All that matters

 

Sometimes, I worry about the food blogger niche. I worry that it has become too saturated, or that there's too many people out there doing the same thing, that there are really far too many recipes to even consider and that there's nothing particularly new to add to, well, anything. In fact, it's entirely normal to have a blog these days, especially a food blog, which while not my original intention, is such what is has become. And it's so so normal to have a food blog that sometimes I feel like there's really nothing special about mine, no future in having one, nothing particularly high-achieving or well-done. It's not something that's going to gain lots of readership because well, there are so many better blogs out there with much prettier pictures made by much more eloquent and experienced people than myself. So many more writers with interesting hobbies to tie into their writing with so many more words of wisdom to share from their marriages or careers, and so on so forth. Oh dear. At first, all these considerations whirl around in my head and make a lot of noise. Then, I step back and realize, that those reasons are not the reasons I began this blog in the first place.

I write here, not because I want to excel in some niche or gather excessive readership (though let's admit, the latter is nice), but because working on this blog makes me feel better. It really is as simple as I like writing and as of now, cooking and baking are easily accessible and completable projects.

I guess the point is, stop worrying about things that didn't even matter in the first place. 

Here is a cioppino, a San-Franciscan Italian based seafood stew consisting of fish and assorted crustaceans (usually shrimp and crab) and mollusks (squid). Apparently, what differentiates a cioppino from other types of seafood stews, like bouillabaise, is that it's tomato-based and must contain fish. In this case, while it's probably best to do this with fresh seafood, I didn't have anything fresh on hand, but I did have some white fish filets and some frozen shrimp and squid. It worked well (frozen fish generally does), but I could probably go without the squid next time. Either way, use whatever seafood you have, really, and feel free to sub in white wine if you don't like the body that the dry red wine gives.

Cioppino

Serves 4

2-3 swai fish filets

1 C butterflied shrimp

1/2 C squid (sliced into thin strips)

5 cloves garlic

2 medium yellow onions

1 rib of celery

1 serrano pepper, diced (half seeds reserved)

8 oz. tomato sauce

4 medium tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon old bay seasoning

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 C dry red wine

2 C beef or fish or clam stock

1-2 C water

olive oil (to cook)

salt and pepper (to taste)

all-purpose flour

First, prepare your tomato soup stock. Finely chop up the onions, celery, serrano pepper (remember to reserve half of the seeds if you want the soup to be a little spicy, reserve more seeds if you want more spice), and garlic. Pour a tablespoon or two of olive oil into a deep pan and heat on med-high heat until shiny and smooth. Add in the onions and celery first, stirring to coat the aromatics and seasoning lightly with salt and pepper. Once the onions and celery start to soften and release their sugars, add in the garlic and serrano pepper and serrano seeds, then the teaspoons of Italian seasoning and dried basil. Stir occasionally to avoid any burning. Of course, you can always use fresh herbs or other variations of dried rosemary, thyme and oregano. Lower the heat to med-low.

Slice each tomato in half, and then crush each of the halves in your fist over the aromatic mixture until the pulp and skins are broken up. Then add your can of tomato sauce and cup of dry red wine. Now cook the mixture until the wine has reduced down by half. Once the wine has cooked off a bit, add your stock (I used beef stock because it's what I had on hand, but if you want a more seafood-oriented taste, use fish or clam stock, just be careful to monitor how salty the soup is).  Stir and let this simmer for awhile, adding water if it becomes too thick, so that the flavors can blend and so that you can prepare your seafood.

In another shallow pan, heat up another few tablespoons of oil, until the oil is shiny and smooth. All of your seafood should be completely defrosted. Slice your fish filets into about 1-inch thick strips, and salt and pepper each section. Dust the pieces in flour, and then sear in the olive oil, flipping the pieces over so that both sides get cooked. Swai fish filets (or any white fish you use) are delicate, so do not overcook. Once finished, remove and reserve the fish on a plate. Add a little more olive oil to the pan, and season your shrimp with the old bay seasoning.  Quickly sear your shrimps until they are slightly curled (don't let him curl into tight coils, they'll be overcooked and rubbery), then remove from heat and reserve. De-glaze the pan with a bit of water, and pour the de-glazed liquid into the simmering soup tomato stock.

Right before serving, add your squid to the tomato stock and cook about 3 minutes. Then add your shrimp and cook another 3 minutes. Finally, add your fish and cook until fish are just heated through. Note that you don't want to add your seafood too early or it will overcook and the fish will fall apart or the shrimp and squid will be rubbery. Once the fish is heated through, serve immediately.