Tuesday is for Nesting: golden seafood chowder

We're celebrating the throes of the bleak midwinter all week.  In my real, everyday, walking-around life Tuesdays are spent running from the moment I wake up to the moment I lay back down again, barely enough time to breathe morning prayers or compline.  Today, though, we are blessed in my part of the world with snow skies falling to the ground with no end in sight.  This is the hidden treasure of winter in the Northeast -- unexpected days to stop the world and get off, play games, read books, make soup.

And, really, no matter where you live soup is never a bad thing.

Golden Seafood Chowder Taste of Home

1/2 cup finely chopped onion                    1/4 cup butter, cubed

   1 can (14-1/2 ounces chicken broth          1 cup cubed peeled potato

   2 celery ribs, chopped                              2 medium carrots, chopped

1/4 cup Clamato juice                              1/4 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning

1/4 cup all-purpose flour                             2 cups milk

   2 cups (8 ounces)shredded sharp             1 can (6 ounces) crabmeat, drained, flaked and cartilage

       cheddar cheese                                       removed

   1 cup cooked medium shrimp,

      peeled and deveined

In a large saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in the broth, potato, celery, carrots, Clamato juice (a sort of tomato cocktail juice you can find at the store, next to the tomato juice) and lemon-pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

In a small bowl, whisk flour and milk until smooth; add to soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat. Add the cheese, crab and shrimp; cook and stir until cheese is melted.

Yield: 4 servings

the backstory

Winter is hard on my head.  I know I'm not alone in the suffering, but still.  At least twice every winter I go down with full-blown head cold delirium.  The busier I am, the more often I have to go traipsing hither and yon in windgusts that stab the head and spear the bones the greater the risk.

  Last weekend with our son in Washington, D.C., we trekked all over capitol hill, up and down Pennsylvania Avenue, me bundled like Nanook of the North.  Still, I spent the rest of the week looking like a Nyquil model.  I swear with a clean conscience that I began to get better the minute I tasted this savory chowder Brian made for Sunday lunch.

An innocent little comment on my facebook status lauding the delights of this soup garnered demands for a recipe.  Since Brian gets paid per diem in this season of life and it looks like he'll be snowed in a bunch this week I was considering charging for the recipe.  Since my sister-in-law, JoAnn, is the one who freely shared (even laminated) this recipe, I opted to share its wonders at no cost.  

Pull out the scrabble board, click play on the snow songs playlist and let the soup simmer!

your turn!

Home comforts for snowy days: what's your favorite?

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