Chowder: What can you tell us (who know nothing) about it?

<sneaking in, knees a-knocking>

Oh, good!
I hope we're going to learn some new cooking tricks here, k!

I'm curious about why your knees are knocking, K.

The answer is there on the dinner thread - chowder scares me.

Ah yes! The unknown mystery ingredients!
I guess the only way of feeling better about this is to make your own? At least you know what's in there!

True, that's why I am here! Waiting with you for our instructors.

i've probably made a chowder like dish, give me an idea of what you consider a chowder to be

That is part of the problem, I (for one) don't know. Except that it's thick and chunky.

i'm guessing it involves dairy of some sort, milk or cream

i make a very thick chicken stew in the winter, but it's broth based so i'm assuming it's not a chowder of any kind

Wiki says:

So, that corn soup I made with the roux could have been a vegitarian chowder.

Like k said, djjd.

You are also speaking to me in Oz, to whom chowder is an exotic dish from a foreign country!

But I must go now, it being just after midday Saturday here. Gotta get moving! I shall return later!

Nothing too specific is necessary, djjd: "Chowder for the uninitiated" is what we're after.

From a menu at a nearby restaurant:
New England Clam Chowder -- <price>
Manhatten Clam Chowder -- Take I-95 south.

Here's a recipe which sounds like it ought to be good, for New England Clam Chowder, the prototypical N.E. soup.

DO NOT make Manhattan Style Clam Chowder. It is an ABOMINATION and an invention of the devil. Chowder should not have tomato in it. They used to feed the Manhattan gunk to us in the school lunch room in New Jersey, and when I moved to Boston and had the New England style for the first time it was like the sun breaking thru the clouds--"oooh, THAT'S the way it should be."

Fish chowder is also good--use a light white boneless fish, and fairly large chunks. They probably used cod here, but I don't know if you can get that there.


Venus de Milo New England Clam Chowder

This recipe is a variation of our clam chowder recipe which was a multiple winner at the Newport, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts chowder festivals. At the Newport chowder festival the Venus de Milo is a 3 time winner and has been enshrined in the Chowder Hall of Fame. The secret to an exceptional chowder is to not skimp on the ingredients. Canned ingredients may be substituted but the final product will not be the same.

Preparation Time: Approx. 90 minutes
Servings: About 2½ quarts or 12 servings

Ingredients:
2 cups ½ inch dices potatoes
5 cups fresh chopped surf clams
1½ cups clam juice
4 oz. butter
½ cup flour
¼ cup minced onion
¼ cup minced celery
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2½ cups light cream
salt as needed
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
3 bay leaves
3 teaspoons dry dill weed

Method:
Wash the diced potatoes, drain and place in a stock pot with the clam juice. Bring the potatoes to a boil, add the chopped clams and bay leaves and simmer until the potatoes are tender.
In a separate stock pot melt the butter and sautee the onion, celery, and garlic until the onions become transparent. Add the flour to the butter and onion mixture to make a roux and cook over a low heat for several minutes.

Add the hot clam stock through a strainer a cup at a time and wisk until smooth. Add the remaining potatoes, clams, and stock and bring to a simmer.

Add the light cream, black pepper, and dill weed and return to a simmer. Adjust the seasoning.

Serve at once with crusty bread or oyster crackers.

As I said: I love New England clam chowder, but very few restaurants
can make a good one, and mostly they don't have enough clams in it,
and it's to creamy. So the right combination is the key.

So, I use extra portions of clams (minced in a can) and potatoes (we are great potatoe eaters). One can also use fresh steamed clams, but it
doesn't really add more to the taste. Instead of salt pork, I like to use bacon.

According to my old "new, revised deluxe edition", circa 1970, of the "Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook" chowder is, "a dish made of fresh fish, or clams, pork, crackers, onions, etc., stewed together".

We're going to Legal Sea Food (I kid thee not, that's the name of the
restaurant) for lunch Sunday in honor of yours truly.. GREAT CHOWDAH!

Now, how did 'chowder' getr comandeered to mean, automatically CLAM chowder? What about corn chowdah? Huh?

Pay no attention to the girl in the cornfield.