Chilled Creamed Corn and Leek Soup

 (Picture taken from original article at JSONLINE.com)

We stopped receiving the Sunday newspaper when we realized we were only reading the Comics and getting the rest of our news from the TV or the Internet. We really haven't missed it, but this past weekend we accidentally received a copy. It was fun to be able to read through the paper and look through the advertising circulars, but the best part came when I checked out the recipes. A local restaurant owner, Sanford D'Amato of Sanford Restaurant, had written an article and included a recipe!

My son and I decided to visit a Farmer's Market later that day and when I saw all the corn, leeks and onions available, I suggested I make the recipe. I wasn't sure of amounts, so I grabbed 6 ears of corn and a bunch of leeks. I estimated correctly and soup was made!

The last time I cooked a recipe from Sandy D'Amato, we could not believe how delicious the result was.  I promise to blog about that recipe this winter, it is a Pork Stew, so not really a summer meal. The article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last week talks about Sanford's Chilled Creamed Corn and Leek Soup. The article is interesting, the recipe is fabulous! While it is considered a chilled soup, my son preferred it hot, and honestly, it is great either way.

The original recipe is posted below.  I didn't have mace in the house, so I omitted that and the soup was still great.  I also stirred the sautéed leeks into the soup after cooking them and saved the bacon until serving to use as a garnish, certainly not quite as dramatic a presentation, but just as tasty!

Chilled Creamed Corn and Leek Soup

6 ears fresh market corn, shucked, silks removed
1 leek (10 ounces), cut in half lengthwise, cleaned and cut across the grain into 1/4-inch strips
2 bay leaves
1 quart chicken stock (plus a bit extra if needed)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion (6 ounces), peeled and diced small
5 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground mace
3 teaspoons Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 slices bacon, cut julienne

Cut corn kernels off cob (need 4 cups) and place in a bowl. Then "milk" the cobs by holding them and scraping away from you with the back of a knife into bowl with kernels. Reserve cobs.
Place corn cobs, one third of the leek and the bay leaves in a sauce pot. Cover with chicken stock, bring to a simmer and let simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep on the side.
Place a sauce pot over medium-low heat. Add oil, onion and thyme and sautée 5 minutes without letting onions take on color.
Strain stock, measure and add more stock if needed to make 3 cups liquid.
Add to onion mixture with corn, pepper, mace and salt and bring to a simmer. Let simmer 2 minutes, remove from heat and carefully puree one third of the soup finely in a blender.
Add puree back to soup pot and cool. When cold, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
When ready to serve, render bacon in a non-stick pan until crisp.
Remove bacon, leaving fat in pan. Sautée remaining leeks seasoned lightly with salt and pepper in the bacon fat until just tender. Mix in crisp bacon.
Portion cold soup into bowls and garnish with warm leeks and bacon.