LUCY BURDETTE: On days when I have a lot of words to write--or if I'm imagining I'm on staff at the Key West Police Department (right), I need a fast dinner--but yummy of course! My stepmother used to make a corn chowder recipe that involved sausage, butter, and creamed corn, and probably some heavy cream too. It was delicious, but the kind of thing I always felt a little guilty eating. Over the years I've streamlined her recipe and we still love it. It's easy as cherry pie from a can and hearty enough to serve as supper. Tonight we're having it with a nice green salad, topped with avocado and pepper slices.
INGREDIENTS
32 oz box of chicken broth (organic if you prefer)
1 12-16 oz roll of pork sausage (or use 6 or so links of chicken sausage)
1 large onion, chopped
2 large Idaho potatoes, chopped into thin slices
12 oz bag of frozen corn (of course, if it's corn season, feel free to use fresh!) I prefer the white shoepeg corn, but it wasn't available this time.
Fry up the sausage until brown, breaking up the roll into bite-sized pieces as it cooks. Drain these well on a plate lined with paper towels.In the same pan, with almost all of the grease drained off, saute the onions until brown. Pour the broth into a large stockpot, add the cooked sausage, the cooked onions, and the raw potato slices.
Bring this to a simmer and cook until the potatoes start to get soft. (Maybe 15 minutes?) Add the corn and simmer another five minutes. You could add a dash of milk or cream at the end, but we like it just as it is. Maybe garnish with a couple of cranks of cracked pepper--and enjoy!
I'm afraid this recipe has nothing to do with Key West, but man and woman cannot live by Key Lime pie alone, right? Although I went to a book launch party last night for David Sloan's THE ULTIMATE KEY LIME PIE COOKBOOK--and he seems to think Key Lime goes with about everything! And it certainly would make a nice dessert after you've eaten a healthy soup and salad for supper...
