How to make aj's corn chowder

Melt the butter in a small saucepan and enjoy. The end. Ha! No, just melt the butter and add a pinch of pepper.

Add diced carrots, onions, and celery. Give it a stir and take in the aroma.

Meanwhile, in a large pot add the corn.

Add pancetta (totally optional but delicious!) Cook and stir for a couple of minutes.

In the small saucepan, add the flour and make a rue with the carrots, celery, and onions.

When it starts to brown, add the minced garlic and pepper. Stir and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, in the large pot with the corn add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Add the rue to the corn and whisk the hell out of it. The goal is to get rid of any lumps. (FYI: the mixture will be thick, but that's OK. The Half-and-Half will fix that.)

This is the rue with the corn and the start of yummy corn chowder.

Meanwhile, back in the small saucepan add the Half-and-Half and bring to a boil.

Stir in the nutmeg.

Now incorporate the Half-and-Half into the corn and stir it, baby! You should feel the corn chowder get silky and sexy as you stir.

Add pepper and salt to taste. Stir the corn chowder and bring to a boil. Let it simmer on the stove for a good 20-30 minutes (stirring occasionally) and then serve.

Chow down and enjoy!

PS: This is totally optional, but you can serve the corn chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, too.

Just hollow out the bread bowl and toast it in the oven for a couple of minutes. Pour in the corn chowder and chow down and enjoy!