Today's Kitchen Tip: Feast of the 7 Fishes

There is an old tradition that seven different types of fish should be served on Christmas Eve.  I don't know about you, but I do not want to  make seven different dishes, all including seafood.  Rather than do that, I make cioppino.  It is an Italian fish stew and is really easy to make.  I go to my favorite place to buy seafood and pre-order exactly what I want. That way I assure that they do not sell out before I get there.

I pick up the seafood on Christmas Eve so that it is fresh.  I tend to buy clams, mussels, shrimp crab, lobster, some white fish such as cod, scallops or whatever they have that looks fresh.  I just make sure to have seven types of seafood in the dish. 

Once the broth is made (tomatoes, white wine, clam juice) the seafood cooks quickly.  Just get a nice crunchy piece of bread for sopping up all the broth. 

See another tip on what to do with the leftover broth.