There are places where soup is merely a starter.
The Kitchen Carry-Away is not one of them. Here, soup is serious business. Containers of it leave the shop by the armful, particularly when the weather turns cool. One of the newest standouts is a shrimp soup – creamy, smoky, and brimming with sweet corn.
The recipe came about the way many kitchen favorites do: with a little improvisation and a pot that kept getting better as it simmered – beginning with a surplus of corn that needed to be put to good use.
A simple shrimp and corn soup was the starting point. As it cooked, the pot evolved – bacon for depth, aromatics for flavor, a splash of cream to give it body.
What emerged was not just soup but a meal: rich, hearty, and satisfying enough to fill your belly on a blistery cold Highlands-Cashiers evening.
The woman behind the pot is Suzanne Young, owner of The Kitchen Carry-Away. Young has been cooking most of her life. The youngest of five children, she discovered early that baking cakes and decorating desserts was an excellent way to stand out in a busy household.
By the age of 12 she had started a small cake-decorating business, a creative spark that eventually led her to study hotel and restaurant management in Ohio and later to spend 14 years teaching culinary classes in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
About a decade ago she purchased The Kitchen Carry-Away, which has since become a source of soups, casseroles, baked goods, and prepared dishes for locals and visitors who appreciate having a good meal ready when they need it.
“But I can’t handle everything by myself, I rely on a pair of kitchen wizards with decades of experience and built-in culinary genius –Dori Moschouris is my Managing Kitchen Chef and Micheal Moore is my Meat and Seafood chef,” Suzanne explains. “They sample and tweak everything together to ensure that each dish is perfect.”
The shrimp soup joined the lineup only recently, but demand grew so quickly that Young had to add a second freezer just to keep up. Like many good recipes, this one also invites a little creativity. Some customers swap the shrimp for crab; others leave out the seafood entirely for a vegetarian version. The base – smoky bacon, sweet corn, and a creamy broth – adapts easily depending on what you have on hand. Still, the original combination makes a strong case for leaving things just as they are.
The Kitchen Carry Away’s Shrimp and Corn Soup
Serves 6 – 8
Ingredients
10 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
6 green onions, thinly sliced, divided (reserve about ¼ cup for garnish)
3 stalks celery, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons black pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4½ cups milk
2½ cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 (14-ounce) can cream-style corn
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ pound frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined
1½ teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
¾ cup half-and-half
Directions
1. Cook the bacon in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat.
2. Add the butter to the pot and allow it to melt. Reserve about ¼ cup of the green onions for garnish and add the rest to the pot along with the celery. Sauté for about 3 minutes, until softened.
3. Stir in the garlic, salt, and black pepper and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
4. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking to prevent lumps.
5. Add the corn kernels, cream-style corn, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chowder begins to thicken.
6. Add the shrimp and cook just until pink and cooked through, about 3 minutes.
7. Remove from the heat and stir in the thyme and half-and-half.
Serve hot, topped with the reserved green onions and crisp bacon. Add a dash or two of hot sauce if desired.
Cook’s tip: Stir the chowder frequently once it comes off the heat—it helps it cool more evenly and keeps the texture silky.
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