Linda's Corn Chowder

This recipe is one of my few “originals”. It was for a party and several guests avoid onions so I surfed the web, looking mostly for technique and flavorings to make up for the lack of onions. The biggest thing you need to do is to keep tasting it, because this was clearly “okay but not great” until I realized it needed some chicken base to add flavor and saltiness. BTW, you can buy chicken base at the wholesale clubs in a big white jar for about four bucks. GET SOME! I use it in all kinds of things, especially the sauce for Chicken Pot Pie and also homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. You can substitute Chicken Bouillon granules but they are not nearly as good. The cubes are awful. Recently there has been a paste product available in small containers in grocery stores that is the same as the commercial paste, just more expensive. Keep refrigerated once open .
Needham Corn Chowder
3 slices bacon *
1 small onion, quartered through the root*
4 russet potatoes, cubed
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons chicken base paste
2 cups water
1 bag frozen corn, or more if you like
1 can creamed corn
3 cups light cream or whole milk
1 teaspoon celery seed
1-2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons onion powder
pepper to taste
3 shakes Tabasco

In a heavy Dutch oven or deep pot, fry bacon to get most of the fat to melt. In the fat, cook the quartered onion. Taking care to keep it together for easy removal later. Add peeled, cubed potatoes, sautéing in bacon grease adding butter only if necessary, until they start to cook. Before they start to take on color, add water and chicken paste, mixing well in pot. Cover pot and cook potatoes until tender. Remove and discard cooked bacon and onion.

Add frozen and creamed corn, light cream (or milk) and seasonings. Let it simmer for about 1/2 hour over low heat (it will stick if the flame is too high) It is important to let taste be your guide. Amounts of seasonings are just a guideline; keep tinkering until you like the flavor. Better to add seasonings a little at a time. Serves 6-8 *I removed and discarded the bacon and onion since some of my family would prefer to come across a shard of glass in their soup than a piece of onion. You could dice the bacon, and the onion, and add it back to the pot.