Cioppino!!

Way back before Reese was a twinkle in our eyes, T and I took a vacation to San Francisco.  Well, we actually squeezed in Tahoe, Reno, Napa Valley and San Francisco in one trip - you know, 'cause us Okies don't get out West that much.

So, my number one goal while in San Francisco was to eat clam chowder in a sour dough bread bowl and I'm proud to say I enjoyed it each of the 3 days we were in town (sometimes more than once a day).  T, on the other hand, is much more hardcore when it comes to seafood than I.  So, he opted for the San Francisco fisherman's stew called Cioppino (pronounced "cheeo peeno").  According to old folklore, it was the stew the fishermen used to make after a long day out on the sea.  They would pull into port, unload all the "good" stuff to send to market and use the leftovers to make dinner for themselves.

Prior to this trip, I had never heard of Cioppino, but T ate it everyday (while I enjoyed my chowder) and longed for more once we returned to our "couldn't get further away from the ocean" home in Oklahoma.  I did some looking around for a recipe similar to what he had in SanFran, but ended up taking bits and pieces from several to create my own.

I've commented before what a picky eater my husband is.  That said, this is his favorite meal (made by me) - I can't compete with the awesome Japanese dishes his Mom makes.

So, here it is.  It's kind of expensive to make (depending on the amount of seafood you choose to use).  Or maybe it's not if you live anywhere relatively close to the shore...which, for anyone not very good at geography, Oklahoma is NOT.

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. butter

1 Tbs. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 medium white onion, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

1 jalapeno, chopped

1 stalk celery, sliced

96 oz. tomato sauce                         Seafood choices:

1 tsp. basil                                          white fish - 3/4 lb

1 tsp. oregano                                    shrimp - 1 lb

1 tsp. parsley                                     mussels - 1/2 lb

1 tsp. fennel                                       clams - 3 lbs

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper                  crab - 1 1/2 lbs

1/3 tsp. ground clove                       scallops - 1/2 lb

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 bay leaf

Splash of white wine

dash of Tabasco

1 Tbs. Worschestershire sauce

Add butter to the pan.  When the butter sizzles, add the olive oil, garlic, onion, carrots, jalapeno and celery. 

   

Saute until the onion is transparent, then add basil, oregano, parsley, clove, fennel seed, black pepper, cayenne pepper and bay leaf.

Saute 3 minutes then add the splash of white wine (I used cooking wine), a dash of Tabasco, the worchestershire sauce and the tomato sauce.

Simmer on low while you prepare the seafood.  I'm sure it doesn't have to be done this way, but I always steam all my seafood prior to adding it to my stew.  That way, it's done as soon as I mix it all together and I don't have to question whether or not my seafood is cooked.

The seafood choices listed above are what I used for this particular recipe, but you could add any seafood you wish.

Once the seafood has been added, change into an old t-shirt, get out your prettiest bowls, ladle out some of your new creation and prepare to get dirty.  Cioppino is a delicious spicy meal, but it is messy!  I served mine with slices of sourdough bread just so I could pretend I was sitting back on Pier 39.

My pictures really do not do this dish justice...it is awesome!