Scream-of-Consciousness

Bouillabaisse the traditional way... cooked over an open wood fire on the beach...

Mostly to see if I could do it, but also as an early celebration for Brandon's birthday this coming Friday, I made bouillabaisse over a hardwood (hickory, mesquite, and oak) fire on the beach on Saturday. After I finally got the fire lit (there being a strongish wind and me being somewhat averse to the concept of lighter fluid), the following items went into a big, big pot...
...twenty cloves garlic; two very large leeks; a handful of fennel seed, thyme, and rosemary, and the peel of one orange; five pounds of organic tomatoes; one entire bottle of chardonnay; two pounds of firm white fish fillets; two pounds of clams; two pounds of squid; four pounds of largish shrimp; sea salt; and saffron.
It could have done with a bit more pepper and something smokey in it... smoked paprika, for instance... but on the whole, it turned out pretty well.

posted by lisamarlene @ 6:06 AM