This Spicy Corn Chowder recipe is from Jeffrey Spear, a “marketing guru…working with manufacturers of food, beverage and other lifestyle products” and was published in the cookbook Yum! Tasty Recipes From Culinary Greats.

Yum is collection of over 100 great recipes from chefs, restaurateurs, cookbook writers and culinary marketers sharing some of their favorite recipes. This collaboration was put together by Microplane, the manufacturer of some of my favorite culinary tools that you may be familiar with and who are donating 100% of its profits from the sale of the book to the National Kidney Foundation (www.kidney.org).

Yum is available at Amazon.com

Some of the writers may be familiar to you including Rick Bayless, Sara Moulton, Susanna Foo, Gael Greene and Charlie Trotter and then there are some like the author of this recipe who may be new to you.

I was fortunate to receive this cookbook from Kimberly Goldstein who works for the publisher Cumberland House located in Nashville, Tennessee and specializes in, among other things, cookbooks. Thank you Kim for sending Yum to me and I can’t wait to try these great looking recipes and sharing some with my readers.

Spicy Corn Chowder
By Jeffrey Spear & Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, grated coarsely
1 tablespoon All-Purpose flour
4 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
2 – 3 large red potatoes, peeled & cut into ½ inch dice
4 cups corn (fresh or frozen)
1 ½ cups whole milk
Salt & pepper to taste
Tabasco, to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives

How to Make Spice Corn Chowder

In a large pot, heat oil and melt butter. Add the onion and sauté until soft, not brown. Add flour and stir for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Add the stock gradually, being sure to stir constantly to incorporate the flour. Add the potatoes and corn. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat.

Transfer half of the soup to a separate bowl. Ladle this soup, a little at a time, into a blender. Puree until creamy smooth. You can return the soup puree from the blender back into the pot as you go. When done, add milk, salt, pepper and Tabasco to taste. Adjust the spiciness of the soup with the Tabasco. Return to heat, bring to a desired temperature and serve. Garnish with chives.

Jeffrey notes: you can also use an immersion blender right in the pot, taking care not to puree all of the solids. The soup won’t be quite as smooth and creamy but much faster to make. Less dishes to wash as well.