Fancy Seafood Chowder

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 4 slices thick cut bacon, diced into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 -4 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled & cut into 3/4 inch cubes
• 2 (8 ounce) bottles clam juice
• 2 cups water
• 1 lb firm fish (like halibut)
• 1 lb fresh seafood (i prefer shrimp and scallops)
• 2 cups half-and-half (1 pint)
• salt and black pepper, to taste
• cayenne pepper
• chopped fresh parsley

Recipe

• 1 saute bacon pieces in a large kettle or dutch oven until it starts to brown.
• 2 add onion and celery, saute until soft & translucent.
• 3 add garlic, bay leaf, thyme & sage. stir frequently for about 1 minute.
• 4 stir in flour and cook for another minute or two stirring constantly. do not let flour burn!
• 5 add water and clam juice. bring to a boil and add potatoes. cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
• 6 while cooking, wash and prepare seafood by cutting into bite size pieces. i usually cut fish into 1 inch cubes, and halve scallops and peel/devein shrimp.
• 7 when potatoes are done, add fish to stock mixture & simmer for five minutes. add other seafood and cook for two more minutes.
• 8 stir in half and half plus salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. heat through and it's ready to serve. garnish each bowl with chopped parsley.
• 9 enjoy!