Corn Chowder

I love a good corn chowder in the wintry snow!!  I have made this soup plenty of times before, but this was a different recipe than I have used.  Wait, who am I kidding - I never used recipes before starting the Joy of Cooking!!  I always just add basic things like onions, celery, carrots, corn, milk, and chicken.  Actually, put salt and pepper with that, and that's all that would generally be in corn chowder that I would make.  This recipe was different in that it didn't have carrots or chicken, but did have potatoes and bacon.  Seriously - I think that I have had enough bacon/bacon grease during this whole thing to last me the rest of my life. The chowder was also different in that at the end, you take out a cup and a half of the soup, puree it in a food processor, and put it back in.  I never puree soups, but I did it this time - why?  Because the recipe said so, that's why.  I am sure that this last step is in there to thicken the soup, which it did, but I ended up not liking the consistancy.  It seemed like the chowder was kind of gritty.  I am not sure if I didn't blend it enough, or if that is just how it was supposed to be.  I think next time I would leave that last step out.