Crab Cioppino

Crab Cioppino

When I went shopping yesterday, I forgot to get the frozen peas for dinner, but I did pick up a couple of pounds of frozen Dungeness Crab that just happened to be on sale. Folks can talk all day about their Alaskan crab or their Maryland crab, but the only real crab is the Dungeness.

As a kid growing up, crab was both a luxury and a freebie. A luxury because it was a rare treat in the house, but a freebie if we went down to the wharf and caught them, ourselves. More than a couple of times we  headed down to the wharf, armed with crab pots and gunny sacks. Six or 8 little kids - aged from about 9 to 13 - would jump on the streetcar to Powell Street and then onto the cable car to Fisherman's Wharf and the Bay. We'd get some bait from a  fisherman - I don't think we ever had to pay for any scraps - and the pots would go off the pier into the water. We'd spend a few hours roaming the docks and talking to the real fishermen - it was an active fishing port back then - and then load our bounty back onto the cable car and home. Crab races were always fun on the streetcar and at least once we left one under a back seat to get nice and ripe in those non-air-conditioned days. A couple of times we had a huge crab boil right on the sidewalk in front of Sonny & Junior's house, bringing fresh-cooked crabs to the neighbors.  We led the good life.

Fast-forward a few years and I was cooking at the Riviera Dinner House. Once a year, Marco and Gracie - the owners - would have a Cioppino Feed. The only thing on the menu that night was Crab Cioppino. Marco and I made vats of it - served with crusty loaves of Larraburu sourdough bread. Larraburu was to sourdough what Dungeness is to crab. It was the epitome of crusty goodness. My father drove a Larraburu truck before getting into the San Francisco Fire Department in 1954 - and taking a significant pay cut to be a fireman. But even without the family connection, Larraburu was the best bread in The City. I can't even imagine a restaurant today doing such a thing - and completely filling for two seatings plus seating at the bar - but they pulled it off for years. It was that good.

Crab Cioppino is an Italian-American creation created in San Francisco and based on a Genovese seafood stew. Once upon a time, most of the fisherman down at the wharf traced their ancestry back to Genoa and it was a communal meal made from a hodgepodge of fish and seafood.

It's funny how the mind works. I saw those crabs and I was transported back in time remembering those crabbing trips to the wharf while my mind simultaneously reeled and raced for that recipe from The Riviera.

I think I got pretty close - for not using fresh crab and clams - and I can vividly remember the crab races down the aisle of the L Taraval.

Crab Cioppino

  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 4 stalks celery, chopped
  • 2 bell peppers, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 cups red wine
  • 32 oz clam broth
  • 2 28oz cans whole peeled Italian tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 2 or more pounds Dungeness Crab
  • 3-4 pounds assorted seafood - clams, shrimp, langostino, calamari, scallops, firm white fish
  • 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Break out a big pot.

Saute onions in olive oil until they begin to wilt. Add celery, peppers, and garlic, and cook until everything is tender and fragrant. Add a pinch of S&P and a hefty pinch of red pepper flakes.

Add 2 cups decent red wine and cook until it comes to a boil and slightly reduces. Add clam broth and bring to a boil.

Add the tomatoes and just cut slightly - you want chunks of tomato in the final dish. Add more red pepper flakes. Bring everything to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer about an hour. Stir in the parsley.

30 minutes before serving, add the crab. 15 minutes before serving, add the remaining seafood.

Simmer until everything is cooked through. Serve in wide bowls with the crustiest french bread you can find.

I've been thinking about Cioppino for quite a few months, now - ever since I thought there was a slight chance we would be hosting Christmas Eve dinner. I thought it the perfect dish for the Feast of the Seven Fish! We didn't host, but if we ever do, I know what I'm making!

And today about 2:45 - before I had even finished the base sauce - I realized I had enough food for the neighborhood, so I called Victor's brother and sister-in-law to come over and join us. We all ate heartily - and there's still a batch that went into the freezer for Nonna when we're in Sicily in a few weeks. It definitely is the perfect food to feed a crowd.

Sicily... Okay. About as far from Genoa as one can get and still be in Italy, but also with a heavy seafood tradition. I can't wait to see what ideas we bring back with us. We may end up with the Feast of the Twenty-Seven Fish.

It could happen.

 

 

 

 


Birthdays and Meatloaf

We just had a birthday in the house! Usually, birthdays mean we get our own special birthday dinner - and Victor's birthday favorite is meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and peas.

My work schedule and my meatloaf-making-and-cake-baking schedule didn't quite jive, this year, so I thought I'd do something completely different - Burgers from Five Guys and Cupcakes from Cupcakes Gourmet. Since we really don't go out a lot and really do make all of our meals at home, this was a treat. And a bit of an eye-opener.

When someone else makes your food, it's really expensive. I know that on the grocery-level, because I see the prices of prepared foods at the grocery store vs simple ingredients. I'm an ingredient-shopper. Two bacon cheeseburgers for us, 2 small plain cheeseburgers for Nonna and Cybil, and 2 large fries to share was $32. A dozen assorted cupcakes? Also $32.  It was a birthday dinner so I didn't bat an eye as I handed over the debit card, but it did get me thinking...  Sixty-four bucks is two-thirds of our normal weekly food budget - and we eat well around here. Do folks really do this often? How do they afford it?

All of it was very good. The burgers were properly huge and messy and we had more french fries than we could eat. The cupcakes were unique, varied, and quite tasty. In the grocery store I'll pass over a cheap national brand for a more-expensive local or imported product with better quality or what I deem cleaner ingredients. We are willing to pay for quality and in both cases here, we received it.

I guess I've been out of the loop for a while and it just caught me off guard, but it did reinforce the notion that cooking your own food is a lot less expensive than having someone else do it for you.

So since the Birthday Boy didn't get his meatloaf dinner on Saturday, I thought I'd make it on Sunday.  I had everything I needed except for the peas, so I thought I'd get my weekly shopping out of the way and headed to the store.

I forgot the peas.

I tend to make the same meatloaf and decided since it was a Birthday Meatloaf, that I'd try something different. I've made a few "recipe" meatloaves over the years and am always willing to try another. This one struck me because of the rather unique use of dijon mustard, BBQ sauce, and horseradish. It worked.

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The croutons, on the other hand - along with the bay leaves and unpeeled garlic - were overkill.  I did like them on the bottom but the stuff on top was unnecessary. It looks like a lot of ingredients but it comes together fairly quickly.

A Not-So-Basic Meatloaf

adapted from Bon Appetit

  • 5 strips lean bacon, finely chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 medium onions, finely chopped
  • 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
  • 2 lbs  ground beef
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
  • 1 tbsp bottled horseradish, well drained
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
  • 2 tbsp coarse salt
  • 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp finely minced fresh thyme (or 1/4 tsp dried thyme)
  • 2 to 3 cups croutons
  • 10 whole, unpeeled, garlic cloves
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 375°.

Sauté the bacon for about 5 minutes in a medium-sized pan. Add the garlic, onion, and carrot and continue to cook until the vegetables are soft and the onions are translucent but have not taken on any color. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the vegetables to cool.

Place the ground beef into a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs and milk and, using your hands, work the liquid into the meat. Add the bread crumbs and continue to work the liquid and crumbs into the meat. Add the cooled vegetables, mustard, barbecue sauce, and horseradish along with 1/4 cup of the parsley, salt, pepper, and thyme. Using your hands, gently work all of the ingredients into the meat until well combined.

Place one-half of the croutons into a 9x13 baking dish.

Shape meatloaf into a loaf about 3 1/4 inches wide X 2 1/2 inches high X 12 inches long. Press the remaining croutons into the loaf, making sure that they are partially pressed down into it.

Gently press the unpeeled garlic cloves into the top of the meatloaf. Carefully lay the loaf on top of the croutons in the baking dish. Pierce the meatloaf with the bay leaves and thyme sprig. Place the meatloaf in the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour, or until the internal temperature reads 165° and the top is nicely browned.

Remove the pan from the oven. Allow the meatloaf to rest for about 5 minutes before transferring it to a serving platter. Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprig and sprinkle the remaining parsley over the top of the loaf and around the platter. Cut crosswise into 1-inch, or thicker, slices and serve.

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As I said, the croutons on top - along with the unpeeled garlic and bay leaves - were a bit unnecessary, although the croutons did add a bit of texture to the dish. If I made it, again, I'd most likely omit them.

The best part of the dinner, though, is the leftover meatloaf that's in the 'fridge, right now. It's going to make some awesome sandwiches for lunch!


Spring Salads

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We're both salad-eaters and love dinner salads. Alas, our roommate doesn't. I usually don't like cooking one meal for us and another for Nonna, but, tonight I was really craving a salad and there really is no other way around it.  It wasn't a huge departure from our dinner - I cut up some of the tri-tip for her with tomato salad - she loves tomato salad - and cooked her some rice.

It's a bit of a psychological game, making sure she doesn't think she's getting different or lesser food than us. It's also a matter of making sure she gets a variety of foods. At 88, her tastes are set and there's no introducing a lot of new foods or flavors into her diet, although I do try and sneak them in now and again. Plus she has decided she no longer likes a lot of things she liked in the past. It's part of the aging process and just is what it is.

As much as we try and make sure she's eating right, she tries to get around us, as well... like a couple of weeks ago, when Victor was out of town, I gave her several choices for lunch. She said "I'll just have a banana and a couple of biscotti."  I said "uh-uh." She then said grilled cheese. She got a grilled cheese - with a half of a banana - and an hour later, she got her biscotti. She had tried the exact same thing with Victor the day before. With the same result.

Tonight, while Nonna had her plate, we had tri-tip atop greens, tomatoes, avocados, and fat raw onion rings - and a few chipotle deviled eggs I forgot to bring to Easter dinner. I used a store-bought dressing -  quelle horreur ! - because laziness got to me. Not that it's even remotely difficult to make a dressing from scratch - but laziness got to me. It happens.

It really did hit the spot and set the stage for more to come.  As the weather turns warmer and produce becomes more local, we'll be doing salads a lot more. I can't wait to see how creative we can get with the roomie...


Easter Muffins

In Your Easter Bonnet

Growing up in a large family had its advantages around the holidays. We never did things small. We colored dozens of eggs at Easter, had Easter Egg hunts out in the back yard, Easter baskets filled with candy, new clothes, and a huge dinner - ham if we were at home, and roasted leg of lamb if we were at Aunt Phoebe's and Aunt Dolores' house.

Aunt Dolores made the absolute best leg of lamb. And the best lamb gravy - neither of which I've ever been able to replicate. It was always a bone-in leg as "boneless" didn't exist for anything back in those days. And what a difference in flavor it made.

The rose-colored glasses definitely come on when I think about those days. Reality was we were usually fighting with one another, getting each other in trouble if we could, and generally causing mayhem when-and-wherever we could. There was never a dull  moment around our house.

I have to admit I miss all that chaos now and again. For all the yelling and fighting, there was also a lot of fun and laughter - not to mention conspiracy as we tried to figure out how to get away with something without my mother finding out. We probably failed more times than we succeeded - but we did succeed now and again. And then there was watching Easter Parade and eating homemade fudge with mom on those nights we were actually behaving ourselves.  It was a great time to be a little kid.

Fast-forward 50 years or so and three of the six are heading to Sicily together for 2 weeks in May. I can only imagine the international incidents we could cause if we put our minds to it. We've gotten older. We haven't necessarily matured. Not to mention that our spouses are just as bad as we are. Who says opposites attract?!?

So missing those thrilling days of yesteryear, we also missed our annual Egg Dying and Pizza Party we've had every year on Saturday night before Easter since we moved east. Traditions end, but the memories linger on...

So... with a relatively-free evening, I made cupcakes. I saw a recipe in the Betty Crocker Cupcake Book that really looked fun and decided it would make a nice addition to whatever desserts are being planned for dinner today. One can never have too many desserts, says I.

The actual concept is a bit different than what I did, but the cupcakes, themselves, were pretty much as written.

Betty's Sunflower Bouquet

Cupcake:

  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 1 2/3 cups sugar
  • 5 egg whites
  • 2 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350°.

Mix flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. Beat butter about 30 seconds to lighten. Add sugar, about 1/3 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping bowl, as necessary. Add egg whites 1 at a time and mix well after each addition. Add vanilla, and then add flour alternately with milk in three additions.

Fill mini muffin cups about 2/3 full and bake 12-16 minutes.

Frosting:

  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • pinch salt
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp milk

Cream butter. Add vanilla and salt.

Beat in powdered sugar, scraping bowl, as necessary. Add milk to thin to desired consistency.

To assemble:

Fit an open star tip (#18) on a pastry bag, and fill with frosting. On each cupcake, pipe 6 lines from the center of the cupcake, out to the edge, making an evenly spaced "spoke-like pattern" on each. With the same tip, start in the center and make a loop by going down one side of each spoke, turning at the edge of the cupcake and following the next spoke back into the center. Repeat ending with 6 loops. Place black gummy raspberry in center of each cupcake.

Place 2 sheets of tissue paper inside pail. Cut dry oasis to fit inside pail. Thread wooden skewer through green licorice. Thread spearmint leaf on skewer and then cupcake. Repeat to make 6 additional flowers. Arrange flowers in pail. Place remaining cupcakes on platter. Store loosely covered.

I couldn't find green licorice out here in 'burbia but did get a bright yellow and a bright pink. They definitely looked cute - like something out of a Dr Seuss book.


Leftover Turkey

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So yesterday I roasted a turkey.

I was doing my regular Monday grocery shopping when I espied turkeys on sale. Total impulse-buy. Ya have to do it once in a while...

Turkey requires a few accoutrements and we had a few... gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and cranberry sauce, rolls... It was a pretty good dinner but with just the three of us, there were a few leftovers - most notably, the turkey, gravy and stuffing.

Since it's been howling rain all day with temperatures plummeting, I thought a turkey pot pie of sorts would be appropriate.I considered making a double crust and doing a traditional pot pie, but I had a bit of a time crunch - not to mention a laziness factor.

I opted, instead, for something a bit different. First, I pressed the leftover stuffing into the bottom of a casserole. I chopped up turkey and put it in a pot with the leftover gravy and a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and brought it all to a boil. It went on top of the stuffing and refrigerator biscuits went on top. Into a 350° oven for 25 minutes.

The secret to cooking biscuits or dumplings atop a casserole is to make sure the casserole filling is hot before you put the biscuits on. A cold filling will not cook the biscuit bottom before the top burns.

And yes, I used refrigerator biscuits. They worked, but I'm always just slightly annoyed whenever I use them. Even good ones aren't really that good.

Next time I'll make my own.

In the meantime, here's a picture of the turkey dinner from last night.

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I see hot turkey sandwiches in my future...


Eggplant Relish

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Eggplant has been calling my name for the past few days, but I wasn't sure just how to answer. I wanted it kinda mixed in with other stuff, but I didn't want a caponata.

I had seen a recipe once upon a time for a relish where eggplant and peppers were roasted and then chopped, but I didn't feel like roasting and I didn't know where the recipe was.  So I broke out a skillet and just went for it.

I think the original recipe had a lot of hot peppers in it, but Nonna is no longer a hot-pepper-eater, so I just went for a red and a green. If you like heat, add a jalapeño or three. If you don't, leave 'em out. Basic cooking - use what you like and don't worry about it.

I took a pork tenderloin and cut it into serving sizes and then grilled the pieces. While eating, we thought the relish would make a great bruschetta and also be equally good served cold or room temperature as a dip or spread. I could definitely see it as a sandwich spread with roast beef on a crusty roll.

Eggplant Relish

  • 1 smallish eggplant, peeled and diced
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 6 green onions, chopped
  • 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • lemon juice
  • parsley
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Dice vegetables and add to skillet with a bit of olive oil. Saute until vegetables are well-cooked. Remove from heat and add about 2 tbsp lemon juice and a few tablespoons of fresh-chopped parsley. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper, as desired.

The lemon juice and parsley both add a bit of freshness to the dish and it paired well with the pork tenderloin. And now I'm wondering how I could make this and can it and not have it lose that fresh flavor.

I may have to do a bit of test-kitchen work...

 

 


My Dinner Date with Nonna

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Victor is in Chicago.  Once upon a time, a business trip for him meant an at-home project for me. Something messy, borderline-destructive... Infinitely fun. But times have changed. Now, it means an actual dinner for two instead of the chili dogs I used to make for myself while Victor was away.

Yep. Chili Dogs.  Dietz and Watson old-fashioned skin-on hot dogs and Hormel canned hot chili with beans.  Shredded cheddar cheese and raw onions. Who says I don't know how to live?!?

My home-improvement projects are much smaller in scope, nowadays. In fact, today's project was somewhat-cleaning up the shavings from a huge stump-grinding in the front yard. Actually, it was more talking to neighbors and playing with their dogs as they walked by, but I did get a bit of work done.

And then it was time for dinner. I planned ravioli for tonight, knowing that Nonna would not be overly-receptive to Chili Dogs à la Tim. And I even brought up a jar of Victor's pasta sauce. I added cubes of leftover beef and let it simmer a bit - and then broke out the fancy plates.

5pm dinner is a little early for candles, but we did have a nice meal. We cleaned our plates and Nonna got biscotti for her dessert.

And now we can settle in and await the call that the plane has landed and Victor is on his way home.

It's actually kinda nice not having the panic of thinking I won't be finished by the time he walks in the door, although I miss making those great messes!


Catching Up

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You'd think we had stopped eating around here!

I've been pretty busy migrating websites - including this one - onto a new hosting account.  The old account was old and clunky. Some sites were taking forever to load - and that's just not a good thing.

So... to make a long story longer, I was spending pretty much every waking moment chained to the computer, downloading sites, uploading sites, recreating sites - and in a couple of cases, making brand-new sites.

It's great having everything neat and orderly, again. There were 15 years of extraneous stuff on those old servers. It's all neat and organised. Today.

We did eat while all this was going on. Victor cooked several nights when he saw me totally immersed in a move. This site, in particular, was fairly nerve-wracking.

I started this site back in 2005 and it has grown to 1700 posts and 8 cookbooks and recipe collections. Thousands of recipes that I would hate to lose.

When I finally got it moved and uploaded, none of the pictures were there. And let's face it - it's all about the picture! After a bit of mild panic - and extraordinary luck - I was able to upload them separately and have them actually link.

The Internet. Gotta love it.

Ya also have to love quick dinners when you're otherwise detained. like the Stuffed Pepper Pasta, above. I took a jar of Victor's Pasta Sauce and added ground beef and a jar of stuffed peppers. Mixed it with pasta shells and dinner was served. Simplicity.

And we did a quick pork tenderloin with tomato salad...

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Nothing fancy - just quick and basic.

Another quick - as in unattended - meal was a stuffed round steak.

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I cut and pounded the steaks, filled them with spinach. rolled and tied them, and then let them simmer in a bit of red wine and beef broth for a couple of hours.

I pulled them out, cooked the noodles right in the sauce, and dinner was served.

So... hopefully, I can start spending a bit more time in the kitchen and a bit less time updating websites for a while. I do enjoy both, but cooking takes the lead...