Corn Chowder with Smoked Paprika

  I really owe this next recipe to my online corn chowder mentor, Peter Johnson of the Dutch Oven Diaries blog, http://thedutchovendiaries.blogspot.com, which hails out of  the beautiful Maritimes. I had never made a corn chowder before, and was inspired by Peter's recent post where old traditional recipes are somewhat re-invented. It also came at an opportune time, as I was deliberating the fate of leftover corn in the fridge. Those who know me will tell you that I'm not one to really follow recipes, and so again I deviated not only from the original recipe, dating back to the 1950's but also from Peter's newer version. Peter, I hope you approve of my chowder's altered state. Being Italian, I of course had to add pancetta and Italian medium spicy sausage. I also love the smokey flavour of smoked paprika from Spain, and couldn't resist adding it to the recipe. It was served with my buttery mini Jalapeno Cornbread Loaves.  Happily, it met with my taste tester's approval, my husband, who proclaimed my first attempt quite tasty.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups corn niblets
4 cups chicken broth 
2 tablespoons extra virgin oil
2  Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into thin pieces
2 Italian sausages cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/2 cup pancetta cut into small pieces
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bay leaf
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons smoked paprika (found in specialty stores)
1/2 cup 15% cooking cream

In a heavy saucepan, add the oil and the pancetta, cook until crisp. Remove the pancetta and set aside. Add the sausages slices and brown. Return the pancetta to the pan. Add the onions and cook for about 2 minutes and then add the celery, continue cooking for another minute or two. Add the potatoes, smoked paprika, and  about 1/2 cup of broth to deglaze and partially cook the potatoes while stirring for a couple of minutes.  Pour in the remaining chicken broth and continue cooking. Add 2 cups of the corn niblets ,the bay leaf and fresh thyme.  Add the remaining 1 1/2 cup of uncooked corn niblets in a food processor and mash. Pour the corn mash into the saucepan and continue cooking until the potatoes are cooked, about 15 minutes. Add the the cream near the end of the cooking process. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4