Seafood Chowder

I debated calling this "six species stew" because I was in temporarily in awe of my carnivorousness having just combined four sea dwelling creatures with two air breathers to create a delicious meal buuuuut, seafood chowder is really a much nicer way of saying all that.  

3 strips of thick bacon

1 onion

3 stalks of celery

chicken broth (homemade is best, it is good to keep some frozen for occasions like this)

white wine

2 carrots

1 large potato

cream 

1lb clams

1/2lb mussels

1/2 lb shrimp

1/2lb small bay scallops

chop the bacon into little bits and cook.  Add onion and cook a while, then add celery. Add wine, broth, and veggies and cook until potatoes are almost done.  Add cream and thicken soup somehow (see below).  Add seafood and cook for just a few minutes before serving.  Whatever you do don't overcook the seafood. The scallops should be added last since they really only need about 120 seconds.  Also, when buying scallops don't get the really white ones, they have been soaked in a preservative. Instead you want the dry packed ones that are a little bit cream colored.  Freshness of the seafood you're using is important so try to buy it fresh the same day you plan to use it.

a note on thickening:

I guess traditional chowder is thickened with "ship biscuit" aka "hardtack" but I tried using my regular standby, cornstarch, with limited success.  I would have liked a thicker soup but the fact that it didn't thicken much didn't impact my enjoyment all that much. Good luck thickening, if you find a great method please comment and let me know.