Summer Corn Chowder

This soup is creamy, smoky, sweet, and completely satisfying all at the same time. I love the taste of the bacon with the corn and tomatoes. Besides some chopping, it was also a pretty easy recipe to prepare. I couldn't find light cream so I just used whipping cream, about 1 3/4 c instead of the suggested 2 cups of light cream.

• 6 medium ears of corn
• 6 strips of bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 small onion
• 1 medium poblano, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 small celery rib, finely chopped
• 3 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 medium boiling potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cubed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• Pinch of sugar
• 1 small bay leaf
• 2 cups light cream, at room temperature
• 1 cup milk
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Chopped parsley, for garnish

1. Working over a bowl, cut the corn kernels from the cobs at about half their depth. Then, using the back of the knife, scrape the cobs over the bowl to release all the "milk"; set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, fry the bacon over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Crumble and reserve.
3. Discard all but 3 tablespoons of the bacon drippings from the pan. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the poblano pepper, jalapeño and celery and cook until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, potatoes, salt, allspice, sugar, bay leaf and the reserved corn kernels and their "milk" and stir well. Cook over moderate heat until mixture begins to sizzle.
4. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Stir in the cream and milk and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and season with black pepper to taste. Ladle the chowder into bowls and garnish with the crumbled bacon and parsley.

Source: http://food52.com/recipes/142-summer-corn-chowder

Bread Pudding with Whiskey Cream Sauce

This is decadent and absolutely delicious, and it only took about 20 minutes of preparation time, if even that.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 1/2 to 5 cups sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/3 cup pecans, chopped finely

For the sauce

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/4 cup Jack Daniels (any whiskey or bourbon will probably work) 

For the bread pudding: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat together eggs, butter, vanilla, and milk. Add sugar and mix until sugar is dissoved. Arrange bread cubes tightly in a nine-inch baking dish, keeping the crust facing up around the edges in scattered within the dish. Pour liquid over the bread. Sprinkle pecans all over and bake for 55 to 70 minutes, or until crust is golden brown all over the top.

For the sauce: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Stir constantly over low heat until mixture reaches a low boil. Pour a small amount over the individual servings of bread pudding.