Mom's Crab and Corn Chowder

I don't remember what started the search for 'The' crab and corn chowder recipe, but I know I did search.  And I tried a few that looked really good.  Only one of them really satisfied what I was looking for~ creamy, thick, scrumptious and relatively easy.  Unfortunately, I pretty much lost it and couldn't remember which recipe was it.  Honestly, I think that I made some adjustments to a recipe that would make it fit into my needs.

So after again trying some of the recipes I found and not really feeling that any where 'The' recipe, I came up with my own.  And from the first attempt, it has always been a hit with my family.  Since it is a recipe I made up as I went along, the children call it Mom's Crab and Corn Chowder.

And they lament that there is never any leftovers to speak of.  At dinner one night, my daughter claimed any remaining chowder for her lunch the following day.  To her disappointment there were about two spoonfuls.

That brings me to the subject of 'servings' for this recipe.  I've never measured it so I will guestimate that is makes about 8~10 servings, which is enough for our dinner table.  The only difficult thing about making the chowder is the price of crab.  If you want to make the crab go a bit further, you could use more flour {say 1/2 cup} broth and cream to stretch it.  Also, fill in with more potatoes.  We like to keep it like this, with lots of crab though.  It's our cold weather treat!

I think one of the greatest compliments I ever received related to my cooking was from my mother-in-law about this chowder.  She's from New England so seafood is home to her.  One day when I was responsible for her meals for a few weeks, I brought some of my crab and corn chowder to her.

 A week or so later, she said, "You know, you could make that crab and corn chowder for me again sometime.  I really liked it."  From a New England gal, that was a real compliment.

Mom's Crab and Corn Chowder

4-6 new potatoes, chopped {about 2 cups}
½ c butter

1 small sweet onion, chopped

1/3 c flour

2+ c chicken broth

2 c half and half

2 tsp crab seasoning {such as Old Bay}
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1~2 bay leaves

16 oz  frozen sweet corn

16 oz lump crab meat
scallions

shredded cheddar

Parboil potatoes*; immediately submerge in cold water to stop cooking.  Set aside or in the fridge until ready to add to chowder.

Melt butter in dutch oven on stove top; add chopped onion and saute for 5 minutes or until translucent.  Stir in 1/3 c flour; slowly add 2 c chicken broth, whisking.  Slowly stir in 2 c half and half; season with salt, pepper, crab seasoning, cayenne, thyme, and a bay leaf.  Add parboiled potatoes, frozen corn and crab meat; simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally for 30-45 minutes.  Add more chicken broth to thin if needed.  Remove bay leaves before serving.  Garnish with shredded cheddar, sliced scallions and crab seasoning before serving.

~Tips and Tricks~
*To parboil, bring a pot of water to a boil, add diced potatoes and let boil for 5 minutes; rinse in cold water to completely cool and set aside til ready to use.
*To keep half n half from curdling, measure out the needed amount before you start cooking.  Let it set on the counter to warm up to room temperature.  Or at least slightly so it isn't refrigerator cold when added to the chowder.
*Since we use whole milk, I don't buy half n half.  I use a lot of whipping cream in cooking and baking.  To make half n half, I just combine equal parts of cream and whole milk.
*Fresh corn would be so delicious in this, but I make this quite often in the winter so use frozen corn.  If you make during season, I suggest fresh corn off the cob, about 3-4 cups.