For the Croutons

1. Cut the goat cheese into 1/2 inch rounds, and then cut each round into four quarters. You should end up with about 20 pieces.
2. Coat each piece in cornmeal. Shape into a cube, and then dip into the beaten egg, and again into the cornmeal. Freeze at least one hour.
3. Just before you are ready to serve the chowder, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the frozen croutons to the oil, and cook about 1 minute per side, turning as you go with a tongs or a fork.

For the Butternut Corn Chowder

1. In a large heavy bottomed pot, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, and then remove from the pan and add onions to bacon drippings.
2. Cook the onions just until they are tender, and then add the butternut squash, broth, and chilies. Bring to a simmer, and cook about 30 minutes or until the butternut squash is tender and falls apart when pressed to the side of the pot with a spoon.
3. At this point, I used an immersion blender to puree the chowder, leaving some pieces intact. You could also ladle 3 cups of the chowder to a blender to puree and then add it back to the soup.
4. Add the corn and sage, and then taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as needed. I added 1 teaspoon of salt and several turns of freshly cracked pepper. Depending on the saltiness of your chicken broth, you may need to add more or less.
5. Ladle the chowder into bowls, and then top with bacon and goat cheese croutons.