January 21 is National New England Clam Chowder Day—and the day to celebrate this regional favorite coincides perfectly with bone-chilling weather that demands a hot cup of soup. <br><br>Check out our suggestions for chowder recipes—both strictly traditional and vaguely unique, but all simply delicious.<br><br>To appropriately kick things off: A traditional New England clam chowder.

Recipe: Fish chowder with crispy croutes <br><br>Fish and potatoes are a classic combination, whether in a casserole or stirred into the chowder pot. With some of the cooked escarole, fish, and vegetable mixture, you just need clam juice, water, and a little cream to make a colorful chowder. Serve the soup with crisp croutes to add a toasty crunch to this favorite bowl.

Recipe: Fish chowder <br><br>Instead of complicating the recipe with homemade fish stock, we use bottled clam juice diluted with water. A little salt pork enhances the broth, whole milk enriches it, and cornstarch thickens it. So it’s not a chowder that’s so thick your spoon will stand upright. But it’s everything a summer dinner should be: quick, light, easy, and full of sea flavor.

Recipe: Asian fish chowder <br><br>This Asian-inspired chowder has a light chicken broth base and is full of plump, white fish complemented by fennel and fresh basil. Ladle it over noodles.

Recipe: Chunky miso chowder <br><br>Begin with homemade dashi, which is simmered with kelp (seaweed) and bonito flakes (dried, smoked, fermented bonito, a relative of tuna). Traditionally, the pot contains stir-fried pork, though you can substitute chicken, and this one also has larger cut vegetables. To make it vegetarian, use just the kelp and mushroom soaking liquid for the stock base and eliminate the meat. When you add the tofu, scoop it with a spoon into small sections and drop the little tufts into the simmering broth. No cleaver necessary.

Recipe: Ham and corn chowder <br><br>Corn chowder is a bridge between warm and cool weather, featuring the sunny flavors of the fresh kernels and the hearty richness of a cold weather stew. Most chowders are thickened with a roux, a mixture of butter and flour, as we do here. Saute vegetables in a blend of oil and butter; then stir in the flour and toast it, stirring all the time, for a few minutes. This takes away the raw taste.

Recipe: Chicken-corn chipotle chowder <Br><br>Mix in some of the tomato-corn saute along with leftover cooked chicken breast and cream. Add canned chipotles, cilantro, scallion, and a squeeze of lime for a comforting bowl. As with all hearty chowders, especially one with smoky chilies, it’s even better the next day.

Recipe: Fish chowder with saffron <br><br>For a lighter and more elegant chowder, leave out the milk and add saffron, then garnish the bowls with flat-leaf parsley, chopped chives, and smoky Spanish pimenton. In this case, you want thick slices of crusty bread.

Recipe: Milky fish chowder <br><Br>A milky chowder should not be a mush and it should not be overly rich. While many people enjoy chowders that you can stand a spoon in, the thinner broths are far more appealing.

Recipe: Oven chowder <br><br>Jan Quiram of Jamaica Plain sent in this intriguing recipe for cooking fish chowder in the oven. We love applying new techniques to familiar recipes, so we just had to try it.<br><br>“It is super easy because everything, except the milk, goes in the oven together without any prep other than chopping ... it is one of my signature dishes and a family favorite.’’

Recipe: Mussel saffron chowder <br><br>Use wine steamed mussels for a chowder with saffron, tomatoes, leeks, fennel, and red-skinned potatoes. The chowder is elegant, and a pretty hue of gold tinged with rose. At your home bistro, it might become a regular.

Recipe: Corn and smoked trout chowder <br><Br> Soups with fresh corn are ideal now, warming us up on cool nights while making the most of the last sweet, local ears we won’t see again until next summer. Made with bacon, smoked trout, and cream, this chowder leans toward decadent.

Recipe: Corn and poblano chowder <br><br>Simple soups can acquire complexity when the ingredients are both complementary and balanced. Poblano peppers are mild, green chilies that add gentle heat to a pot of fresh, sweet, native corn.

Recipe: Fish chowder with prosciutto <Br><br>Use cooked hake — or another popular New England white fish — with prosciutto and potatoes to make a delectably creamy chowder that simmers in minutes.

Recipe: Lobster chowder <Br><br>Begin with the lobster cooking liquid and add potato cooking water. Cook the corn and lobster meat briefly and finish with heavy cream. The chowder has no other thickening, so there’s nothing to dilute the tastes of lobster, golden potatoes, the first corn of the season, and fresh cream. Luxury in a bowl.

Recipe: Rhode Island clam chowder <br><br>With influences that include Native American, Italian, and Portuguese and a strong focus on local seafood, Rhode Island is a small state with a big food heritage. This is one of the state’s most iconic dishes: a clam chowder with a clear, briny broth.

Recipe: Shaker summer tomato, celery, and corn chowder <br><Br>This easy soup starts with a puree of simmered plum tomatoes and makes for an easy, warm supper for cool nights.

Recipe: Smoked haddock chowder <br><br>To make the chowder, cook the smoked fish in water until it flakes (this is the start of a delicious broth). Then saute an onion and add it with the potatoes to the liquid, which thickens it a little. Return the fish to the pot with about as much milk as there is broth. Ladle the chowder into warm bowls and top with a knob of butter and some split and toasted common crackers—bland and crunchy and made in Vermont since 1828. Hard crackers, smoky fish, and sweet milk in one bowl means good chowder.

Recipe: Cod and corn chowder <br><br>This chowder is thin and so loaded with flavor, you might wonder what else besides corn and cod went into the pot. In fact, the stock is made with corncobs—those useless pieces tossed onto the compost heap after you remove the kernels. They offer the broth a subtle, summery flavor that embraces the cod. Or adapt the classic duo to succotash, another New England tradition. Instead of lima beans, make this old-fashioned vegetable stew with green beans, and roast the cod on top. Even a tough customer will soften.