Dungeness Crab & Corn Chowder

First thing's first. Today my blog hit a little milestone: it reached 20,000 page views! In some ways that's a small number when you consider the fact that other sites exceed that many page views a day, but then I try to picture 20K of anything- people, dollars, jelly beans...and my mind is kind of blown. It's mucho, you guys.

So I just wanted to put a great big THANK YOU out into the world to anyone who has taken a moment out of their day to pop over into my world for a bit and take a look at what's cooking in my kitchen, which today happens to be a hearty, zesty, yummy (and spicy if you're all about the Cholula like I am) Crab & Corn Chowder.

It comes together in a flash with tons of seafood flavor thanks to the fresh, succulent, Dungeness crab I purchased at the seafood counter (precooked, so no messy shells to deal with). Feel free to dress this chowder up however you'd like, it would be heavenly served up in a sourdough bread bowl, but I'm partial to a sprinkle of crisp, green scallions and a healthy dousing of hot sauce. 

makes about 1 1/2 quarts
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
4-6 baby red potatoes, diced
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 dried bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon Old Bay or other seafood seasoning blend
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups whole milk
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
8 ounces cooked lump dungeness crab
2 tablespoons scallions, thinly sliced
Hot sauce and lemon, to taste

Instructions
1. Heat a stock pot over medium heat and add oil and butter.
2. Add potatoes, celery, onion and bay leaf to the pot and season with salt, pepper and Old Bay. Sauté until onions and celery soften, about 5 minutes.
3. Add flour to pot and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and milk and bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until soup thickens slightly, about 5-10 minutes.
4. Add corn and crab meat and simmer soup for another 5 minutes.
5. Remove bay leaf before serving. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with hot sauce, a squeeze of lemon and sliced scallions.