Corn Crab Potato Chow-dah

This is hands down one of my favorite recipes and a total crowd pleaser. It's great in the summer time when we have tons of corn, peppers, onions, and potatoes coming in the CSA bag. Plus Costco has really good quality crab meat for like $6.99 that works perfectly for this. It's time consuming but sooooo worth it.

Adapted from this original recipe at  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sheryls-corn-and-crab-chowder/

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium chopped onion
1 chopped green or red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery (optional)
2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/4 cup dry white wine (Chardonnay is good)
1 teaspoon sherry
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil (fresh is even better!)
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (again, if you have fresh, use it!)
Old Bay seasoning (to taste)
Sea salt
   
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 cups fresh corn kernels (frozen is fine)
4 large potatoes, peeled and diced (I used a bunch of mini fingerling potatoes)
1 1/2 quarts veggie stock
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups heavy cream
1 pound fresh lump crab meat, shell pieces removed

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 10 minutes. Pour in the white wine and sherry, and bring to a simmer. Season with the basil, pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, and Worcestershire sauce. Add the corn and potatoes, then pour in the veggie stock. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 10 minutes.

2. While the soup is simmering, melt 1/2 cup of butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour has turned the color of peanut butter to make a roux, about 10 minutes.

3. Stir roux and cream into soup mixture and heat through. Stir in crab and warm, then serve.