the the products we use, I have 2 more things to add to the criteria.  The product used must be made with a minimum of chemical ingredients ( no high fructose corn syrup or msg) and be cost effective.  Based on these added criterion, I'd say BA missed the mark on a couple of their products.

The full Seal of Approval list can be found here so let's look at a couple of the items I have issues with:

1) Heinz Ketchup - While I know Heinz is a mainstay company that's been around for ages, I simply cannot recommend a product containing High Fructose Corn Syrup.  Heinz does have a Natural variety and an full organic as well but for the price I'd go for Hunts ketchup or The Fresh Market Organic both of which are cheaper.

2) Hellman's Mayonaise - Let's face it, if you're in the South, Hellman's is not your mayo of choice, that being reserved for Duke's or CF Sauer brand (both are made by the same company and are indistinguishable in taste).  If you can find either brand give it a try and you'll be amazed at the real mayonnaise flavor they have compared to the modern incarnation of Hellman's that just tastes flat and greasy in my opinion.

3) Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese - Ditch this mass produced garbage and grab a package of The Fresh Market neufchatel cheese or Organic Valley Cream Cheese both are light years better than anything Kraft puts out.

There was one thing that surprised me, Goya made the list twice.  I've long been a fan of their canned beans because they're lower in sodium and taste awesome and the last time I had need of Coconut Milk in a recipe I used Goya rather than the standard Asian canned variety and was most pleasantly pleased with the results.

On the rest of the items I really agree with their choices, they did a fantastic job of echoing my own choices and despite a couple of items that I question their judgement I really am pleased with their decision.  Perhaps I should do my own seal of approval and start my own trend in ingredient recommendations.

New Apartment, New Job, New Life

I know it has been since the edge of forever that I wrote an article for the blog and for that I apologize.  It seems my life quickly entered one of those transitional periods where everything seems to change at the same time and it left me with no time for the blog.  First I was able to get a full time job with The Fresh Market which was a major boon, then my wife and I finally succeeded in finding a great apartment downtown.  It's over a 3 car garage which gives me a place to park the car and the apartment itself is just cool.  Built in 1941 it has a great vintage feel from the original stained wood windows to the wood floors throughout.  So now on top of working full time, I was working towards moving.  After moving we settled in and all too soon we were heading towards Thanksgiving.  Now that is over I feel that things will loosen up to the point where I can start writing again finally.  I have never given up on the blog, just lost sight of it for awhile and ever since the web site creation I knew I was on to something good so I'm not about to let it go even if I slack from time to time.  Don't worry, I'll be back soon...