Corn & Crab Bisque
Serves 8-10 people

For the bisque

Ingredients
3 pounds        whole gumbo crabs
¼ cup           olive oil
1 pound         chopped onions
1 each          chopped celery stalks
¾ cup           garlic cloves
1 cup           all purpose flour
1 cup           brandy
2 gallons       corn stock (recipe follows)
3 sprigs        fresh thyme
2 each          bay leaf
1/3 teaspoon    red pepper flake
1.5 quart       heavy cream
1 pound         jumbo lump crab
1 pound         fresh corn
To taste        Tabasco sauce
To taste        Worchestire Sauce
To taste        salt

Procedure
Crush crab shells with meat mallet. Place into hot roasting pan with olive oil.  Let cook until all water has evaporated from the crab shells, and it turns slightly golden.  Add onion, garlic and celery and cook until onions are translucent.  Add brandy and let flame up until all alcohol is cooked out.  Dust with flour and stir until flour is evenly distributed.  Add corn stock, thyme, bay leaf and chili flakes and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and let simmer for 45 minutes.  Add heavy cream and cook for 15 minutes more.   Puree with blender and pass through a fine strainer.  Add jumbo lump crab meat and white corn.  Bring back to a simmer to heat corn and crab.  Season to taste with Tabasco, Worchestire sauce, lemon juice, brandy and salt.


For the corn stock

Ingredients
3 each             corn cobs (use cobs left from fresh corn in soup)
2 each             medium yellow onions
2 stalks           celery
2.5 gallons        water
2 each             bay leaves
1 tablespoon       whole black peppercorns

Procedure
Chop onions and celery.  Add them along with the corn cobs to a pot with the water.  Bring to simmer, and add bay leaves and peppercorns.  Simmer slowly for 45 minutes to an hour.  Strain through fine strainer.