I was excited like a kid on xmas day about my first ever shrimp & corn chowdah with hatch green chilies, and started the cooking process after lunch. I steeped the entire bag of shrimp shells I’d been collecting in my freezer in the corn stock I’d made and froze a few weeks ago, which made for a richly flavored soup base (after straining the liquid, of course).
I rendered a few strips of bacon, then removed the crispy bits for a kronchy topping. Added a nub of butter to the pot and sautéed chopped leeks that had been ignored in the crisper forever plus a finely diced onion, then deglazed the pot with a random Portuguese white we had in the fridge.
Added the diced potatoes & the corn/shrimp stock and simmered until the potatoes were tender, blitzed a bunch of them with my immersion blender, added 2 cups of local corn, finely chopped hatch green chilies, a splash of heavy cream, and finally the shrimp. Topped with a smoked pepper mix a friend gifted me, and scattered a few chopped scallions & the crunchy bacon on top.
Came out really well for a first. So happy it all worked out and tasted great 
