Fresh Corn Soup

Considering that fresh corn is not available in the mid Atlantic region in December, this soup as made by me for Christmas dinner was misidentified. I used frozen corn and had to punt as far as how much corn to use. The recipe says you need the amount of corn that comes off three ears. I figured that about a cup per ear was about right. It wasn't. There seemed to be too much milk and not enough corn in this soup.
The cooking scene Christmas afternoon was something of a zoo. The goose was smoking away in the oven, and the guests were having a fine time in the living room, while Bob and I stirred, sauteed and chopped in the kitchen. I lost count of the number of cups of milk, sprayed milk all over the wall while using the blender and searched frantically for herbs we didn't have.
Bob prefers a more organized presentation of dinner, and was none too happy to be cooking through all the predinner merriment, issuing from the living room. "We should have started at 2 o'clock," he hissed. I had nothing to say to that.
The guests were polite about it, and ate it. However, if you want to make fresh corn soup, wait until you can get fresh corn.

Fresh Corn Soup

3 ears corn, kernels removed and cobs scraped to get out the milk
1/2 cup chicken broth or water
1 sprig thyme or one-quarter teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon celery seeds crushed
1 sprig marjoram or one-eighth teaspoon dried marjoram
1 leaf basil or one-eighth teaspoon basil
8 cups hot milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon dry sherry

1. Place the kernels and milk from the cobs in a heavy saucepan and add the broth or water. Cook three minutes, taking care not to scorch the corn.
2. Place cooked corn, the thyme, salt, celery seeds, marjoram, basil and hot milk in an electric blender and blend until smooth.
3. Strain into a saucepan and add the butter, sugar, salt and pepper. Heat gently on direct heat or over hot water to boiling, but do not boil.
4. Stir in the sherry and serve. Serves 4.