Chicken and Bacon Corn Chowder

Chicken and Bacon Corn Chowder
1 rotisserie chicken
5 cups low sodium chicken broth (preferably homemade – recipe here)
½ pound thick bacon, diced
5 stalks celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 medium Spanish onions, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
2 medium russet or all-purpose potatoes, peeled and diced
8 ears fresh corn, removed from the cob
2 to 3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2-½ cups heavy cream
¼ cup cornstarch
Freshly ground black pepper

Southern Skillet Cream Biscuits
2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
4 tbsp butter
1 cup heavy cream, chilled

Heat the bacon in a large pot over medium heat. Cook until the bacon fat is rendered and the meat is crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the celery, carrot, onions, and garlic. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables begin to soften and onion becomes translucent (not browned), about 10 minutes. Add the potatoes, corn, and thyme. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are fully soft, about 8 additional minutes.

Add the chicken broth to the pot. Bring the broth to a simmer over medium-high heat. Turn down the heat to medium and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk cornstarch into the heavy cream to prevent lumps. Add the cream and reserved chicken to the soup pot. Return the chowder to a simmer, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Make it ahead: Make this soup before guest arrive and leave on the stove on simmer, stirring occasionally, to keep warm.

Southern Skillet Cream Biscuits

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Liberally butter a 9 inch cast iron skillet.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, pinch butter into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don’t want the fats to melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled cream. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.

Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Using a rolling pin, roll dough into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. Place biscuits in buttered cast iron skillet so that they just touch.

Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Make it ahead: Make dough ahead of time, cut biscuits, and place in an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to one day until ready to bake. When ready to bake, place in buttered skillet and bake per instructions. You can also freeze biscuits for up to one month. When ready to bake, place frozen biscuits in buttered skillet and bake at 450 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Pair with Le Grand Courtâge Brut Rosé

Source: stylingmyeveryday.com