The 'How to Cook' Blog

Chowder – The Basics – So Easy And So Good To Eat!
By Sara Gray

Chowder has been around for a long time and evolved from a simple fish stew to more creative ideas using vegetables and other types of meat. But no matter what you throw into your chowder, it’s always good to know how to make a basic chowder recipe. From there you can use your imagination and go wild! The sky’s the limit.

Below, you’ll find the basic steps for making the beloved chowder soup. And, as I said before, you can alter your basic chowder to fit your mood and use up the ingredients you have on hand. Just follow the steps below and add your choice of ingredients.

- Chop onions and bacon into small, bite-size pieces and then fry them up in a stock pot.

- Stir in either chicken, fish or vegetable stock with some cream and a few bread crumbs or broken up crackers to thicken your mixture.

- Simmer for the mixture for about 20 minutes and then add either pre-steamed fish or cooked clams or both.

- Peel and dice boiled potatoes and add to the mixture.

- Warm the chowder until you have reached your desired serving temperature and serve it up. If you decided to use clams, make sure you don’t over cook the chowder as this will make the clams rubbery and too tough to eat.

- Garnish your homemade chowder with parsley and cracked pepper. Some like to add a couple of drops of Tobasco sauce for a spicier flavor.

Add a wonderful thick, crusty bread on the side and serve with a small dinner salad to make a whole meal – now you know how to make chowder from a basic viewpoint. Feel free to add your own ingredients and make it special just from you.

One last tip for making chowder soup:

Chowders and stews seem to always taste better if you make them a day ahead of time. it gives the flavors time to meld and mellow. Plus, making your chowder a day before you need it saves you a little time! All you’ll need to do is take it out of the refrigerator, warm it up little by little and serve nice and hot. Your friends and family will love the flavors and you’ll appreciate how it warms the tummy.

Enjoy – it’s a great thing to make for the winter and fall.

Sara Gray is an avid lover of appetizers (and anything really to do with food!) and has created a couple of fun and informative websites. Easy Appetizer Recipes is where you can find delicious ideas for all kinds of hot and cold appetizers, raclette grilling, tapas small plates, snacks, chips and dip ideas, and holiday appetizers. And Soup Hoopla! has everything you ever wanted to know about soup and fabulous recipes too including, Chowder Soups.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sara_Gray
http://EzineArticles.com/?Chowder—The-Basics—So-Easy-And-So-Good-To-Eat!&id=744906

I hope you enjoy today’s installment of Cooking With Kimberly. Until next time…

Eat Deliciously,

Kimberly Edwards

Technorati Tags: chowder, how to make chowder, chowder soup, basic chowder, soup

Similar Posts:

• 10 Finger Lickin’ Bacon Recipes
• How to Cook Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Corn Cakes
• How to Make a Saltine Cracker Pie Crust
• Holiday Pumpkin Soup
• How to Make Kimberly’s Lousiana Seafood Gumbo