The Ultimate Comfort Food....

Well I guess that title is debatable!   Maybe we should take a vote or something, though I don't think even that would work as my taste in comfort food changes from day to day. Ok, maybe more like hour to hour sometimes!  I told you I did a bit of cooking for Mom and Dad when I was with them in Boone recently.  For each night that I made dinner, I doubled the recipe and froze half of it so that they would have an easy dinner already made after I left. Well, I made a terrible mistake one night.  I made them the Smoky Corn Chowder from the Real Simple cookbook that Casey gave us all for Christmas last year. I doubled the batch and froze half of it in a freezer bag, hence my mistake! We ate the un-frozen half in one sitting, and Mom wanted more the next day!  So...I retrieved the frozen brick of soup from the freezer and sat it in a pot to thaw.  My bad. I should have known!  It was the perfect comfort soup for Mom as she recovered from surgery, for me and Dad as we cared for her, and for all of us as we enjoyed the bit of autumn in the air!  Well fall has finally come to my home in North Florida, much to my delight. We've slept with the windows opened for the past two nights, enjoying the lower 50's and the sounds of leaves and owls as we sleep.  And I'm making this soup for my family this week, doubling the batch and not freezing a drop! Serve it with "Jiffy" corn muffins, and enjoy!

Real Simple's Smoky Corn Chowder
8oz. bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika (yes, it must be smoked, not plain!)
1/4 tsp.crushed red pepper flakes
20 oz. frozen corn
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup half-n-half
scallions for garnish, if desired

Cook the bacon in a large saucepan (or a fabulous le Creuset Dutch oven like my Mom's if you're lucky enough to have one! :) Cook till crisp and remove to a paper towel.  Add the onion to the bacon grease (I know. It's awesome!) and cook till soft. Add the garlic, paprika, and red pepper and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in the corn, broth, and half-n-half and bring to a boil. reduce head and simmer for 15 minutes. Cool a bit when it's done, and transfer half of the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. (Be careful not to explode the blender with hot soup! Let it cool first and do it in small batches if necessary. Yes, I'm talking from experience!)  Return the pureed soup to the pot and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste, as well as the bacon. Top with chopped scallions if desired. Enjoy!

PS...I think this might be morphing into a food blog! Here is the cookbook this comes from...I've made many of its recipes and have yet to be disappointed!