Clam Chowder

With winter approaching, soups are great comfort food to warm you up inside and out.  I found a clam chowder recipe that hit the mark for us today.

Ingredients

6 strips bacon
3 (6.5 ounce) cans of minced clams
2 cups cubed potatoes
2 cups cubed carrots
1 cup diced celery (optional - our family omitted this)
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
1 quart half and half cream
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Fry bacon in a large skillet.  Set aside on paper towels to cool.  Add juice from clams, onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes to the skillet.  Add water to cover and cook over medium heat until tender.

While this is cooking, in  a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Whisk in flour until smooth.  Whisk in cream and stir constantly until thick and smooth.  Stir in vegetables and clam juice.  Heat through, but do not boil.

Stir in clams just before serving.  They will get tough if cooked too much.  When clams are heated, stir in vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients

Cooking up the bacon

Cooking up the veggies in clam juice and water

Melting the butter 

Whisking the cream after having made the flour/butter roux

Chowder after adding the veggies

Finished chowder!