Shrimp Chowder
Hearty but delicate; garlicky and delicious.
Shrimp Chowder
2016-02-01 19:05:50
Serves 4
Growing up, our closest neighbors lived a quarter mile down our dirt road from our house. They had a horse, a dog, and two turkeys. I remember very little about the mama, LaVonne, though she looked after me in the afternoons once the Kindergarten bus dropped me off. My mother still has a little 3x5 notecard with LaVonne's notes for this rich and wonderful chowder, now enriched by her own edits. It's become our annual Christmas Eve dinner, paired with a crab and avacado salad and a dry prosecco. Don't skimp on the garlic; using a powdered form helps eliminate the sharpness and bite while providing plenty of anti-vampire protection.
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
30 min
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. butter or olive oil
- ¼ c. sliced scallions
- 1 clove fresh garlic, mashed
- 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (or 1/2 tsp chili powder)
- 3 oz. cream cheese
- 2 cans of condensed cream of potato soup
- 1 ½ cans of milk
- 2 cups of good quality peeled tailless shrimp, thawed in fridge overnight if previously frozen*
- 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels (or thawed frozen corn)
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt, more to taste
Instructions
- Melt butter over medium heat and sauté scallions, stirring frequently, until soft (3-5 min). Add garlic and cayenne/chili powder and continue stirring, about 1 minute - do not let garlic burn or get too brown. Add cream cheese and stir constantly. You MUST soften this mixture well before adding anything else. Let it come to a creamy, fully melted consistency before continuing.
- Gradually add soup to aromatics and cream cheese, stirring thoroughly. Once combined, slowly add milk while stirring. Add remainder of ingredients and heat until warmed through - about 3-5 minutes. Add additional garlic salt to taste.
Notes
- Some day I'll swap out the single clove of fresh garlic for two heads of roasted garlic, mashed, to the softened cream cheese and I promise I'll tell you how it turns out...
- *precooked frozen shrimp work fine; however, the taste and consistency is better when you buy uncooked and briefly steam, saute, or poach them yourself and then add to this dish - even if you do it up to a day in advance and keep them in the fridge.
Adapted from notes by LaVonne Murphy
Adapted from notes by LaVonne Murphy
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