When most of us think of chowder, New England comes to mind. The phonetic variant chowda, is believed to have originated in Newfoundland in the days when Breton fisherman would toss portions of the day’s catch into a large pot, along with other available foods to make a seafood stew. Because this is CrappieNow, we’re going to make crappie chowder.
Commonly, chowder is a seafood or vegetable stew (or thickened soup) often served with milk or cream served with crackers that are broken into the chowder as a thickener. Some varieties are traditionally thickened with crushed ship biscuit.
There numerous varieties of chowders ranging from New England clam, corn, potato, and fish chowder. Here’s our recipe for Crappie Chowder.
Crappie Chowder
4 to 6 cup crappie fillets cut into strips
4 to 6 cup hash brown potatoes
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 cans mushroom soup
1 or 2 soup cans milk, depending on how thin you want your chowder
1/4 cup melted butter
Cook crappie, potatoes, and celery with onion in separate pans with enough water so they will come to boil. When tender, combine all into 1 big pan, and then add soup, milk and butter. Simmer together until hot, do not boil or milk will curdle.
That taste of Italy I promised is Crappie Linguine with White Wine Cream Sauce. In this recipe we shift from crackers being the agent to thicken our chowder to using pasta like linguine. Linguine is like thin flattened spaghetti. Our seafood, fish, in this case, is – you guessed it – crappie.
Crappie Linguine with White Wine Cream Sauce
1 lb. crappie fillets cut into 2-inch long strips
1/2 lb. linguine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Dash of hot sauce (optional)
Parsley sprigs
Cook linguine according to directions and set aside. Heat olive canola oil on medium-high heat in a stove top pan and add crappie fillets. Cook until about 4 minutes, and then add garlic and pepper. Add wine. Reduce wine for 30 seconds. Toss cooked linguine into crappie. Remove to dish and sprinkle with cheese and a dash of hot sauce, if desired. Garnish with parsley.
After dining on one of the scrumptious crappie dishes, there’s a need for a taste of something sweet. I can’t think of a better dessert than my Mother-in-law’s bread pudding. Give Bobbie’s Bread Pudding a try.
10 slices bread
3 cup skim milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup egg substitute
4 tablespoons diet margarine
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup crushed pineapple
Break bread into pieces in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Blend in half the milk. Add sugar and egg substitute, mixing well after each. Dice margarine on top and stir in vanilla, remaining milk, and pineapple. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, until firm.
Call me crazy but I love this puddin’ served chilled, however, I think you’ll love it warm from the oven. It’s a big yummy either way.
Onion Soup
1/2 pound sliced white onions
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons corn oil
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 quart chicken broth
1 quart beef broth
8 slices French bread
Shredded Swiss cheese
Grated Parmesan
Sauté onions in butter and oil until onions are transparent, but not well browned. When tender, turn heat to lowest point and sprinkle with flour, stirring vigorously. Pour into Dutch oven and stir in broths. Heat thoroughly and divide among 8 oven-proof bowls. Float a slice of bread atop each serving. Mix equal parts of cheese to smooth paste and spread over bread. Place all bowls on oven rack 4 inches from broiler: heat and broil until cheese melts. Serve at once. Makes 8 servings.
Scalloped Pineapple
This is good served warm with whipped cream. It taste is very much like a pineapple upside down cake.
2 cups sugar
2 sticks butter (1/2-pound)
3 eggs, beaten
1 16-ounce can crushed pineapple
4 cups white bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the sugar and butter together; add the eggs and mix well. Add the pineapple to the mixture, then the bread crumbs and stir well. Bake in an ovenproof dish for 1 1/4 hours. Top with whipped cream. Makes 12 servings.