Queens Eats: Corn Chowder and the High Line

This article was written by Erin Walsh.

After last Friday’s incredibly dreary weather, Saturday and Sunday turned out to be absolutely beautiful. I hope that you had a chance to go out and enjoy the sunny, yet not too muggy, climate.

On Sunday, my fellow culinary forager and I did just that. I had read that Manhattan’s High Line now offers food, so we decided to sample the goods while basking in the warm rays. Turns out, the food pickings, at least what we saw of them, were rather slim, so we decided to grab a crab cake sandwich and shrimp roll in the newly re-opened Lobster Place in Chelsea Market, then make our way to the High Line.

For those of you who have never been, I would highly recommend a jaunt to this urban oasis, which is constructed on former railway tracks and has amazing views of the city. On the High Line, we stopped at Terroir at the Porch for a glass of locally made Riesling and listened to the jazz band playing one level above us. Further down the line, we stopped at the La Newyorkina cart for some Mexican ice pops, which hit the spot on a warm day.

Later that night, to keep in the summer food spirit, I decided to try my hand at making corn chowder. I found a recipe for Grandma’s Corn Chowder with Bacon on allrecipes.com and served with pretzel bread from Trader Joe’s, which I slathered with butter and warmed in the oven for a few minutes. Delicious.

Grandma’s Corn Chowder (Source: Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

1/2 cup diced bacon

4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups water (Note: I used chicken broth)

3 cups cream-style corn

2 teaspoons salt

ground black pepper to taste

2 cups half-and-half

1. Place the bacon in a large pot over medium-high heat and cook until crisp. Drain and crumble, reserving about two tablespoons drippings in the pot.

2. Mix potatoes and onion into the pot with the crumbled bacon and reserved drippings. Cook and stir five minutes. Pour in the water and stir in corn. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover pot. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until potatoes are tender.

3. Warm the half-and-half in a small saucepan until it bubbles. Remove from heat before it boils and mix into the chowder just before serving.