Can you say “blizzard”? The Mid-Atlantic was crushed by a storm
yesterday. Now, for you folks
living in very snowy sections of the world, our storm was probably pretty tame
and laughable to you. But for
Maryland, this much snow makes everything come to a standstill.
Eric was out shoveling and snowblowing for several hours with our son while Darlene stayed inside and cooked with our daughter. Yes, we know our roles were sexist yesterday, but that’s not always how it works out. We are trying to teach our son to be more responsible and our daughter is in culinary school so the jobs just worked out that way.
We opted for a soul-warming
bowl of seafood stew that was quite simple to prepare. We used our handy-dandy crockpot - Darlene’s
most fave kitchen electronic. Last
Christmas she got this one:
This is the “Gucci” of
crockpots. We do all of our
sautéing, searing, etc. in the insert which is safe for the stovetop unlike the
typical ceramic insert. It really
is one pot cooking!
Whipping up a stew in a
crockpot requires a couple of quick steps. Then put the lid on and go watch a movie, read a book, enjoy
a cup of hot chocolate by the fire, check your email…you get the idea.
Soul Satisfying Seafood Stew
1 lg onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup evoo
½ cup dry white wine
1 28 oz. can crushed
tomatoes
1 cup fish fumet
3 cups vegetable stock
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
+ 1 tbl minced for garnish
½ tsp crushed red pepper
flakes (to taste)
1 lb. dry packed scallops
1 lb shrimp, cleaned and
deveined
1 lb. firm-fleshed white
fish (such as halibut, mahi mahi, monkfish), cut into 2-inch chunks
1 quart oysters & their
juice
salt & pepper to taste
Heat the evoo in a pan and
sauté the onions about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté 2 minutes more.
Add the wine and simmer for
2-3 minutes. Put all items into crockpot
and add tomatoes, fish fumet, vegetable stock & crushed red pepper. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on high for 2.5 hours or
low for 5 hours.
Turn crockpot to high and
add seafood and season with salt & pepper. Cook for another 30-45 minutes, until the seafood is
cooked.
Sup on this elegant soup while sipping on the wine of your choice. Ours - Ramblin' Red Cuvee One Second Ascent - a Merlot, Petit Syrah, Zin blend that's fruity, spicy and a little earthy. The second glass is enjoyed by the fire...cheers!
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