Sunday Dinner

Hi Everyone,
I am going to try and start some sort of foodie, recipe exchange and cooking diary series. Last night I made a warm, spicy and fall flavored menu. I hope you will enjoy it. I made a chipotle shrimp and corn chowder. The recipe was based on something that I found on www.food.com, which is a great place to start looking for new and interesting dishes. I am fundamentally incapable of not tweaking a recipe

• 2 slices thick sliced bacon, diced
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
  
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup sherry wine
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 1 1/2 cups red potatoes, diced
• 1 -2 tablespoon chipotle chile in adobo, minced (or to taste)
• 1/2 lb medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and halved lengthwise
• 1 1/2 cup half and half
• salt
• fresh cilantro for garnish
• 
  

 

Directions:

Prep Time: 40 mins
Total Time: 40 mins

1. Saute bacon in a large pot over medium heat until crisp.
2. Add onions,celery, red bell pepper and garlic and saute 3-4 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic.
3. Stir in flour and cook one minute.
4. Deglaze with sherry, stirring to scrape up bits from the bottom of the pot.
5. Stir in broth, potatoes, chipotles. Bring to a simmer and cook 15 minutes.
6. use immersion blender to blend soup ingredients or add portions to regular blender
7. return to stove on medium heat
   
8. Add shrimp, corn and half and half to soup.
9. Add salt to taste.
10. Simmer 5 minutes to cook shrimp.
11. Serve garnish with fresh cilantro
    
12. * This is very spicy. Start with 1/2 -1 Tbsp and work your way up according to taste.

For a fall flavor I also made roasted sweet potatoes and butternut squash, spiced with cardamon, pumpkin pie spice, and ground cumin. I cubed and roasted both and lightly seasoned both. When I put them in the roasting pan I sprinkled a little extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of salt.