Ingredients
-
1 Tbl. butter
-
1 leek, halved, sliced and rinsed
-
1 (32 oz.) box chicken broth
-
1 1/2 cups red potatoes, unpeeled and diced
-
1 large rib celery, halved lengthwise and sliced
-
1 cup sliced baby carrots, measure after slicing
-
1 bay leaf
-
1 Tbl. Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base
-
1 tsp. finely minced fresh garlic
-
1/4 tsp. creole seasoning
-
1/4 tsp. white pepper
-
2 cups heavy cream
-
3/4 lb. (12 oz.) jarlsberg cheese (trim off paper rind), small diced or grated
-
1 (11 oz.) can white shoepeg corn, undrained
-
4 cups large diced ham, measure after dicing
-
4 Tbl. butter
-
1/4 cup flour
-
parsley or fresh thyme for garnish if desired
Instructions
In a 4-6 qt. stock pot, melt 1 Tbl. butter over medium low heat, add leeks and sauté for 5 minutes until softened.Add chicken broth, and next 8 ingredients. Place on lid, turn heat up to medium high, and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat and low boil veggies for 15 minutes, covered.Turn heat down to med-low and add cream, cheese, corn and ham. Heat until cheese has melted, stirring occasionally and making sure no cheese is sticking to the bottom.While chowder is reheating and cheese is melting, melt the 4 Tbl. butter in small sauté pan. Sprinkle the flour over and stir and cook for 3-4 minutes to cook put raw flour taste.When cheese has fully melted and there are no more strings of cheese left, turn pot back up to medium heat. When just starting to simmer, slowly add and stir in butter/flour (roux) mixture. Cook and simmer, stirring gently, for 1-2 minutes until chowder has thickened a bit and is creamy.Remove pot from heat. Let cool down a little, gently stirring now and then, until cool enough to enjoy.Chowder will thicken a bit more as it cools.Ladle into bowls and garnish with parsley or fresh thyme if desired.*Reheat leftovers slowly over low heat, or nuke bowls in the microwave at 50% stirring occasionally. (Soup will be very thick, but will thin as it reheats, so do not add any liquid.)
