Summer Corn Chowder

May arrived and with it that particular quality of Boston spring that makes you feel like the city has been holding its breath since September and finally exhaled. The trees on the Common are full green, the Public Garden has its tulips, and the harbor is a shade of blue that doesn't exist in any other season. I walked home from the T with my jacket open and my face up and felt the specific happiness of a person whose favorite season has finally, definitively arrived.

Five weeks until the wedding. Meghan came over Sunday and we spent the afternoon with the final details — place cards, ceremony music, the exact order of the processional, which relatives are sitting where and why, the signals I need to remember for the reception. It was a very long Sunday afternoon and at the end of it I said, "I think we're actually ready," and Meghan said, "You're ready. You've been ready. You just needed to check all the boxes," and she was right, and I love her for knowing that about me, which is that I need to check all the boxes before I can believe that I'm ready for something.

Patricia stopped by the floor on Tuesday — not as a patient, but to visit. She brought flowers, which was unexpected and which I was not prepared for emotionally and which I handled professionally in the moment and then thought about for two days afterward. She said she was feeling well. She said she'd made the ginger broth again, for a friend in treatment. She said she hoped I had a good wedding. I said I would. I said thank you for making the broth for your friend. She said, "You gave me back the kitchen. The least I can do is use it for someone else."

I made a big batch of chowder Sunday — Maureen's recipe, made in my apartment kitchen, which I am going to miss when I move, because it has exactly the right light in the morning and a stove that runs slightly hot and I've learned to account for it. Some things you don't know you love until you're about to leave them.

Maureen’s chowder is the kind of recipe I reach for when I want to stand at the stove and not think too hard — just stir, taste, adjust, and feel the particular calm of making something I’ve made a dozen times before. With the wedding five weeks out and every detail finally checked off, it felt right to fill my apartment with something warm and unhurried, the kind of meal that reminds you to love the kitchen you’re still in. Here’s the version I made Sunday, adapted just slightly for the sweet corn that’s starting to show up at the market.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

6 ears fresh corn, kernels cut from the cob (about 4 cups)
4 slices thick-cut bacon, diced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Cook the bacon. In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, cook the diced bacon until crispy, about 5–7 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Leave about 1 tablespoon of drippings in the pot.
Sauté the vegetables. Add the butter to the pot with the bacon drippings. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
Build the base. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to coat. Cook for 1 minute, then slowly pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Add the potatoes, bay leaf, and smoked paprika. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are just tender, about 12–15 minutes.
Add the corn. Stir in the corn kernels and cook for 5 minutes, until the corn is tender and bright.
Make it creamy. Stir in the milk and heavy cream. Using an immersion blender, pulse 3–4 times to partially blend the chowder, leaving plenty of chunky texture. (Alternatively, transfer 2 cups to a blender, blend until smooth, and stir back in.) Season generously with salt and pepper.
Serve. Remove the bay leaf. Ladle into bowls and top with the reserved crispy bacon and chopped chives.

Nutrition (per serving)

Summer Corn Chowder — The One You Make When Everything Is Almost Ready