Colleen Harris
Seafood chowder
This seafood chowder is a variation of my grandmother’s fish and clam chowder that she used to make us when we would visit her in Virginia. My family, cousins, and grandparents would go to the coast and make a day of it at the beach. We would dig clams, catch crabs and fish, and go home to make a feast! This soup brings back great childhood memories of fun and family for me. The buttered crackers recipe came from my other grandmother, who copied it from a friend of hers in Atlanta, where they were served in the Atlanta and Peachtree Country Clubs for years.
Ingredients:
1/4 c. butter
3 stalks celery, diced
1 large Vidalia onion, diced
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
3 c. seafood stock
4 c. peeled and diced potatoes (or you can use Simply Potatoes diced potatoes)
1 carrot, finely diced
3/4 tsp. pepper
1 ½ Tsp. kosher salt
3 sprigs fresh thyme or 3/4 Tsp.
4 bay leaves
4 shakes hot sauce
Old Bay seasoning, to taste
1 lb. peeled deveined shrimp
1 ½ to 2 lbs. cod or haddock, cubed into ½ inch chunks
2 cans whole baby clams, reserve juice
2 qts. half & half, warmed
1 c. milk
1/3 c. flour
salt & pepper to taste
Preparation:
In Dutch oven or large pot, melt butter and sauté celery, onion, carrot until onion is translucent. Add garlic and sauté about 3 more minutes. Add seafood stock, clam juice, potatoes, thyme, bay, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until potatoes are almost fork tender. Season shrimp and fish with Old Bay. Add shrimp, fish and clams to pot, cover and let simmer until fish and shrimp are cooked through. (About 7 minutes.) Uncover and add warmed half and half. Combine milk and flour in a small bowl and stir until flour is dissolved. Slowly stir into soup until it thickens (you might not need it all). Keep on low, stirring occasionally until ready to serve. Remove bay leaves and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with hot buttered crackers.
Hot Buttered Crackers
Ingredients:
1 stick melted and clarified unsalted butter
1 or 2 sleeves *ZESTA* saltine crackers (Tip from experience: only Zesta crackers work with this recipe; all other brands get soggy.)
Old Bay seasoning
hot sauce, (use your favorite brand, like Louisiana or Crystal), optional
Preparation:
Heat oven to 400°. Line a baking pan or cookie sheet with parchment or a Silpat. Place saltines out in rows on baking sheet. Brush crackers with melted butter and sprinkle tops with a little Old Bay. If you want spicy hot crackers, add a few shakes of hot sauce to melted butter before you brush on saltines. (I usually do half regular and half spicy.) Turn oven down to 375°. Place crackers in hot oven and bake for about 2-4 minutes depending on how your oven cooks. Make sure you watch them carefully because they will burn quickly! Take out and serve them warm with your soup!
