Tapeats Chowder

Originally submitted by Jim Collins published in the OWA Oregon Whitewater is Cooking recipe book.

• 3/4 lb butter  
•  Flour 
•  2 quarts milk 
•  1 1/2 lb sharp cheddar cheese 
•  one can beer (it's okay if you take a few sips) 
•  8 oz diced mild green chilies 
•  4 cans corn, drained 
•  10 large potatoes, washed, steamed and cut into bite-size pieces 
•  5 carrots, grated 
•  salt and pepper 
•  cayenne pepper 
•  Paprika 
•  Parsley 

 I'm not one to make or follow recipes, so the amounts are rough and should be done to your own taste!  

1. Sart by washing the potatoes and placing them in a stock pot with steamer insert (if you don't have one improvise, or just put them in the pot) with enough water to steam (not boil) the potatoes. I cut them into quarters so they will cook faster. 
2. Place the butter in a stock pot and melt over low heat. I try to use a diffuser under the pot (at Tapeats I place the stock pot in a cast iron skillet, a griddle would probably work also) to keep the soup from burning on the bottom. Add the flour to make a roux. Once you have a nice roux, start thinning it out slowly with the milk and beer. Note: don't use all the milk until all the ingredients have been added. 
3. Add the corn, chiles and grated carrots. As you are adding, start seasoning with the salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. When the potatoes have been cooked, remove them from the pot and cut into bite-size pieces. If your soup is too thin, you can mash some of the potatoes to use as a thickener. 
4. Garnish with paprika and parsley; serve with chili cheese cornbread. Makes 12 servings. 

The dinner was supposed to be a very marginal potato corn chowder that I had experienced on a canyon trip six months earlier. Even though it wasn't my cook night, I volunteered to come up with something else. No one died, but a local resident (I guess I should correctly say rodent) like the smell so much it jumped into one of the bowls.