Ham and Corn Chowda'

It's been about a year since I've made corn chowder, so I decided to whip out my old recipe and try my hand at re-inventing a classic. I had some leftover ham in the freezer, and I thought this would be the perfect way to use it: the ham gives a more hearty feel to the soup, as do the potatoes.

What You Need:

4 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into small cubes

about 1/2 pound diced ham (larger sized dices)

2 onions, diced small

3 corns of corn - cut the corn off and save the cob

4 cups chicken stock (I like the low sodium kind)

salt, pepper

1/4 cup cooking sherry

What you do:

Sautee the onion in about 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter and 1/2 tablespoon of oil. Let it cook until it is translucent and pretty wilted down - then add the corn and continue to cook down. Finally, add the potatoes and the chicken stock, sherry, salt and pepper (just add about a 1/2 teaspoon of each to start, and work from there later). Put the corn cobs in with the chowder and let all this boil down for about 20 minutes, then take the cobs out, add the ham, and continue to cook the chowder for another 15-20 minutes.

This is technically not a "chowder" but I like to call it that because it is so chunky and because adding the corn husks allows for the corn milk to seep into the stew and make it creamy without having to add cream or half and half. You can alter the cook times according to how cooked you like your potatoes and on how quickly it thickens up. If you add too much stock and the chowder gets really runny, keep boiling it down, or take a little of the juice out and mix it with about 1 tsp cornstarch to make a slurry. Add this back into the pot and it should thicken the chowder nicely.

Roasted Chicken with Corn and Bean Salad

One of my favorite "games" to play in the kitchen is raiding the cupboards and finding all the things that need to be used up before a big cleaning day or a move. Weston will be moving out of his current apartment in a few weeks and so he asked me to see what I could make with the stuff in the cabinets. Since I didn't have access to a car, this challenge was especially difficult because I couldn't go to the store for supplementary ingredients. I am proud to say this did not deter me from making an amazing dinner (and lunch for the next couple of days).

1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1 can corn, rinsed and drained - or 3 ears fresh corn (grilled corn for extra flavor)

1 can chopped tomatoes, drained

1 1/2 cups chopped red cabbage

1 tsp cumin

salt and pepper

3 Tbs Dijon mustard

2 Tbs rice wine vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 cup fresh onion, chopped

(if I'd been able to go to the store, I'd add 1 cup torn basil leaves)

I know this is primarily a canned salad and the thought of that is kind of... not too exciting to some people. But it's a good way to get rid of things you might have on hand - and the flavors are surprisingly perky. Also, note that I did incorporate some very fresh ingredients like onion, vinegar, and cabbage. If you add basil, that's another POP flavor, too.

Make a vinaigrette with the oil, vinegar, spices, and mustard. Mix together the beans, corn, tomatoes, and cabbage. Then toss with the vinaigrette and finally add the torn basil leaves.

Serve chilled.

Accompany this dish with roasted chicken. We buy Amish chicken on sale and freeze it for a rainy day. Pick of the Chick is a butchered, whole chicken and I like it because you get a nice variety of dark and white meat. The white meat I cube and throw into the salad, while the dark, I serve alongside. Just defrost the chicken, trim off the fat, and spoon over some olive oil, salt and pepper, and my secret ingredient: sage. Bake at 350 until the juices run clear - about 35 minutes. By slow roasting, the chicken stays moist and the outside gets nice and crispy :)