Josh Steele's Slammin' Salmon Chowder

When avid fisherman and all-around hilarious guy, Josh Steele, brought home a bounty of delicious salmon from a recent trip, he had the good sense to break out his fish smoker and make some magic. Seriously . . . delicious! And there was so much of it. A huge bag of flaky, salty-sweet salmon. "Liz, do you think you can do something with this?" Yes . . . yes I can. No real drawback here, just the opportunity to whip up something new and tasty. October weather calls for big steamy bowls of chowder with warm crusty bread for dipping. It's a natural fit. Thanks Josh for this inspiration here. Your salmon rules! Bring back more please!

Ingredients
- 2-3 c. smoked salmon, flaked into bite-sized chunks
- 6 ears sweet white corn, kernels removed from cobs
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 orange bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 3 stalks of celery, trimmed and diced
- 2 small red potatoes, diced
- 4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 1 tsp. dried dill
- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1 handful chopped Italian parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 qt. half and half
- 2 Tbsp. butter.

Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook, stirring occasionally over medium until onion becomes fragrant and translucent. Season with salt and pepper. Add celery, bell peppers, and jalapeño peppers. Cook until peppers begin to soften, about 2-3 minutes. Add corn, potatoes, bay leaves, and 1 c. water. Stir and combine ingredients. Cover and simmer about 5-7 minutes for potatoes to soften. Add salmon, tomatoes, pepper flakes, dill, parsley, and half and half. Watch the pot for the half and half to begin to bubble around the edges. Lower the heat to low and simmer about 10 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper, remove bay leaves, and serve with warm crusty bread and butter.