"Alas, What Crimes Have Been Committed In The Name Of Chowder!"

I some how managed to get two hours worth of homework done in one. What a champ! Today was a fun day at tech center, we made chowder. It's called a chowder, not a soup, and not a stew. Don't mix em up! Super delicious no matter what you call it though. The only problem was it was extremely hard for everyone to cram in on the stove. Two kids got burnt today. However one of the guys determined we were all gonna be "close" friends by the end of he year do to this cramped space. I enjoyed the pun. We made a vegetable chowder with chicken stock. I cant wait till meat is brought into the class. Meat is neat after all. I also got fitted for my chef uniform today at Tech Center, I cant wait to parade around in it.

Chef Kimmel went over the idea of a roux and how it thickens sauces and soups, showed us the proper way to scald milk, an peel the skin off tomatoes.

Scalding milk is where you heat it up so its hot but make sure it doesn't boil or curdle, that would result in an off taste and viscosity.

To peel the skin off a tomato, first cut a small "X" on the top of it. Now place in boiling water for around a minute or until the skin starts to pop off. Shock in ice water to make sure it doesn't cook and keeps it color. now using your fingertips, gently peel off the skin. To seed the tomatoes cut into quarters and squeeze out the seeds into a bowl. After this julienne them and then make small dices of the tomato for this recipe.

Creamy Vegetable Chowder:
-2 oz. butter
-3 oz. flour
-1 clove of garlic, minced
-1/2 onion, small dice
-1/4 to 1/2 zucchini, medium dice
-1/4 to 1/2 yellow squash.medium dice
-1/2 carrot, medium dice
-2 celery ribs, medium dice [half-moons]
-3 to 5 white button mushrooms, sliced
-1 tsp. salt
-1 tsp. dried basil
-2 bay leaves
-1/2 tsp. thyme
-1/4 tsp. white pepper
-4 c. hot chicken stock
-1 medium tomato, peeled; seeded; diced
-2 c. hot milk
-1 large russet potato, peeled; medium diced; boiled till fork tender

In a large saute pan, melt the butter on medium-high heat. Add in the garlic and onions, saute for a minute or two. Throw in the zucchini, squash, carrot, celery, mushrooms and seasonings, cover and sweat until the veggies are a little under aldente, so they are still slightly crunchy. 5-10 mins. Stir in the flour to the vegetable medley and cook for 5 mins, stirring constantly to ensure the flour doesn't burn. The addition of flour makes a roux to make the chowder thicken up. Next pour in the chicken stock and tomatoes, whisk the mixture vigorously for a few mins to incorporate air and to keep the flour from clumping. This aids the thickening process. dump in the milk and potatoes. Whisk and cook for another 5 to 10 mins. take off the heat and allow to thicken up a bit more for around 5 mins. REMOVE THE BAY LEAVES. they can get stuck on the inside of your throat since they are so thing. you will choke and die.

Ladle into a bowl and enjoy. I prefer to have it in a mug so i can drink it.

[Louis P. De Gouy Quote For Title]