Rosie's Oyster Chowder. Do As I Say, Not As I Do.

The Hawthornes had a few steamed oysters left over from yesterday and Rosie is looking forward to an oyster chowder - perfect for the cold, rainy weather today.

And here it is, accented with club crackers, parsley, and my deflated sriracha bubbles.

My ingredients: oysters 1 medium onion 1 stalk of celery chicken broth milk heavy cream I don't believe this, but I forgot two main ingredients: bacon and a potato.

First I chopped my onion and celery and a bit of green and red pepper. Now, had I been thinking, I would have chopped up about 6 pieces of bacon and fried that up first, then add the diced potato and saute until just tender. So, pretend I have done that ...

... and pretend there are bacon and diced potatoes in the pan. Melt a little butter and add in the onions ...

... the celery ...

... the green pepper ...

... the red pepper.

Stir and cook for about a minute.

Add in about 1/3 cup flour.

And cook another minute to get the raw taste out of the flour.

Slowly, add in about 1 cup of chicken broth, stirring constantly.

Add in a cup of milk, slowly, stirring.

A few tablespoons of heavy cream never hurts.

Add in the oysters and just heat through.

Now, had I remembered to put the bacon and potatoes in here, I'd have a nice smokiness in the background from the bacon and the natural starch from the taters would have thickened my chowder a bit more.

Taste-test.

Needed a few grinds of salt and pepper and a big splash of sherry - about 1/4-1/3 cup. Start small. You can always add in more. Adjust to your own tastes.

I picked parsley, chives, and scallions ...

Finely chopped.

Garnish the soup with herbs, some crackers and a few squirts of sriracha sauce.

Even without the bacon and potatoes, this was wonderful.

Mr. Hawthorne had to have potatoes.

He diced a medium potato and browned the dices in butter and oil.

Add the potatoes to the chowder.

This was a delightful meal.

If you're lucky, you might get a little crabbie.

Bon appetit!