Shea and I have taught each other the joys of each food through our family visits. At my parents house in Indiana he was introduced to sweet corn -- both on the cob and also fried (with lots of sugar!). During the summer, corn is a staple at my parents house and is usually cooked each night of the week. You can find a corn stand on just about all the main intersections of the city. Everybody sells the local corn for pretty cheap and it tastes great! I have grown up with the highest quality of corn and love it. I sneak canned corn into many of the meals that Shea and I enjoy together, with Shea never knowing that corn was not one of the original ingredients from the recipe. (Well, I guess Shea will be clued into this fact once he reads this post.... future usage of corn might dwindle rapidly in this kitchen....). Ah, the love affair with corn but we must now look at Shea's love of potatoes. On the very first visit I took to Idaho, the first homecooked meal included 3 different types of potato, each cooked a little differently. His family insisted that each had its unique flavor which was why all 3 were necessary for the meal to be complete. I have been taught the proper way to cook a baked potato in the oven (no aluminom foil, people) and also the correct way to split open a baked potato.
While living in Mexico, we deal with a mildly unfair situation. The corn is not what I'm used to from Indiana so I use a lot of Del Monte canned corn. And there is only one type of potato. And it's not an Idaho, Russet (Idaho grown or not), Red, or Yukon -- we can only buy the standard white potato. We don't usually have a lot of potatoes because the taste doesn't measure up to Shea's standard. While I can add canned corn into recipes and get a corn-fix for myself, there isn't much we can do for Shea. Here is one recipe that I know Shea will LOVE and one that I can't wait to try with some good old Idaho potatoes.
Potato Soup
Ingredients
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 stalks celery, diced
1 small white onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
5 medium-large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 can corn, drained
4 cups chicken stock, or enough to cover potatoes
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
pepper
1. In a Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat. Remove bacon when done cooking and set aside. Drain off all but 1/4 cup of the grease.
2. In the bacon grease remaining in the pan, sautee the celery and onion until the onion begins to turn clear. Add the minced garlic and cook additional 2-3 minutes. Add cubed potatoes to pan and cook 3-4 minutes.
3. Return bacon to pan and add corn. Toss well to mix. Add in enough chicken stock to fully cover potatoes. Let simmer until potatoes are tender (a good 10-15 minutes, maybe longer).
4. In a separate pan, melt butter. Whisk in the flour, stirring constantly. Once flour is fully integrated whisk in the cream and cilantro. Stir constantly while bringing to a boil. Let the cream thicken.
5. Stir cream mixture into potato soup. Add pepper according to taste (one could also add salt here, but I didn't because I thought there was enough with the bacon grease and chicken stock).
Bon appetit!
The recipe this was taken from suggests blending half of the soup into a puree, but I felt that the potatoes easily broke apart when stirring the soup. I enjoyed the larger chunks of potato and am glad that I chose not to puree some of it.
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