![\"cioppino\"\/](\"http:\/\/www.summerofjim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/cioppino-250.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThis is the deal. On Friday I am responsible for the dinner and the wine. I can grill, I can roast, stir-fry\u2026 re-heat. It\u2019s my call. Sometimes, take-out, or I can pick out a restaurant. Killing a raccoon on Swamp Road in Newtown doesn\u2019t count. And of course, an appropriate wine. <\/p>\n
More often then not, grilling is my m\u00e9tier. Our Weber is in use 12 months of the year, and I grill everything\u2026 including a raccoon if I bag one. But after awhile grilling does get boring. How often can you enjoy a 2\u201d thick bone-in rib-eye? It would be like opening a bottle of Beaucastel all the time. The special qualities of both food and wine would vanish into the ordinary.<\/em><\/p>\n I begin to worry about what I am going to prepare on Friday on Tuesday. Worrying is also my m\u00e9tier. And too often the decision is not reached \u2019til 11:45 on Friday morning, somewhere between lap 65 and 100 of the LA Fitness pool.<\/p>\n Tuesday just past, the worrying kicked into high gear. I make my customary mental review: rib-eye? No! Baby backs? Nope. New Zealand lamb chops? Last week. Chicken parm? Not in the mood. Lobster tails? Hmmmmm. I think I am on the right scent! OK\u2026 I found the inspiration: Cioppino!! Don\u2019t ask me how my mind works.<\/p>\n Cioppino? I can\u2019t remember when I had it last\u2026 or even if I had it before! But I knew of<\/em> the dish. An Italian version of Bouillabaisse? And I love Bouillabaisse! But maybe I would be out of my depth preparation-and-cooking-skill wise? Certainly it would be more involved than throwing a marinated flank steak on the grill!<\/p>\n Wednesday. Find a recipe. I Google Cioppino and then head to the Foodnetwork.com<\/a>. Great. Paula Deen has a recipe! Scan the ingredients, scan the steps\u2026 and then I locate the golden<\/em> word: \u201ceasy.\u201d Easy? To quote Harry Truman, \u201cI think we have a winner!\u201d<\/p>\n Thursday. Create a shopping list. The wine? I could do this in my sleep<\/em>! Red or<\/em> white could work. A Dolcetto D\u2019Alba would be good. So would a Cru Beaujolais. Or a Portuguese blend. But I\u2019m going white\u2026 mineral driven, non-oaked. Something from Alsace\u2026 either a Pinot Gris or a Pinot Blanc. Or, something from Alto-Adige in Italy. Or, Spain. The whites from Galicia, from Spain\u2019s Atlantic Coast, are stunning. In particular the Albari\u00f1o\u2019s from the Rias Baixas are meant<\/em> for seafood! Badda-bing, Badda-boom<\/em>!<\/p>\n Albari\u00f1o de Fefi\u00f1anes \u201910 (Rias Baixas, Spain)<\/p>\n <\/strong>Founded in 1904, Palacio de Fefi\u00f1anes is housed inside a spectacular baronial palace which sits on the lovely main square of coastal Cambados. The facility was built in 1647 by Viscount of Fefi\u00f1anes Gonzalo Sarmiento Valladares (1583-1659) and is currently owned by Juan Gil Careaga. Palacio de Fefi\u00f1anes was the first producer to bottle wine under the D.O. R\u00edas Baixas denomination. Vineyards in the Rias Baixas region are impacted by the wind due to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean . The climate provides acidity and freshness to the wine. Lovely balance, crisp fruit flavor spiked with minerals of wet stone. Finishing clean and soft.<\/p>\n Cioppino<\/p>\n n.b.<\/strong> Cioppino is not<\/em> an Italian dish. Its home port is San Francisco. It goes back to the late 1800s and is the ad hoc<\/em> creation of the Portuguese and Italian fishermen from North Beach. Not technically Italian; but certainly the spirit<\/em> of the dish is Mediterranean.<\/p>\n Ingredients<\/p>\n 6 ounces of Tanqueray Gin Directions<\/p>\n Miscellany<\/p>\n I opted to use an Italian bread which I cut into rather thick slices. I brushed both sides of the bread with a garlic infused olive oil, and toasted the bread on the grill. OK, I admit it: I am a sucker for grill marks! I cut the slices of toasted bread in half, perfect \u201cdunking-in-the-cioppino\u201d size! Next week? Raccoon du Jour\u2026 maybe<\/em>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is the deal. On Friday I am responsible for the dinner and the wine. I can grill, I can roast, stir-fry\u2026 re-heat. It\u2019s my call. Sometimes, take-out, or I can pick out a restaurant. Killing a raccoon on Swamp … Continue reading
\n\u00bd ounce of Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth
\na goodly amount of ice
\n4 blue cheese stuffed olives
\n3 tablespoons olive oil
\n1 medium onion, diced
\n1 celery rib, chopped
\n4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
\n4 cups canned tomatoes, undrained
\n\u00bd cup roasted red peppers, diced
\n1 teaspoon dried thyme
\n1 teaspoon dried oregano
\n\u00bc teaspoon red pepper flakes
\n\u00bd cup dry white wine
\n2 cups beef stock
\n1 cup bottled clam juice
\n\u00bd pound sea scallops
\n1 pound firm white fish, cut into 1\u201d pieces (cod, striped bass)
\n1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
\n24 small clams in the shell, scrubbed
\n2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
\n\u00bc cup fresh parsley
\ncrusty bread for serving<\/p>\n\nPut gin and vermouth into a glass pitcher, fill with ice, stir vigorously while incanting, \u201cYou who know all, thank you for providing us juniper and all the other cockamamie ingredients responsible for creating this sacred liquid!\u201d Strain into a pre-frozen Martini glass of admirable size. Skewer the olives on one of those tacky cocktail swords, place in glass. Immediately begin consuming. Now you can begin the food prep, and the cooking!<\/p>\n