I am on such a soup kick lately, not sure what gives, other than I haven't been feeling 100%. Not downright sick, but just not great either, and my tummy peeps for soup! soup! Especially after my walk this morning - hello zero degrees - ouch! (Really, it hurt, and took me a long time to thaw out despite dressing appropriately... mos def not fun.)

So tonight I made a rib-stickin' classic, New England Clam Chowder, which of course is best made with fresh clams (and their juices), but the Cooks' Illustrated pantry version is a damn close second. Most critically not thick and goopy, like so many restaurant versions (whassup up with that?), it's creamy/brothy, chock full of bacon and potatoes and clams...salty, briny fabulousness. Especially with a piping hot loaf of crusty bread (I luckily had a Toast-to-Bread brand whole-grain baguette stashed in the freezer...mental note to replace it, handy and delicious).

In less than an hour, one of the most flavorful soups you'll ever sip (slurp!) from a spoon. Goodness. Yeah.