1/2 pound (about 4) potatoes, unpeeled

Salt

4 ounces thick-cut bacon

1 leek, trimmed, white part only chopped

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 tablespoon olive oil, optional

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon crushed dried thyme

1/2 cup half-and-half

1 cup milk

1 cup chicken broth

Pepper

Place potatoes in a small pan and cover with salted water. Boil for 20 to 25 minutes or until tender. Drain. Do not peel. Cut into 1/2 -inch-thick slices. Set aside.

Fry bacon until crisp, remove from pan and set on paper towel-lined plate to drain. Add leek and mushrooms to bacon fat in the pan. If not enough fat is present to cook the vegetables, add olive oil. Saute vegetables 5 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Sprinkle on flour. Stir until flour is absorbed into fat. Add thyme and half-and-half.

Cook over low heat until mixture is thickened, stirring constantly. Add milk and chicken broth. Add potatoes and crumbled bacon. Season lightly with salt and generously with pepper. Simmer 5 minutes.

Notebook...

Another chowder that will warm you up on a cold day.