Cioppino - a lovely seafood stew

 From the Press Enterprise, Dec. 20, 2015

Classic holiday dishes usually are fattier, sweeter and heavier than our normal fare, so when a traditional dish actually is healthy without any tweaks, that’s something to celebrate!

So if cioppino isn’t somewhere on your holiday menu, let’s change that.

Cioppino is a tomato-based fish stew that relies on simple and healthy ingredients for flavor.

It’s the ultimate guilt-free comfort food.

Cioppino is incredibly versatile. You can make it as simple or fancy as you like depending on the seafood you use. Anything from the fishmonger’s best catch to frozen seafood mixes will work.

And a mix of fish and seafood each week is one of the best health moves we can make for our brain and heart health.

My cioppino version is super quick. The result is a light-and-lovely tomato broth that satisfies without weighing you down, which is the perfect foil for those belt-loosening meals that dot the holiday landscape.

The recipe takes just minutes to prepare, making it perfect for entertaining (spend more time with your guests!) and weeknight post-work dining alike.

You even could make the broth the night before, then simply heat it up and add the seafood moments before serving. That means you get a company-worthy dinner on the table in under 15 minutes.

Fresh fennel and orange zest are the secrets to great flavor. That hint of licorice plus that slightly sweet aromatic orange zest work magic together in the acidic tomato sauce.

And remember, any cioppino recipe really is a template, ready for you to personalize and make your own.

Once you make one cioppino this holiday season, I’ll bet you will be enjoying fish stews throughout the year.

Quick Cioppino

Start to finish: 30 minutes

Servings: 6

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced (a mandoline is best)

Kosher salt

8 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

11/2 cups dry white wine

11/2 cups fish stock or clam juice

1 cup chicken stock (or more fish stock)

1/2 to 1 cup water

28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, finely chopped and with juices

2 bay leaves

1 pound cod (or other white fish), cut into 1-inch chunks

1 pound uncooked, shelled shrimp

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup chopped parsley

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium, heat the olive oil.

Add the onion, fennel and a generous pinch of salt.

Cook until tender, about 12 minutes, stirring often.

Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, tomato paste, oregano, thyme and orange zest, then cook, stirring until very fragrant, about 3 minutes.

Increase the heat to high and deglaze the pan with the wine and let bubble for 3 minutes, stirring.

Add the stock, 1/2 cup of water, tomatoes and bay leaves, then simmer for 10 minutes.

Taste, adjust seasoning, then add an additional 1/2 cup of water if too thick.

Add the cod and shrimp, then cover and cook just until the fish and shrimp are cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.

Uncover, stir in the lemon juice, then top with parsley to serve.

Nutritional information per serving: 270 calories; 60 calories from fat (22 percent of total calories); 7 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 125 mg cholesterol; 910 mg sodium; 15 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 6 g sugar; and 27 g protein.

Goat Cheese-Stuffed Grilled Sweet Potatoes

If you’d like to get a bit of crisp on the edges of your sweet potatoes, just open the foil on the top of each after about 10 minutes of cooking.

These sweet potatoes also are easily prepped ahead of time. Just slice, smear and wrap them up to a day ahead, then refrigerate until ready to grill.

Goat Cheese-Stuffed Grilled Sweet Potatoes
Start to finish: 40 minutes
Servings: 4

4-ounce log goat cheese
2 tablespoons butter, softened
Zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 medium sweet potatoes
Olive oil
Kosher salt

1. Heat one side of the grill to medium.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the goat cheese, butter, orange zest, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, the pepper, thyme and garlic. Set aside.

3. One at a time, cut deep slits crosswise into each sweet potato. The slits should be spaced about 1/2 inch apart and cut down to within about 1/4 inch of the base of the potatoes. Don’t cut all the way through; you want the potato slices to remain attached at the bottom.

4. Microwave the potatoes for 5 minutes on high.

5. Use a thin spreading knife to carefully spread a small amount of the goat cheese mixture between each of the slices in the potatoes.  Brush each sweet potato all over with olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

6. Wrap each potato in foil, then place on the cooler side of the grill.  Cook, moving them occasionally to prevent burning, for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender all the way through.

7.  Allow to remain wrapped and rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe from Alison Ladman, Associated Press writer.
Nutritional information per serving: 260 calories; 130 calories from fat (50 percent of total calories); 14 g fat (8 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 30 mg cholesterol; 680 mg sodium; 27 g carbohydrate; 4 g fiber; 5 g sugar; and 8 g protein.

Flaming bananas!

Bananas Foster
Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown
Total Time:
12 min
Prep:
5 min
Cook:
7 min

Yield:2 servings
Level:Intermediate
Ingredients



This recipe comes through Food Network. We're trying it tomorrow during the Night o' Fire - a winter meal with Chris Lent and Amanda Birk, in which we cook a meal where every course is flambeed. We'll report back later on how it goes.  Leon may need a good stiff drink after this night!


2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup (1.75 ounces) dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon banana liqueur
2 under ripe bananas, sliced in half lengthwise
1/4 cup dark rum
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
Directions

Melt butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over low heat. Add brown sugar, allspice and nutmeg and stir until sugar dissolves. Add banana liqueur and bring sauce to simmer. Add bananas and cook for 1 minute on each side, carefully spooning sauce over bananas as they are cooking. Remove bananas from pan to a serving dish. Bring sauce to a simmer and carefully add the rum. If the sauce is very hot, the alcohol will flame on its own. If not, using stick flame, carefully ignite and continue cooking until flame dies out, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. If sauce is too thin, cook for 1 to 2 minutes until it is syrupy in consistency. Add orange zest and stir to combine. Immediately spoon the sauce over bananas and serve. Serve with waffles, crepes, or ice cream.

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2003

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Whole-grain Gingerbread

(Photo: Clare Barboza)

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Gingerbread — it's not just for dessert. Especially if you ask breakfast-lover Megan Gordon, whose recipe from Whole-Grain Mornings relies on three forms of ginger (ground, crystallized and fresh) to give it a rich spiciness."This bread gets even better with time — and, to me, tastes best on the third day," she says. "It gives those dark molasses flavors time to settle in."

Whole-Grain Gingerbread

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup spelt flour (or all-purpose flour)

1/2 cup packed muscovado sugar or brown sugar

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger (optional)

1 Tb. grated fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 Tbs. grated orange zest

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (optional)

8 Tbs. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan

1/2 cup unsulfured molasses (Gordon uses blackstrap)

3 Tbs. honey

1/2 cup whole milk

1/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt, homemade (see recipe below) or store-bought

1 large egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch square pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda, salt, the three kinds of ginger, cloves, cinnamon, orange zest, and pepper. Use your hands to break up any clumps of sugar, and whisk well.

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the molasses and honey and cook, stirring, until the mixture is warm but not boiling. Pour into the flour mixture and stir to combine. Add the milk, yogurt, and egg and fold together until combined. With a little arm power, the mixture will soon look like a loose brownie batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the edges pull away from the pan slightly and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let the gingerbread cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving. Any leftovers can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Yield: 9 servings

Per serving (3-inch square piece): 333 calories, 54g carbohydrates, 6g protein, 12g fat (7g saturated), 3g fiber, 50mg cholesterol, 172mg sodium

From USA Weekend