Christmas Cioppino

Living on the coast is a blessing, we have access to the freshest seafood. This Christmas, we decided to take advantage of the bounty of the sea and make the delicious seafood stew from San Francisco. I found this recipe courtesy of Food Network Kitchens, and modified it a bit to our tastes and the seafood available.

Cioppino
STEW BASE
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups sliced onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
2 1/2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 red bell pepper, trimmed, seeded, and diced
2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 cup bottled clam broth mixed with 2 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup julienned fresh basil leaves
SEAFOOD
1 pound mussels
1 pound jumbo lump crab meat
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 pound cleaned squid, cut into rings, and tentacles halved
1/2 pound sea scallops

Make the stew base. Heat a large stew pot or Dutch oven over medium heat with the olive oil. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and crushed hot pepper flakes, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits in the pot. Simmer the wine until reduced by about half. Add the tomatoes, peppers, parsley, and thyme and cook for 5 minutes. Add the broths; bring to a boil, then adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook the base, with a cover slightly ajar, for 30 minutes.

Finish the Cioppino. Add the basil and cook covered, over high heat, for 5 minutes. Add the crab and cook for 1 minute. Add the mussels, shrimp, squid, and scallops. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mussels open, the shrimp curl, and squid and scallops are just firm, about 3 minutes.

Simply Awesome

There is this restaurant in San Leon... Gilhooley's is it's name. We love going there for the freshest oysters and shrimp. In the summer time they make the best shrimp ceviche that we have ever tasted. I found this recipe, and altered it a bit... I would have to say it is awesome!

Shrimp Ceviche
1 pounds headless shrimp, peeled and deviened, cooked 1 minute in 2 cups of boiling water (Set aside 1 cup of cooking water)
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon salt for curing onion
1 red onion, chopped; cured*
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice for curing onions
1 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons catsup
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoon cilantro (fresh coriander), minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In large, flat, non-reactive container, mix lime juice and salt. Marinate shrimp with juice in refrigerator for one hour or more; stir occasionally. Add onions, jalapenos and tomatoes to marinated shrimp. Drain; mix in reserved cooking water, orange juice, catsup, olive oil and cilantro. Chill thoroughly. Serve in small bowls with a teaspoon. Garnish with lime wedges.

*To cure onions, rub salt on the onions and let stand for 10 minutes, rinse and squeeze all the water out of them. Marinade in lime juice.

Yet... another great pasta salad

For our first dinner in our new house, we went to the local fish market and picked up dinner. Mark smoked some grouper, flounder and colossal shrimp. A friend brought coleslaw and I made this fabulous pasta salad.

Greek Pasta Salad

8 oz mini bowtie pasta, cooked to al dente and drained
12 kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1 can artichoke hearts in water, drained and cut into quarters
1 roasted red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup smoked sun dried tomatoes, julienned
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup wishbone bountifuls hearty italian dressing
1 tsp fresh minced garlic
2 tsp dried oregano

Combine all ingredients and enjoy!

For leftovers, I chopped up some of the smoked shrimp and added.