Recipes for Valentine’s Day and Super Bowl That Will Score a Touchdown

How quickly time flies. Here we are again with Valentine’s Day colliding with Super Bowl. Going to the grocery store this time of year is interesting – Valentine’s flowers, candy, and balloons along with displays of football foods and party trays.

I had intended to share my newest chicken wings recipe last week and Valentine’s this week, but my chicken wings recipe wasn’t quite ready for prime time. It needed a few more tweaks before I could share it. My husband complained, “Do we have to eat that again.”

“Yes,” I replied, “we’ll eat it until I get it perfect.”

So, this week we have two unlikely companions – two strange bedfellows – bouillabaisse for Valentine’s Day and chicken wings for Super Bowl. I hope the gourmands don’t faint.

I love making bouillabaisse for my husband on Valentine’s Day. It’s his absolute favorite. I don’t make it very often because it is pricey to prepare, but we splurge on Valentine’s. Russ loves this French version of shellfish stew so much he would eat it every day.

Bouillabaisse is made with white wine, Pernod, and saffron, while cioppino, the Italian version of shellfish stew, uses only white wine. Saffron is the world’s most expensive spice. It comes from the yellow-orange stigmas of the purple crocus. Each flower has only three stigmas, which are hand-picked and then dried. Saffron is sold in threads or powdered. When powdered, it loses its flavor quickly. The threads should be crushed just before using. Pernod is a French liqueur made from star anise, fennel, and 14 botanicals and is also a bit on the pricey side.

Bouillabaisse was created by French fishermen using what was left over from the day’s catch to create a spicy soup. When making this recipe, you can use any kind of shellfish you want. If you don’t like clams, leave them out. If you are making it just for you and your Valentine, follow the stock recipe as written because you can’t have less than a pinch of saffron. Freeze any leftover broth, leaving out any remaining shellfish or fish, and use the frozen broth to make bouillabaisse again. You should use frozen bouillabaisse broth within 3 to 6 months. Reduce the amount of shellfish proportionately.

Bouillabaisse

Serves 6

For the stock:

1 gallon water

½ cup chicken broth

⅓ cup clam juice

1 pinch saffron

1 can (16-ounces) peeled tomatoes, chopped

1 can (12-ounces) tomato paste with Italian seasoning

½ cup Pernod liqueur

½ cup chardonnay wine

6 tablespoons butter

In a large heavy kettle, place water, chicken broth, and clam juice over a high heat and bring to a boil. Add saffron, tomatoes, tomato paste, Pernod, chardonnay, and butter, Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 white onion, chopped

4 celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

3 bay leaves

½ teaspoon large grind black pepper

Place a large sauté pan over a medium-high heat. Add olive oil. When it sizzles, add onion, celery, carrots, garlic, fennel seeds, bay leaves, and pepper. Sauté vegetables for 4 to 6 minutes, or until onions are transparent. Add the vegetable mixture to the stock, stir, and bring to a boil.

For the fish:

1 ½ pounds Manilla clams, thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed

2 pounds green-lipped mussels, thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed

6 small lobster tails

1 pound jumbo shrimp

1 ½ pounds rock cod, or other white fish, cut into 6 pieces

With the stock boiling, add clams, mussels, lobster tails, shrimp, and rock cod. Cook fish for 3 to 4 minutes, or until clams and mussels have opened their shells and the rest of the seafood is done. Lobster tails will curl. Rock cod will flake easily when pierced with a fork.

Tips on cleaning clams: Clams can be quite sandy. Although some clams are cleaned or purged before you purchase them, I prefer to clean them anyway as I do not want any sand remaining in the recipe I prepare. To clean clams, soak them in salted water for a couple of hours. Add ⅓ cup of kosher or non-iodized sea to 1 gallon of water. After placing clams in salted water, sprinkle ½ cup of corn meal over them. The clams will ingest the cornmeal and expel sand. Use a slotted spoon to remove the clams from the water so any sand remains on the bottom of the bowl.

Tips on buying lobster tails: Avoid buying lobster tails that have discoloration, black spots, or yellowing on their flesh. Check the label. If the tails have been soaked in sodium tripolyphosphates, pass. (This fact should be on the label.) If the tails are gray, it may mean that the lobster was dead before it was processed, and it will not be good quality. Tails between 5 and 12 ounces in size will yield the most meat and have a better taste and texture.

Tips on cleaning fresh mussels: Frozen mussels are usually cleaned before freezing. If you are buying fresh mussels, they need to be cleaned before cooking. Fill a large bowl with cold water and ⅓ cup of flour. Add the mussels and soak them for about 30 minutes. They will take in fresh water and expel any dirt that’s settled inside. After soaking them, place mussels under a slow stream of cold water and scrub the shells using a stiff brush. Each mussel has a beard, the stringy group of fibers located between the shells, which must be removed. Gently pull the fibers from the mussel. If the beard is stubborn and difficult to remove, a pair of piers works nicely.

Carol Ann’s Dry Rubbed Chicken Wings

Serves 4 to 6

My husband loves hot wings but really shouldn’t eat fried foods, so I have been working on a healthier version of that all-time Super Bowl favorite. We like spicy foods in our house. If you like milder wings, use only half the rub.

2 teaspoons ancho chili pepper powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons light brown sugar, tightly packed

1 ½ teaspoons chili powder

1 ½ teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon large grind black pepper

2 pounds chicken wings

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. This makes for an easier clean up. Place a wire rack over the baking sheet. If you don’t have a wire rack, use a broiling pan so that the juices can drain off.

Using paper towels, pat chicken wings dry. (This step is important if you want crispy wings.)

In a large bowl, place ancho chili pepper powder, onion and garlic powders, brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, mustard, oregano, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.

Add wings to the bowl and toss to evenly coat. If necessary, use your hands to rub the spice mixture over wings. Place wings on wire rack (making sure they don’t overlap and bake for 20 minutes. Using tongs, flip wings over and bake another 20 to 30 minutes or until wings are crispy.

Serve with blue cheese dressing and celery and carrot sticks.

Carol Ann’s Blue Cheese Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 cup blue cheese, crumbled

¼ cup red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons minced garlic, or to taste

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon large grind black pepper

In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, blue cheese, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper and whisk until blended. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until time to serve.

Carol Ann

Carol Ann Kates is the award-winning author of cookbook, Secret Recipes from the Corner Market, and international Amazon best-selling and award-winning author of Grocery Shopping Secrets. She’s an expert in how to shop, select, and store produce for maximizing home cooking outcomes and minimizing time and money spent. As a former supermarket and deli operator, Carol Ann shares grocery-insider wisdom—the same expertise you used to receive when patronizing a mom-and-pop establishment. Contact her at CarolAnn@CarolAnnKates.com and explore her website, www.CarolAnnKates.com.

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