Fish Stew: For Now or Later

It has been a long time since I spent Christmas Eve in New York with Gran Fran and Joe. My sister is here in San Francisco and we have our own family gatherings, but I do miss Gran Fran's Feast of the Seven Fishes. We do a pretty good job of it, if I may say so myself, out here in SF.

I remember one of the first times she made Boulliabase (which is essentially the same sort of recipe as the below). We drove out to the docks in Long Island and got the freshest shellfish there was. A story for another time, was when we got live Lobsters from the same fishermen and I had to sit in the back of the car with a plastic bag of crawling Lobsters near my feet.

But  I digress. My tale today is about making this stew, and serving it to your friends and family as part of any celebration or just as a weekend treat. You may have noticed, I have a thing for soups. Well, stews rank right up there, so this is another favorite of mine.

Gran Fran always uses the liquor Anisette mixed with vermouth for her version. I don't always have that in my cupboard, so use dry vermouth with fennel seeds. Let me tell you, there is a huge difference. The Anisette has a depth of flavor that you just can't get with my version. But, of course, as I always say, make do with what you have and you'll still end up with a great dish.

When I was home during Thanksgiving, Gran Fran was kind enough to make this wonderful fish stew for me. She let me take pictures while she cooked. I usually cook and shoot everything I post. It was eye-opening to try and work in real-time shots while Gran Fran cooked and not get in her way. We often communicate via yelling (not I'm angry-type yelling, more of an I'm just trying to make my point kind of yelling). And so, you can imagine, that Joe decided to excuse himself from this particular event, hiding out in their office.

In the end, the food was wonderful and I loved being able to document Gran Fran while she actually cooks. When she posts on her blog, I end up cooking the recipes myself here in SF and posting pictures for her. Oh the greatness of technology. But, there is nothing like having a tried-and-true dish made by the person who first served it to you. Mine is always good (and my sister and her husband's versions are great, too), but Gran Fran just adds a certain something.

Make this and add your own personal touches. Except for the method, you can add or subtract any amounts of fish to your liking.

Merry Christmas to you all!

recipe courtesy of Fran Claro, reposted from The Italian Pantry

Friday Night Fish Soup

Serves six

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups potatoes, diced
• 1 cup carrots, diced
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 1 cup onions, diced
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespons tomato paste
• 4 tablespoons anisette or other licorice-flavored liqueur
• 1/4 cup dry vermouth
• 2 bay leaves
• Sprinkle of red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon fresh
• 2 quarts boiling water
• 1 1/2 pounds cod fillet, skinned, rinsed
• 3 dozen little neck clams, well scrubbed
• 1 pound mussels, debearded and well scrubbed

1. Warm oliveoil in a pot large enough to hold all ingredients.
2. Add vegetables; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Saute vegetables until golden, about 15 minutes.
4. Add tomato paste;  saute over low heat 10 minutes.
5. Add anisette and vermouth; reduce by half.
6. Add herbs, pepper flakes; cover all ingredients with boiling water.
7. Bring to boil; reduce to simmer.
8. Partially cover; simmer 30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
9. Add cod; simmer 10 minutes.
10. Return soup to boil.
11. Add clams and mussels.
12. After 7 minutes, check if shellfish open; remove from shells.
13. Cook shellfish until most open;  discard any that have  not opened.
14. Add shelled seafood to soup.
15. Serve soup with crusty bread.

Saffron Rice...Don't Forget to Remove the Bay Leaf!

Hello Friends. Have I told you about Gran Fran's Saffron Rice with Shrimp? It is truly extraordinary. I cannot recall a time without it showing up on a large buffet set out for friends and family. There is some idea in my brain that it was always included in group parties, but I don't recall it being made as a main course until we were grown.But, beyond the loveliness of the dish, I do know that I will always hear Gran Fran's voice in my head, loud and clear "You can make a nice dish of Saffron Rice with Shrimp, but don't forget to remove the bay leaf." She said this with a warning in her voice that matched only her request for us kids to cross the street when a dog we didn't know approached us.

I suppose she is right. The bay leaf can be sharp and doesn't really taste all that good. But, the flavor it lends to a recipe is immeasurable.

So, in closing on this little post, enjoy the following dish. Simple to make, serves many and is generally enjoyed by a host of different palettes.

But "Don't forget to remove the bay leaf."

Saffron Rice with Shrimp

serves 6 as a main course

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Rice
• 5 cups Water
• 6 Boullion cubes
• 1/2 cup White wine, Vermouth or Pernod
• 2 cloves Garlic, quartered
• 4 Tbsps Butter
• 1 tube Saffron
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1/4 Tsp Fennel Seeds (if you have them on hand)
• Salt, Pepper and Red Pepper Flakes to taste

Method:

• Bring water, boullion, garilc, butter, saffron and bay leaf, fennel, pepper and red pepper flakes to a boil in a large nonreative pan.
• Once it has reached the boil, reduce the heat to medium and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or so.
• Add the rice to the liquid. Bring to a boil again. Stir rice and reduce heat to medium/low to achieve a simmer.
• Cover closely with a fitted lid, and simmer for 21 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed.

Sauteed Shrimp for Saffron Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 Lb. Shrimp, cleaned and deveined, tails off
• 2 Tbsps Butter
• 1/4 Tsp Fennel Seeds
• 1 Lemon, zest and juice
• 1/4 cup White Wine, Vermouth or Pernod
• Salt, Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes to Taste

Method:

• Heat nonreactive skillet over high heat.
• Add butter herbs and spices and lower heat a little somewhere between medium and high. Sautee for 1 minute.
• Once butter has melted, add shrimps. Sautee until opaque, about 4 minutes.
• Remove shrimps from pan.
• Turn off the flame. Add wine, lemon juice and zest to pan and turn the flame back on the medium. Reduce the liquid by about half, scraping up the brown bits in the pan at the same time.
• Pour the liquid over the shrimp.
• Stir it all together with the rice and ENJOY!

Gran Fran as Julia

Fall is always a nice time of year to make stews and soups. In our family, it's also when Gran Fran's birthday occurs. As she heads into a new decade (no, I won't tell you which one), these next few weeks' worth of posts will focus on her coming up as a cook. First, we have a small ode to the Queen, Julia Child. Stay tuned for some of Gran Fran's own pieces.

As you have probably already surmised, if you've read several of these posts, Gran Fran is an awesome cook who uses mostly intuition, learned over decades of cooking, alongside her unquenchable thirst for cookbooks.

One of my earliest mother-daughter memories is of a fundraiser that we did when I was about 5 years old. Gran Fran volunteered for a membership drive for our local PBS television station. We were stationed in a small fold up booth in front of the Bloomingdale's in Fresh Meadows, Queens (which I believe is now a K-Mart).

In exchange for membership, new members would get a cookbook. Not just any cookbook, but THE cookbook. Which one, you may ask? It's the Julia Child tome of greatness, Mastering The Art of French Cooking.

I recall Gran Fran waxing poetic about the recipes and the program. Remember, this was 1975, or so (oops, there it is again, a veiled reference to my actual age), not a time when a lot of people were spending hours make Bernaise sauce at home, but it was beginning to happen. Gran Fran sold some memberships that day, but mostly, she got to represent one of her culinary heroes to the public.

Recently, I asked her which of Julia's recipes was her favorite. She said "Well, of course it's Beef Bourguignon." I know, it's a typical recipe to choose, but it is one of the best, and we grew up eating it a lot. Gran Fran made it and the house smelled like a French bistro. The warmth of the kitchen, the smells of the red wine mingling with the bacon, thyme and onions is an unmatchable sensory memory for me.

Beef Bourguinon ala Gran Fran with a nod to Julia Child serves 8

One gigantic non-reactive pot is needed!!

Ingredients:

• 3 to 3.5 Lbs Bottom Round, cubed (any good beef stewing meat works here)
•  1/4 Lb Double Smoked Bacon
• 2 Tbsps Olive Oil
• 2 Carrots, cut into chunks
• 1 Onion; diced
• 2 Cloves Garlic, peeled and diced
• 2 Tsps Flour
• 3 Cups Dry Red Wine
• 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• Salt
• Pepper
• Thyme
• Bay Leaf

Method:

• Preheat oven to 325°.
• Boil diced bacon in 3 cups water for 10 minutes. Refresh bacon under cold water. Dry well.
• Heat oil in a large skillet. Add bqcon. When bacon browns, remove from pan and set aside.
• Dry beef well, then add it to the hot skillet.
• Brown well on all sides.
• In a heavy, nonreactive stew pan, add some oil from the skillet.
• Saute onions and carrots in stew pan until golden brown. Then, sprinkle the veggies with the flour (which ultimqtely helps thicken the stew).
• Brown until golden over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add browned meat to veggies.
• Add red wine to the skillet you used to cook the meat. Stir up all browned particles and bring to a boil. Add this to meat in stew pot.
• If needed, add water to stew pot so all so meat is covered.
• In a small non-reactive sauce pan, place tomato paste, salt, pepper, garlic and thyme, with a little bit of olive oil. Stir over medium heat until paste has thinned a bit and all herbs/spices have been incorporated. Add to stew pot.
• Bring the stew to a boil on top of the stove.
• COver closely (another gran franism) and plce on lower rack in the 325° oven.
• Leave undisturbed for 1.5 hours.
• Then, stir,put cover back on and simmer another 1.5 hours.

This stew tastes even better when reheated, so make a day or two in advance.

C'mon, it's Ham, that's OK for Vegetarians, Right?

My friend S. is a Vegetarian 98% of the time, with some fish here or there. But, she has a weakness....ham.

I found this out one evening when I came home (S. was babysitting Ms. Iz) to find her chowing down on a big bowl of my split pea with ham soup. After the shock wore off, she told me that ham is her achilles heel in regards to the meat world. And that, there were some lovely ham biscuits that came from Virginia that she treated me to. Pure deliciousness!

The first time I made the split pea with ham soup, I had a bit of a mishap. The hamhock I chose was subpar, too salty, not enough real flavor, you know, none of Gran Fran's best quality ingredients at the Safeway that day. Sadly, it did not make my soup any better, and nowhere near Gran Fran's. But, I perservered (and started buying nitrate free hamhocks) and am now an expert split pea with ham soup.

When I was little, Gran Fran usually made us a batch around Thanksgiving. As with everything, which I believe I have mentioned before, there was so much that it lasted for at least a week. I cherished every last drop. By watching Gran Fran, I learned that you need to brown the hamhock first, and use cloves, not the powder, the whole ones, for the best flavor.

One thing I've realized is that there is an alternative to the hamhock....left over Honey Baked Ham on the bone. It makes a much sweeter soup (welcome, honey), but it's a nice rich alternative, and a good use of a bit of leftovers.

So, in closing, enjoy the hammy-goodness as we had more fully into Fall!

Split Pea with Ham Soup ala Gran Fran serves 8 as a side dish

Ingredients:

• 1 Package Green Split Peas (or about 12 ounces), rinsed
• 1 Ham Hock (nitrate free is best)
• 1 Large Yellow Onion, sliced
• 2 Large Carrots, sliced
• 4-6 Whole Cloves
• Thyme
• Bay Leaf
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 Cloves Garlic, peeled and smashed

Method:

• Saute onions and carrots in the olive oil in a large non-reactive pan.
• Place hamhock in the pan and brown on all sides.
• Add washed peas, stirring over meium heat.
• Pur boiling water to cover, about 4 cups, into pan (or as much as you need to actually cover the hamhock).
• Add cloves, thyme, bay lead, pepper and garlic. Wait until the soup is further along in its cooking to add salt, since the handhock is fairly salty on its own).
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, partially cover the pan and simmer for 3 hours, stirring every now and then.
• Let cool and refrigerate. Then skim all of the fat off the top.
• Remove hamhock, dice the meat, and return to the soup.
• Reheat soup and serve with toasted baguette and a nice glass of wine.