Last-Minute San Francisco Cioppino ~ A Labor of Love
Jan 10, 2011 at 13:54 The pastel pink hues of dusk were just beginning to set in the sky when I found myself arriving back home after a long day out. As I was approaching the driveway I could see, tucked away in the corner by our front door, a delivery box. What a relief. All day my thoughts were wandering away to home wondering if that very box had arrived. And it had. As promised.
Not only was I relieved, but I was filling up with excitement and anticipation. Just what was in that box, you ask? A delivery from I Love Blue Sea! And who was the box for? Well, the whole family, actually, but especially my dad. If you didn't know, my mom and dad were visiting for a few weeks this past holiday season. It has been decades, literally, since we have been able to celebrate Christmas and ring in the New Year with them. So throughout their visit I was determined to find ways to make them feel special. For my dad that meant having cioppino for dinner one night. Cioppino is a hearty seafood stew often enjoyed during the holidays. Lo and behold, I Love Blue Sea created a package with everything you would need to make this San Francisco treat. They thought of everything, fresh sustainable dungeness crab, mussels, clams, white fish, the broth, a lemon, a " crab-cracker", and one of our family's all-time favorite round mounds of bread - sourdough! Perfection!
When I placed the order weeks before, I knew that it was going to be a long day. I wasn't going to want to have to cook up anything especially time consuming once I got home. It was also the only evening that this particular meal worked during our busy holiday schedule, so to be able to have such a fresh meal packaged up and delivered to my doorstep, to just be tossed into a large pot to cook up and then enjoy....I could hardly contain my excitement. So you can only imagine my disappointment when I opened the box to discover there were no jars of sauce! Had I misunderstood? I double checked. Nope. No misunderstanding. Those jars were supposed to be in that box. I picked up the phone and called I Love Blue Sea. I needed help. I was feeling desperate! I'd NEVER made cioppino before.
Thankfully Jessica picked up the phone. She apologized for the mistake, and offered to resend another package out the following week to make up for the oversight. Unfortunately that just wasn't going to make matters better. I appreciated the offer, but it was the only night we could have this meal with my dad. So instead, Jessica walked me through her own recipe for a broth she makes for cioppino. Thankfully I had all of the ingredients, even a bottle of clam juice. It was a good starting point, because apparently I was meant to learn how to make cioppino sauce that evening. Let's just say I was determined. I wrote down Jessica's suggestions. It was at that point my mom walked into the kitchen. I filled her in. She could see and hear the disappointment on my face and in my voice. Thankfully she knew just what to do. It turns out she had made cioppino some time ago and remembered what she did. So between Jessica's recipe suggestions and whole lot of input and guidance from my mom, I created what we now fondly call "Last-Minute Cioppino".
Best of all it turned out just fine. In fact I got a nod from Dad, "...the broth is tasty, Mac, I like it".
Whew!
Thank you to Jessica for a recipe starting point, and for not charging me for the order. That was very kind of you. And a huge hug and thank you to my mom for walking me through the steps of making this delicious meal. Everyone was happy in the end. HAVE YOU EVER HAD CIOPPINO?
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Last-Minute Cioppino ~ A Labor of Love
Mac Ledesma
What You'll Need:
1 lb. Alaskan Cod Filet - cubed (we had Talapia Filets which worked beautifully)
1 lb. Clams - rinse in cold water - throw away any open clams - steam only closed clams
1 lb. Mussels - rinse in cold water
1 lb. Shrimp
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
3 Cloves of garlic - chopped
1/2 Large Onion - chopped
2 Stalks Celery - chopped
1 Cup white wine (Chardonnay) - devided
1/4 Cup water
1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp ground Nutmeg
1 California Lemon
1 (8 oz) bottle of clam juice - devided
1 San Francisco sourdough bread loaf - follow instructions for cooking or warming on package
What You'll Do:
- Saute onion, celery, chopped garlic in olive oil. 3-5 minutes on medium heat. Just until onion becomes clear.
- Add Tomato Sauce, Italian Seasoning, Chicken broth,3/4 cup clam jui ce, 3/4 cup white wine, garlic powder, salt.
- Bring mixture to a rolling boil, then lower heat. Keep mixture at a rolling simmer.
- Add white fish to mixture for 20 minutes.
- While fish is cooking, in another pot, steam clams and mussels:
- Heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, when heated add 2 crushing garlic cloves, they should sizzle.
- Put in clams and mussels, stir until coated well with olive oil and garlic, then mix 1/4 cup of white wine, clam juice, water, and lemon juice. Add water mixture to clams and mussels. Add Nutmeg. Keep on Medium low heat for approximately 8 - 10 minutes, until clams open.
- Add steamed Clams and Mussels to sauce mixture AFTER fish has cooked.
- Add fresh cleaned crab to sauce mixture for 5 minutes.
- Serve in large bowls with sour dough on side to soak up sauce.
Enjoy!
Reader Comments (3)
I can imagine how fun it was opening up that box! Love your Cioppino, looks so good!!
Mom & Jessica to the rescue!!! And wowie, Mac, my mouth is literally watering here - that looks like one fantastic Cioppino!!!
Jenny - it really was fun to open this box up. A nice extension to Christmas.
Debra - well, now you'll just have to go make it. This seafood stew will keep you warm during your cold winter months! Even if you steamed up some clams, made the broth and tossed them together with some pasta....now that would be a hearty winter meal!