Chowder offers a basic recipe with many variations

Learning to cook a dish well offers many benefits, including these three: confidence, creativity and convenience.

Whether it's a cooking technique or basic recipe, learning one does wonders for your self-confidence in the kitchen. After all, success breeds success, so practicing a dish enough to feel good about serving it to your family and friends raises the probability you'll find another dish to conquer, then another. Before you know it, you'll be thinking of yourself as a good cook.

This will free you to experiment with different ingredients and flavor combinations. After all, if you're a good cook, what could go wrong? More often than not, nothing. In fact, you're much more likely to hit on a winning new dish than to come up with a clunker.

Then there's the convenience and creative factors. Being able to look in your pantry and refrigerator and figure out "what's for dinner" saves time and money.

So what dish do you learn first? There are many candidates: risotto, omelets, pizza, tacos, enchiladas and stir-fries. What they all have in common is that they are a wonderful platform for any number of fresh vegetables, meats and cheeses.

But my choice would be for chowder. It's easy to learn, inexpensive to make and almost anything can go into it successfully. It's also popular with the younger set. While clam chowder is the most iconic version, I find myself making vegetarian chowders, chicken chowders, sausage chowders and seafood variations all the time.

Right now, we are waiting anxiously for the local crop of springtime vegetables to arrive, so an Asparagus, Mushroom and Ham Chowder could make good use of extra vegetables you will likely have in your refrigerator soon. Don't like asparagus? Substitute broccoli, cauliflower, Swiss chard, green beans or whatever you need to use up. Or it could be a combination of all of those vegetables. When the proportions are right, practically anything will work in a chowder.

Trying to cut potatoes out of your diet? How about sweet potatoes or butternut squash?

You get the idea. Learn how to make a good chowder by looking at a few chowder recipes and seeing what they have in common. Usually they start with sautéed onions or other vegetables. Flour is sometimes added for body and to thicken it a bit. Stock is whisked in and other vegetables, meats, seafood or a combination of them all are added, in the order of their cooking times, with a touch of cream at the end. It's that simple.

Serves 6.

• 1 tbsp. olive oil

• 8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced

• 3 tbsp. flour

• 5 c. low-sodium chicken stock, divided

• 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice

• 1 tsp. salt

• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

• 1/4 c. heavy whipping cream

Directions

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until slightly browned. Transfer to a plate.

Add the onion and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring for 2 minutes.

Stir in the stock along with the cooked mushrooms, potatoes, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook 15 minutes.

Nutrition information per serving:

Calories190Fat7 gSodium460 mg

Carbohydrates27 gSaturated fat3 gTotal sugars3 g

Protein8 gCholesterol11 mgDietary fiber3 g

Exchanges per serving: 2 carb, 1 lean protein, 1 fat.