Recipes of the Time Period, or, Corn Chowder, or, Say it Frenchie!

Corn Chowder
Makes 8 servings.

4 oz bacon, chopped into 1 inch squares
2 Tbs butter/olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 Tbs flour
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups milk
2 large red potatoes, diced
4 cups frozen corn kernels
2-3 Tbs sugar
1 Cup half-and-half
Salt/pepper to taste (read: tons and tons of pepper
2 bell peppers (red and green for color)
3 scallions, trimmed/chopped
1 Tbs fresh cilantro, chopped

1. In large stock pot, cook bacon ~5 min until almost crispy over med-high heat.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add butter/oil, onions, and celery. Cook ~10 min. Stir occasionally.
3. Sprinkle with flour and cook ~3 minutes. Stir.
4. Add chicken stock, milk, and potatoes. Bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and cook until potatoes are just tender.
5. Stir in corn and sugar.
6. Remove 2 cups and puree. Add back to pot.
7. Stir in half-and-half. Salt and pepper to taste.
8. Bring back to simmer over medium heat. Add red pepper and scallions. Cook ~5 min.
9. Garnish with cilantro.

This seemed to be a major hit. I did use a bit more flour to thicken it some, and while I cooked the bacon in the pot, I didn't put any of the bacon in the soup until after serving it for my friends with vegetarianism, as bizarre disease if ever there was one. I also neglected the cilantro, mostly due to my poor ability to multi-task in the kitchen. I would be very sparing with it, though. It might work as a light accent.