Seafood Chowder for a Cold, Cold Day

Seafood Chowder. 

A quick trip to New Bern provided a chance to enjoy some good seafood and to bring fresh seafood home.  We stopped at the Tryon Palace Seafood on the way home and bought some fresh flouder, oysters and scallops.  We had the flounder for breakfast this morning---a special Valentine's treat for Dan.  This afternoon I made a big pot of seafood chowder using the oysters, scallops and a can of clams,  This is going to be so good on Sunday when the temperature plummets with the wind chill in the teens or below.    Here's my recipe:

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced onions
1/2 cup celery sliced thin
1/2 cup baby bella mushrooms (I just happened to have these so added them.)
2 cups fish stock (I had some frozen from poaching a salmon a few weeks ago.)
4 cups diced potatoes
1 pint oysters
1 pint scallops
1 can chopped clams
1 pint half and half
1 1/2 pints whole milk
pepper to taste
a dash of fresh grated nutmeg

Directions:
Dice onions and potatoes, slice celery.

Melt butter and olive oil in large Dutch oven.

Melt butter and olive oil.

Saute onions and celery and mushrooms.

Saute onions and celery.

Add mushrooms and continue to saute until mushrooms are soft.

Add fish stock and potatoes and cook over medium heat until the potatoes are done.

Add fish stock and potatoes.  Cook over medium heat until potatoes are done.

Add oysters, scallops and clams and heat until done. (Do NOT boil.)

Add half and half and whole milk.  Heat, but do not boil.

Add cream and milk and cook over medium heat until oysters and scallops are done.  Do not overcook.

Add pepper to taste and a dash of nutmeg.  You can add salt to taste, but we don't. We add salt at the table.

Ready to enjoy.

This is going to be soooo good tomorrow on a cold, cold, Sunday. I think I will make some homemade pimento cheese for toasted sandwiches.  They will go well with the chowder.