Gastronomy: The Perfect Winter Meal is Seafood Chowder

When I think of the ultimate winter meal, soup is always on the top of my list. What better way to spend a winter evening than a hearty bowl of soup, a chunk of crusty bread, and a frosty mug of beer?

This recipe for seafood chowder is savory and rich without being too thick, as many cream soups tend to be. It is sure to warm your heart, fill your belly, and make the bitter cold seem bearable. I recommend picking up some Goose Island Matilda to go with—it’s a top-notch, Chicago brewed, Belgian-style ale (and my obsession as of late).

3 strips bacon, diced
1 large shallot, chopped
1 T thyme, chopped
3 celery ribs, diced
½ c white wine
½ stick butter
¼ c flour
6 c fresh chicken stock or three cans
2 potatoes (skin on), cubed
1 c heavy cream
½ lb salmon
½ lb mini sea scallops
1 lb whitefish, cod, sea bass or tilapia (I usually use two of these—1/2 lb each)
¼ c parsley, chopped
1 c white cheddar cheese, grated
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

In a large Dutch oven, sauté bacon until golden (about ten minutes). Add shallot, thyme and celery and cook until translucent. Deglaze with white wine, scraping the bits off the bottom of pan; simmer until liquid is reduced. Add butter and flour to form a roux. Cook roux over low heat until gold in color, about twenty minutes. Add chicken stock and potatoes; bring to a simmer. Cook on medium heat about 45 minutes. Add heavy cream and seafood. Cook another 30 minutes over low heat; add salt and pepper to taste. Serve in low bowls with grated cheese and a bit of parsley. Serves 8.

Gastronomy: Fishing for Ideas

My youngest son is always a little hesitant to try new dishes, but, since he lives with a bunch of foodies, he’s often forced into different and unusual dining experiences—both in restaurants and at home. A parent can read endless hours of discussion about forcing your child to eat something he doesn’t like—is it right or wrong, enriching or harmful? What I’ve learned through my son, however, is that sharing the history of a meal or culture, accompanying a new food with an old standby, or simply having fun in the kitchen has made him much more open to and excited about new food experiences.

As a gift for Christmas one year, he received Robin Davis and Frankie Frankeny’s cookbook, The Star Wars Cookbook: Wookiee Cookies and other Galactic Recipes. If you’ve never seen this book, each recipe has a corresponding photograph that includes the completed dish surrounded by Star Wars' action figures. It’s hilarious and completely addicting. For many days following, we worked through the book and, although we had a great time, I wasn’t ready to weave any of these new taste sensations into my own recipe rotation. So, to keep the momentum going, we decided to invent our own!

I set out to first target the dishes that I had created by tweaking and gleaning parts of others’ recipes. I hadn’t had a chance to write them down yet, and this would force me to think more precisely about quantity and time. Secondly, these were some of the meals my son was not always thrilled about. My reasoning behind this choice was that by giving this dish a creative name and an accompanying photograph, he could picture an exciting Star Wars or Lord of the Rings scene during his meal. Suddenly dinnertime wouldn’t be quite so disappointing!

In the Davis and Frankeny style, we painstakingly set-up our first photo shoot—Naboo Fish Stew. My fish soup recipe uses The Joy of Cooking entry as a backbone to my own experiments—it’s a light, but buttery cream broth that sports tender chunks of flakey, white fish. The scene surrounding the bowl are Star Wars' characters from Naboo, a planet that houses underwater cities—a truly winning combination. Although my son has never been all-that-crazy about soup, he always gets a huge smile on his face when I announce that I'm serving Naboo Fish Stew for dinner. And, like a real inter-galactic hero, he sits down to the table tall, proud, and prepared to lick that platter clean.

Naboo Fish Stew Recipe

2 lbs boneless, skinless fish fillets (cod, tilapia, etc.), cleaned
3 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
4 t butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
1 t fresh thyme, chopped
3 large boiling potatoes, peeled, and cut into small cubes
3 c fish, chicken, or vegetable stock
1 c heavy cream
1 c skim milk
Salt and pepper to taste
2 t fresh parsley, chopped

In a large soup pot, cook bacon over low heat, 10 to 15 minutes, or until crisp. Add butter, onion, bay leaves, and thyme; cook until onions are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in potatoes and stock; bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in milk and cream; remove bay leaves. Add fish filets; simmer until fish is cooked through and beginning to flake, 10 to 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with chopped, fresh parsley. Serves 4.

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Obsession: Sarah's Tomato Basil Cream Soup

2 28 oz cans whole, peeled tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large shallot, roughly chopped
3 T extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 c chicken stock
4 t unsalted butter
½ c fresh basil leaves, chopped
¾ c heavy cream
¼ c Parmigiano Reggiano, grated


Add butter and olive oil to a warm, large stock pot. Over medium heat, add shallots and simmer 5 minutes; add garlic and simmer another 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, basil, and parmesan cheese; bring to heavy simmer. Reduce heat and cook 45 minutes. Remove from heat and puree with a hand blender until smooth. Return to low heat and add heavy cream. Simmer for 25 minutes; add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with warm bread or grilled cheese sandwiches!

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