Bouillabaisse A Summer Treat

Nothing signifies a good summer meal than the Provencale classic bouillabaisse.It's a delicious blend of spices, and stock. served with toasted bread and aioli. The soup is a relatively easy recipe to make and a perfect way to enjoy the seafood of the season.

This southern French treat was the subject of Mark Bittman's How To Cook Anything column in today's New York Times Dining section. Mr. Bittman is a pro at recipes and he simplifies and walks the reader through the various and sometimes complicated steps.The most important facet about bouillabaisse is getting the stock right. This is the base for the perfect one and it has to be made correctly. Cooks also have to beg their local fish market for not only fish bones but lobster and fish shells. These last two are easy to get if you buy a lot shellfish. Another must is buying a good mix of fish , from scallops to halibut along with clams. Fish should be boned and chopped.

Now here's the tricky part of the dish. Bouillabaisse requires some fancy , expensive ingredients too . These include saffron which can run up to 65 dollars along with the pricey liqueurs of Pernod or pastis. These are fennel tasting drinks that bring out the different meld of fish , spices and vegetables.Can bouillabaisse be made without them. Saffron has a unique taste that is delicious. Without it the treat would just be a fish stew. An alternative is possibly buying the Spanish saffron which all grocery stores  sell.It doesn't quite have the punch of a good one though.As for the liqueurs, possibly add more fennel.The recipe calls for one bulb but you can vary and add a second one to amp up the anise flavor.

Bouillabaisse is a wonderful summer treat. Make it to not only impress family and friends but to introduce them to this deliciousmeld of seafood and spices. It's a great way to celebrate the season.

The Return Of Bittman

Mark Bittman was one of the backbones of The New York Times Dining section every Wednesday. He went over to the Times Sunday magazine, giving us foodies excellent ideas about all sorts of delicious dinner and recipe ideas. I'm glad he's back on Wednesday- this time around with a new column How To Cook Everything. It's a great column, destined to get foodies back into the kitchen and to try old and new recipes.

He kicks off with a crowd pleaser a pizza recipe. Pizza can be a fun dish to make.It can also be tricky for novices not accustomed to working with yeast.Mr. Bittman recommends and prefers using a food processor for mixing everything together. He also believes in freezing it so it has a nice consistency to work with when it has to be flattened out. For that , the pizza maker can either roll it out or finger pat it. The second may cause dimpling in the surface and that could make the pizza look like a focaccia. Bakers can use whole wheat (which is what I would prefer) however it does come with caveats nit crisp enough and not chewy, however it has a deeper richer flavor.

As for the toppings, Mr. Bittman prefers the conservative and traditional choices. such as tomatoes with onions mixed in. He does add guanciale, a kind of Italian bacon made from pig jowls or cheeks.Another recipe is a pizza bianca basically a naked pie that just has oil and rosemary on top . He recommends anchovies (not always a crowd pleaser however the fishes' brininess brings out the sweetness of the tomato sauce)pepperoni along with both Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Fresh pesto can also be added along with eggplant or zucchini. Mr Bittman even suggests a seafood one, resplendant  with shrimps , clam, steamed mussels and lobsters.

It's good to have Mark Bittman back at the Wednesday Dining section. His new column will and is getting the juices going of many a home chef and foodie. Each weekly column will be filled with fun , adventure and challenge!