San Fran Stew: Cioppino

A couple of years ago my husband and I were watching a Food Network special that spoke about the history of Cioppino (pronounced “chuh-pee-noh”). This fish stew has an interesting origin, as it was developed by Italian fishermen in San Francisco in the late 1800's. The fishermen would all “chip in” their catch of the day to a collective soup pot to create seafood stew, similar to a French bouillabaisse (less the saffron).

My husband orders Cioppino occasionally when we dine at seafood restaurants. Most recently, we shared some with our friend Sarah while dining at Beretta in San Francisco.


I had been intending to make Cioppino at home, but had not taken the time to sort through different recipes. I was delighted to find a Cioppino recipe while I was flipping through my new copy of Ellie Krieger’s So Easy. I flagged the page, bought my seafood (and for such a steal at Trader Joe’s! ), and made this over the weekend to get us through a few dinners this week.

It smelled delicious while it was cooking, it was ridiculously easy to make, and my husband loved it. It wasn’t even mealtime when I finished it (we were somewhere between lunch and dinner), and I had to stop him from eating a whole bowl. He actually said to me, “Kate, I love everything that you cook. But I haven’t been this surprised by something you’ve made since you made Chicken Scallopine with Saffron Cream Sauce for the first time.” (And that was two years ago!) Needless to say, this Cioppino is making it into the regular rotation! I actually can’t wait until we’ve eaten it all up so that I can make it again!

Cioppino
(Adapted from Ellie Krieger’s So Easy)
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (6 oz.) jar tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
2 (14.5 oz.) cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 cup fish stock or water
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
¾ teaspoon salt
½ - 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (you may want to remove the tails, too)
½ - 1 pound scallops
½ - 1 pound skinless halibut fillet, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 teaspoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
Fresh bread for serving

Directions
Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large soup pot. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, an additional 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the wine, bring to a boil, and cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and their juices and the fish stock (or water) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, for 10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, salt, and pepper. (This base may be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.)

Heat the soup base to a boil. Add the shrimp, scallops, and halibut. Reduce the heat and simmer, until everything is just cooked, about 5 minutes. Divide among 4 bowls and garnish with the parsley. Serve with bread.

Celebration in Oaktown: Quinoa, Wild Shrimp & Roasted Beet Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

During our recent trip out to the Bay, we were graciously welcomed by our friends, Amy and Chris. We spent a few days with them in Oakland, along with a fun-filled excursion to Napa. The four of us decided to venture to an area of wine country that was previously unexplored to us all – northern Napa county. We did the drive north past Napa and Oakville, and found ourselves driving through the rolling hills of northern Napa county and quaint towns of St. Helena and Calistoga. St. Helena had buildings with Victorian charm, while Calistoga reminded us of the wild west. The first stop on our wine tour took us to Chateau Montelena Winery, where we marveled at the stone castle, as well as their orange and lemon trees (the wines were good too, particularly their Riesling).




We next ventured to Sterling Vineyards, where a aerial tram takes visitors up to the winery and tasting rooms at the top of the hill.



Our last stop was Cuvaison Estate, where we had a sample of a special Cab, and the sommelier tried to show my husband a thing or two with our camera. After a wonderful meal at Tra Vigne, Chris and Amy gave us a lift to the airport, and we barely made our red-eye flight back home.



Earlier that week, Amy had been scheduled to take a graduate exam that she had long been studying for. While she was off at her exam, I went into San Francisco in search of the Painted Ladies. After an uncalculated walk through the Tenderloin, I finally found the famous row houses and had enough time to snap some pictures before heading back to Oakland to meet Amy.


She had aced the exam and a celebration was in order. Amy, Chris, and I went to a celebratory lunch at Bocanova in Jack London Square. After debating over several options on the menu, Amy and I both ordered the Quinoa, Wild Shrimp & Roasted Beet Salad with Orange Vinaigrette. It was delicious - so refreshing, light, and flavorful! As a fellow cook and foodie, Amy and I spent most of the meal trying to determine how it was prepared.


With the sun shining and a pleasant breeze blowing, Amy and I continued the celebration with a little wine tasting. And on this day, we did not have to hop in a car and drive north of the city to get to wine country. We instead only had to walk a few blocks to get to a couple of Oakland’s wineries. The tasting rooms of JC Cellars and Dashe Cellars are both in Oakland, and share the same location. You can taste flights of wine from each winery for $5, respectively (much cheaper than wineries in wine country!). Amy and I spent the afternoon sampling wines from JC and Dashe, and it was the perfect afternoon to follow up our delectable lunch.


I couldn’t get that quinoa out of my mind, and once I returned home and had a chance to spend time in the kitchen, I made an attempt to recreate our lunch (less the wine tasting). I was pleased that my version was pretty comparable to the dish that we had! I was only able to find a purple beet at my grocery store, but I recommend using a golden beet if you can find it. (The purple beet will color the whole dish, and if you are using one, I recommend adding it at the last minute to try to avoid coloring the rest of the ingredients purple.) You can omit the shrimp for a vegetarian version. Amy and I were contemplating adding some crumbled feta, which I did try, but found it to be too much. This is good as it is, and a lunch that I’ll forever remember!

Kate's Quinoa, Wild Shrimp & Roasted Beet Salad with Orange Vinaigrette
Ingredients
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp champagne vinegar
1 medium-size golden beet
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup carrots, shredded
10 oz. cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 orange, segmented
½ cup cilantro, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 tbsp. watercress or microgreens, for garnish

Directions
Wisk together olive oil, orange juice, mustard, champagne vinegar, and a dash of salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 400 °F. Cut off beet greens, wash beets, and gently scrub to remove any dirt. Wrap beet in aluminum foil and place in the middle rack of the oven. Bake until beet is thoroughly cooked (approximately 1 hour). Unwrap beet and allow to cool. Using a paper towel, rub off the beet’s skin. Cut beet into small cubes.

Place quinoa and vegetable broth in a 1 ½ quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, cover and cook until all broth is absorbed (10-15 minutes). Allow quinoa to cool.

In a large bowl, combine quinoa, shrimp, orange segments, carrots, cilantro, beets, and salt and pepper. Toss with vinaigrette mixture until lightly coated (you may not use all of the vinaigrette). Top with watercress or microgreens to garnish and serve.

Mission Figs: Fig and Goat Cheese Crostini

The last week of October brought me and my husband a little getaway to the Bay. In a trip that was a fusion between work, school, and pleasure, we got to experience the pleasant fall weather in San Francisco, and a lot of time visiting with friends. It is rather ironic how just a year ago it seemed like we hardly knew anyone in Northern California, but now we have friends from SF to San Jose to Oakland. We were welcomed by all of these friends, and split our stay between Oakland and SF. Lucky for us, all of our hosts are fellow "foodies", so we had many memorable meals and abounding tastings of wine.



We stayed a couple nights with our friend Sarah at her fabulous Russian Hill apartment. When we arrived at her place she greeted us with a bottle of wine, hors d'oeuvres, and a plan to watch the sunset from her kitchen, before heading out to dinner. She has what must be one of the most spectacular views of the city and the bay! Her kitchen is a wall of windows, and you can sit at her kitchen table pondering life and watching the city and sailboats go by. The prime time to marvel at her view is when the sun is setting. The sun bounces off of Berkeley in the distance, and the reflection glimmers and twinkles, appearing as bouncing little flames across the cityscape.




Sarah prepared the perfect hors d'oeuvre, without even knowing my affinity for figs. I had actually placed myself on a mission for this trip, and was determined to eat as many figs as possible. This hors d'oeuvre is simple and tasty, and we devoured it before heading to our “real” dinner at hotspot Beretta in the Mission. (I actually could have tasted more figs for dessert at Beretta, but by the time we were offered the dessert menus it was late (particularly on EDT), I was full, and I may have been falling asleep at the table!)

A few days later we stopped at the Berkeley Bowl to pick up picnic supplies for a day in Napa, and I grabbed a couple containers of fresh figs. The ones that made it through the day accompanied me on the plane (in first class, nonetheless – not me, just the figs. Darn overhead bins getting full.) Upon arriving home, I gave half to my mother, and pondered over how I could savor mine. My mind went straight to Sarah’s crostini and I then set forth to replicate it at home.

After an exhausting day at work, I was able to put these together mindlessly and actually ate them as dinner. I’ll long for the next time I have fresh figs to work with. In the meantime I may try this recipe with fig spread, although I tend to pair that with blue stilton cheese. Thank you to Sarah for her generous hospitality and her ideal hors d'oeuvre idea!

Fig and Goat Cheese Crostini
Ingredients
* 1 French baguette, sliced into small ½ inch rounds
* 12 fresh figs, sliced
* 4 oz. fresh goat cheese
* 1 tbsp. honey (preferably lavender honey, if available)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place sliced baguette on large baking sheet and bake for approximately 8 minutes, until bread is crispy. Spread goat cheese on baguette slices and top with 1-2 slices of fig, each. Drizzle with honey and serve immediately.