Sweet Corn Potato Chowder with Bacon and Basil

I'd like to make a bold statement and say the Ohio has the best sweet corn. Ever.  There, i said it.  During the months of August and September, we probably have it with dinner every other night.  It is everywhere you look.

You will find sweet corn at stands on the side of the road, at farmers markets and on a huge display at your local grocery store.  I've bought from all of the above and each time I sink my teeth into the ear of corn, I exclaim that "This is the best sweet corn I've ever had!"  It just keeps getting better.

To switch things up, I decided to make a corn chowder with 2 leftover ears we had laying around.  Have you ever had basil with corn?  Or better yet... bacon with corn?  This soup is mouth-watering good.

Start off by browning bacon.  Remove with a slotted spoon because you want all of the bacon fat to remain in the pan.  Hello flavor!

Drain on paper towel

Add carrots, onion and celery.

And garlic.

Then potatoes.

Stock.

Milk and cream.

Cut corn off of the cob with a sharp knife. Reserve the kernels in a bowl and set aside.  you will add them later.

Add cobs, bay leaves and chipotle powder to stock.  If you don't have chipotle powder, paprika or chili powder will work just fine.  The cobs will lend a great corn flavor to the stock.  Time to simmer.

Before blending, remove the cobs and bay leaves.

Matt is not a big fan of large chunks in his soups so I just blended everything up with my immersion blender.  Should you prefer a chunkier soup, ladle half  of the mixture into a regular blender and blend until smooth.  Return back to pot and stir to combine.  Then add corn, bacon and basil.

Sweet Corn Potato Chowder with Bacon and Basil
6 slices of bacon
3 carrots, diced
1 medium onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 potatoes, cubed
4 c. chicken stock
3 c. milk
1 c. heavy cream
3 ears of sweet corn
4 bay leaves
1/2 t. chipotle powder
2. t. salt
1 t. pepper
8 basil leaves, chopped

Chop bacon into small pieces.  Preheat large soup pot over medium heat and ad bacon.  Cook until crispy.  Remove from pot and drain on a paper towel lined plate.  Do not drain the grease from pot and keep it over the heat.

Add carrots, onion, celery and garlic.  Cook for about 4 minutes until softened.  Add potatoes and top with stock, milk and cream.

Shuck the two ears of corn.  With a sharp knife, cut the kernels off the cob.  Place the kernels in a bowl and throw the ears into the broth.  Add bay leaves, chipotle powder, salt and pepper.  Simmer over medium heat, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes.  Remove ears of corn and bay leaves.

Now is time to decide how you would like the texture of the finished product.  You can either blend everything up for a thick, homogeneous chowder or you can blend up only half of the liquid for a chunkier chowder.  Your choice but both equally delicious.
 
Return blended soup to pot and add corn, bacon and basil.  Reserve a little bacon and basil for garnish.  Simmer for 7 minutes longer in order to cook raw corn.  Serve in bowl with crackers and garnish with bacon and basil.