Chowder

Simple to make and packed with omega-3s, this soup can be an easy weeknight supper or a sophisticated starter at a dinner party. Serve it with oyster crackers for the kids.

For extra flavor, add leftover (plain) gravy or stuffing to the soup. If using stuffing, stir in one to two cups half an hour before the end of the cooking time. If using gravy, add it just before the soup's done.

Dried cracked corn, after being soaked and cooked, is mixed with milk and brown sugar to make a soupy sweet for indigenous peoples in the highlands of Colombia. Here it adds the thickening base that potatoes would in a traditional chowder. Chipotle and bacon mingle to form a low, smoky whisper of heat.

Full of sweet corn, smoky bacon, and delightfully briny clams, this light summer chowder is like having a whole New England clambake in a bowl.

Bacon and a little cream give this chowder lashings of decadence — but, because there are no thickeners, it's surprisingly light.

Smoked turkey drumsticks can be found in the meat section of most supermarkets. If unavailable, substitute smoked ham hocks. WHAT TO DRINK: A pale ale with a spicy finish, like Sierra Nevada.

Dallas chef Kent Rathbun created this recipe for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program. It makes an elegant first course for Thanksgiving dinner.

This light chowder with a subtle note of smokiness really lets the scallops shine.

The trick: Just add a slurry.
To thicken soups, Terry Conlan of Lake Austin Spa Resort in Austin, Texas, adds slurries, cocktails of flour stirred with a low- or nonfat liquid, such as broth or skim milk. The texture of his Bay Scallop and Corn Chowder comes from a mix of flour and fat-free cream. Use slurries for any soup that calls for full-fat cream by substituting a slurry of flour and nonfat half-and-half.

Greetings from Boston, home of New England clam chowder. Clam chowder is a year-round comfort food. But knowing that just one bowl of the creamy kind can pack 41 grams of fat isn't so comforting. We lightened the soup considerably — without sacrificing its velvety texture and rich flavor — by cutting back on butter and using lower-fat Canadian bacon and fat-free half-and-half (we used Land O'Lakes). Now you can feel good about spooning up this soup, which is high in iron (the clams) and calcium (the "cream").

This bouillabaisse-style chowder has a delicate broth and whole fish fillets.

This tomato-based chowder tastes a bit like Creole jambalaya. Because the broth can be prepared one day ahead, the recipe is especially convenient for dinner parties.

This main-course soup showcases some of summer's best flavors. Serve with: Flaky biscuits, and a baby spinach salad with roasted red peppers.

This elegant first course from American Seasons is topped with parsley oil, which is easy to make and could also be drizzled over roasted fish or steamed potatoes, and other vegetables.

Green chilies, cumin, and chorizo flavor this spicy southwestern rendition of the eastern seaboard classic.