Introduction
In case the title seems a little confusing, I am going to assume you haven’t read my book. And if you haven’t, then oh boy, are you in for a treat!
You see, as a cooking enthusiast who loves to experiment with food, I have realized that chowder is the ultimate dish, which has also prompted me to write my book, Chowders & Shake-Ups for the Week. If you are a fan of the legendary dish, then I must invite you to read it. Since I have a profound love for experimenting with food, I have discovered that chowder can be practically transformed into any dish. Yes, you read that right. It can be transformed into any dish. But the tricky part is to get the chowder right in the first place.
How Do I Get My Chowder Right?
I’m so glad you asked me that question. You see, the key to a perfect bowl of chowder (or a Shake-Up, for that matter) starts with the DNA. Some will call it base; I like to call it DNA because it is the genetic carrier of the whole dish. The better the DNA, the better your chowder will be. However, the question remains: how do you get your chowder right?
Well, I will be talking about the kind of chowders that can be made anywhere, in any kitchen, and in every household. Clams and seafood are expensive, which is why my chowders are based on more affordable ingredients that are present in just about any household. The secret to making your chowder right is mastering the DNA. Although you may be aware of, know about, or a fan of a different kind of base for your chowder, by the end of this blog, your tastebuds will be protesting for you to try the chowder my way, which start with the perfect base.
An Innovative Idea!
Experimenting with food gives you a certain mastery over ingredients, flavors, and knowledge of what goes with what. The same thing happened to me, and I was blessed with divine knowledge of balancing the delicate flavors within any dish. My focus, however, lingered on Chowders. Making one every week, I figured, why not redo the dish in its entirety?
I mean, why not use common and more affordable ingredients that we are also fond of? No one can say no to a batch of tasty spuds. Add some onion, veggies, and bacon to it, and you have yourself a tasty concoction that anyone would love to have more and more of. But we are not opting for that as a dish (although that is not such a bad idea on its own); rather, we are opting for that as a base for our chowder.
So that’s what I did. Cooked a base for my chowder that was exemplary yet easy to cook and affordable at the same time. The idea for Chowder DNA came from the concept of mingling together the same simple, affordable & accessible ingredients, which include:
- Bacon
- Potatoes
- Onions
- Carrots
- Celery
- Herbs
- Stock
- heavy cream or half & half
As simple as the ingredients may be, they can work like a true wonder when combined and in the right way. Especially the first three, which are the basis for juicy potatoes. That is, in my opinion, the helix of the DNA, and you have to try them to know just how awesome they taste on their own. But if you like to stick to the recipe and do the thing through to the end, then combine the juicy potatoes with the rest of the ingredients and get yourself a very basic version of chowder.
Then What?
Well, that’s just the first step. Once you have your base/DNA ready, let your imagination take over. You’ll be surprised to see how many dishes, aka Shake-Ups, you can create with a single type of chowder. That is what my book is really about. Although each individual chowder is a complete recipe in its own right, it is actually the Shake-Up aspect of the book that highlights what the chowder can be about.
You see, I know how chowder can be used over the course of the next few days after it is cooked simply as… chowder. You heat it, eat it, put the rest in the fridge, and repeat. I wanted to break out of this tiring cycle, so I decided to make something else with the leftover chowder. I was not expecting the end results to be this good. How good, you may ask. Well, it was so good that I decided to publish a whole book on it.
Can I Do It With Any Chowder?
Yes, yes, you can! That is the whole idea. Chowders are more versatile than we give them credit for. Although we are talking about the base of chowder in this blog, chowder itself is a base for a whole variety of dishes. But in order to get to that point, you need to first start with the perfect base or the DNA. You will find much more detail on the base or DNA in my book, Chowders & Shake-Ups for the Week, available on Amazon.
I am Courtenay Hachey, and I am a shameless lover of food. Though I have a history in the finance industry, my real interest has always been food, seeing as how me and my siblings were raised by our parents in their Pierogi business in Pennsylvania. So naturally, I have an inclination towards food and a strong affinity towards cooking and trying new recipes. With my book, I hope to make your week a little brighter, as you will have a lot of tasty dishes to look forward to. Simply cook a batch of chowder at the start of the week and let it be transformed into a number of scrumptious Shake-Ups for the days to come. So try them out, and remember, the DNA is what defines your chowder, so for any recipe in my dish that you are following, make sure the DNA is followed through with precision.
