Smoky Corn Chowder with Shrimp

Smoky Corn Chowder with Shrimp - made June 7, 2014 from Bev Cooks

Are you flabbergasted that I keep posting savory recipes instead of desserts? Yeah, me too. Don't get used to it though. It's just a phase. As in "still too hot to turn my oven on very much" phase. And this was during the "still have to heal my shin splints so I'm not running and therefore have time to cook" phase. FWIW, I don't really care for either phase. But life, lemons, lemonade, yada yada.

I had a package of shrimp in the freezer to use up and all the other ingredients were ones I'm familiar with so one trip to Trader Joe's and I was set. This was easy to put together but I have to say, I think I went overboard on the shrimp which kinda crowded out the chowder part. This didn't end up having much liquid so it was more like a thin sauce covering the shrimp than a creamy chowder. It was still good but may not have been what the original blogger intended. Regardless, whenever my cooking doesn't quite come up to par, I remind myself my main goal is not to give myself food poisoning from my cooking and that resets my perspective.

2 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 pinch crushed red pepper
3 ears fresh corn, kernels removed
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup half and half
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
basil slivers for garnish (optional)

1. Heat a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy. Remove bacon from the pan and set aside on a paper towel to drain. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat, if you have that much in the pot.
2. Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the shrimp to the pot and sear on one side for 2 minutes. Flip and sear 30 more seconds. Remove shrimp from pot and set aside.
3. If you need to add a little oil (or bacon fat) to the pot, do so. Add the onions to the pot and sauté 5 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, crushed red pepper and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté another minute.
4. Add the fresh corn to the pot and toss to combine. Sauté 1 minute.
5. Add the stock and half & half to the pot. Stir to combine. Keep on a low simmer for 15 minutes. Salt and pepper as needed.
6. If you have an immersion blender, place it in the pot and pulse it a few times until about half of the soup becomes creamy, still leaving whole kernels as well. If you don’t have an immersion blender, ladle about a cup and a half of the soup into a blender and pulse until creamy. Pour back into the pot and stir to combine.
7. Serve chowder with the shrimp and reserved bacon crumbles. Garnish with slivered basil if desired.