Seductive Meals, part deux.

Cioppino, Zuppe di Pesce, Bouillabaisse...a soup by any other name would still taste as briny and delicious and seductive. It also fulfills an important qualification of a pre-liaison meal by not filling you up too much! Beware if your beau or belle is allergic to shellfish...

Try this:

6 c home-made fish stock or chicken stock

1/2 lb mussels

1/2 lb clams

1/4 lb shrimp

1/4 lb calamari

1/2 lb firm white fish, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/2 onion or 2 shallots, chopped finely

3 cloves garlic, ditto

1 can good whole tomatoes, squished through your fingers into bite-sized pieces

1 pinch saffron, if you wish, you yellow-fingered temptress!

Saute garlic and onion in olive oil, add your favorite herbies--rosemary, thyme, herbes de provence and cook until translucent. Add tomatoes and fish stock and bring to a quiet and ladylike boil. Wait until you're just about ready to sit down to add the fish and shellfish to the stock. Cook until mussels and clams part their luscious lips and the calamari has curled its tentacles in ecstasy. Spoon into bowls and let it dribble down your chin.