Super dishes to plan for your Super Bowl XLVII party

San Francisco has its Cioppino, Baltimore has its Maryland Crab Cakes and New Orleans has Cajun and Creole cuisine. All three Super Bowl cities are known for their culinary history and great restaurants.

In planning your Super Bowl XLVII party why not pay tribute to all three culinary capitals? For appetizers and finger foods, start with mini Maryland Crab Cakes topped with a dollop of Remoulade Sauce (Recipe to be published tomorrow). Prepare shot glasses of Cioppino for guests to shoot up without spoons. And for the main course, let them dig into a hearty dish of Jambalaya. For dessert order a King Cake that is traditionally served during Mardi Gras and is inherent to the Big Easy.

Cioppino (Serves 8)
Ingredients:

• 2 freshly cooked whole crabs (approx. 1½ to 2 lb.
• 24 clams well-scrubbed
• 3 cups dry white wine
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 3 large cloves garlic minced
• 1 medium green pepper coarsely chopped
• 2 lb. fresh tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 oz. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• ½ tsp. dried oregano
• ½ tsp. dried basil or 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
• 2 lb. fresh white fish (halibut, cod, sea bass) cut into large pieces
• ¾ lb. scallops
• ¾ lb. raw shrimp peeled and deveined
• Chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Remove the legs and claws from the crab and break the body in half reserving as much of the soft, mustard-colored center (known as “crab butter”).
2. Set aside crab pieces and force the crab butter through a sieve into a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Place the clams in a pan. Add one cup of wine and steam covered over medium heat for 4 to 6 minutes or until clams open.
4. Remove the clams, discarding any that do not open, Strain the stock through cheesecloth and reserve.
5. In an 8-quart heatproof casserole heat the oil.
6. Add the onion, garlic and green pepper. Sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for approximately 5 minutes or until vegetables start to soften.
7. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, remaining 2 cups of white wine, pepper, herbs and clam stock.
8. Partially cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
9. Add the fish, scallops, shrimp, crab and crab butter. Simmer for approximately 5 minutes or until seafood is cooked. Do not stir.
10. Add the clams and heat for about one minute. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately from the pot.

Recipe is from the 1979 edition of San Francisco à la Carte by the Junior League of San Francisco.
**Served in 4-oz. shot glasses this recipe should render about 36-40 servings.

Jambalaya (Serves 6)
Ingredients:

• 1 lb. boneless, skinned chicken breasts
• ½ cup flour
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 green bell pepper diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tsp. thyme
• 2 Tbsp. parsley chopped
• ¾ tsp. cayenne pepper
• ¾ lb. smoked sausage (e.g., Andouille or Chorizo) sliced
• 1 cup rice (Recommend Basmati)
• 1 large tomato diced
• 2 ½ cups chicken broth

Directions:

1. Dice the chicken
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet
3. Dredge the chicken in the flour and brown in olive oil
4. Remove chicken and set aside
5. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic to the olive oil and cook until soft
6. Add the sausage, herbs and rice
7. Stir for one minute and return cooked chicken to pan
8. Add tomato and broth
9. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 30-40 minutes (or until rice is tender)

Serve immediately or keep warm until ready to serve
This is a Cajun favorite recipe that is easy entertaining as it is a one-pot meal.
¬¬**Mini Crab Cakes with Remoulade Sauce to follow tomorrow as the recipe.

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