It's Not Grilled But Then Again The Outdoor Kitchen is Froze Up!

Tropic-Al's: Almost Surfside Dining

Happy New Year BBQ nuts! Right now it is 12* outside and the deck is frozen which means no BBQing today. But I have to make something for the church soup and sandwich social next Sunday.

Just right for football playoff time and a winter lunch are chowders. I don't think it matters what kind of chowder. Just the sound chowder conjurs up thoughts of warm soup sipped slowly enjoyed with friends over crusty bread and good talk.

Since we do not like to go to great lengths on Sunday, other than to and from church then the couch for football, this chowder will be an easy one.

So here we go with : Tropic-Al's Corn Chowder with Chiles and Spicy Sausage

For four servings: 1/4 pound spicy sausage with patty form or links. Break the links up and remove the casing. Ground is better since it must look like ground hamburger to work well.

11 oz can of corn (south of the border style) Usually mixed with some red peppers hot or not red will make the corn look south of the border-ish.

3 cups of good chicken broth. I find most broths are to laden with salt so choose a low sodium one if you desire.

Now for the easy part: place the sausage in a skillet and cook to break up the chunks and stir around until there is no pink left at all in the meat. Five minutes should be plenty for four servings.

Then the hard part is adding the corn and broth! Simmer this undeniably difficult recipe for 5-10 minutes to warm through. Serve warm.

Now here is where I would be tempted to add some garlic, fresh parsley, thyme and oregano to the simmer. Go ahead there is no coals waiting to ash over so load up the pot with good stuff nice sliced tomatoes.

On the side serve up crusty bread or nacho chips or tortillas.


Tropic-Al's: A Banana Republic in The Catskills