Labor of love for a cold day on a long weekend: Smoked salmon and salmon jowl chowder topped with smoked gouda.

Salmon heads are delightfully cheap at the seafood counter. It's good to ask if they've any salmon heads available if they have dressed salmon filet on display. The heads are chock-full of nutrients and fatty meat that makes a good chowder.

Follow your usual chowder recipe - I start with simmering diced potatoes and diced onions until tender. Then, I add the salmon heads and cook until just tender before removing. Allow them to cool, then remove the delicious meat within and set aside.

To bulk up the salmon flavor, I added flaked smoked salmon. After the potatoes are tender, return both types of salmon meat to the chowder, and finish your chowder as you prefer - I've used heavy whipping cream and milk, along with a generous portion of cracked pepper, salt, and onion powder. I then shredded smoked gouda atop each bowl.