Cold Creamy Sweet Corn Soup

Sorry for terrible picture quality and messy background, but you get the idea.

Here in Iowa, we truly do have the greatest corn in the world (my homestate of Indiana is a close second).  I got a dozen ears of corn in my share last week and wanted something delicious to use them in.  Also, some friends and I have just instated Thursday night wine and hors d'oeuvre nights and I needed something yummy, appropriate for my non-air-conditioned apartment, and good in small portions.  Hopefully the girls will like it, but I'll have to wait and see.

You'll need (for 4ish small servings):

• 1/2 stick butter
• 2 heaping tablespoons flour
• 1/2 pint half & half (at least, you'll need to add more before serving)
• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable bouillon
• Equal parts pepperjack, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese (all grated)
• 1-2 teaspoons paprika
• 1-2 teaspoons cumin
• chili powder and cayenne pepper to taste (just decide how spicy you want it to be)
• 2-3 ears of sweet corn, cooked (depending on size.  I had some monster ears, so I only used 2)
• a little extra half & half or milk before serving

The steps

• In a well-insulated (preferably nonstick) pot, melt butter on medium high heat
• Add flour and stir quickly until smooth.
• Add half & half, bouillon, and cheese.  Stir constantly until cheese has melted.  You may need to adjust the heat to avoid burning, but you must stir constantly.
• Season as you'd like it, tasting periodically.
• Add corn.**
• Refrigerate
• Before serving, add enough milk or half & half to get a smooth texture.  Dish out and garnish with paprika

This is definitely a delicious soup and you can personalize it based on how spicy you like your food.  If you want to bulk it up, add black beans and/or tomatoes to make a yummy, chilled, southwestern soup.

**I would recommend cooking the corn several hours or the day before and refrigerating it before trying to cut off the kernels.  If you haven't ever removed kernels from a corn cob, the key is using a sharp serrated knife--a steak knife seems to work best.  Hold the cob vertically in your left hand and use your right hand to cut the kernels off (or with opposite hands if you're left-handed).  This will be messy.  I left the kernels in chunks when adding it to the soup, but you can break up the kernels if you'd like.