• 1 dozen Cherrystone clams
• 1 box each: frozen peas and artichoke hearts
• 1 large tin canned tomatoes
• 1 box cleaned frozen shrimp
• 2 small sweet Spanish or Italian sausages
• Diced meat from one small chicken (pre-cooked)
• ½ cup olive oil
• ½ cup chopped onions
• ½ tsp each: tarragon, oregano, chervil, salt, paprika, chives
• ½ tsp saffron (soaked in 1 T hot water)
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 2 cups consommé
• 1 cup quick-cooking rice
• 1 minced clove garlic

Step 1: steam the chicken (or cook in a pressure-cooker); cool slightly and dice the meat. Slightly undercook peas, artichoke hearts and shrimp.

Step 2: saute onions and garlic in olive oil. Add consomme, rice, seasonings, chicken, tomatoes and sliced sausages. Cover and simmer 10 minutes, checking occasionally to stir and add extra consomme if needed.

Add peas, artichoke hearts, cooked shrimps, and place well-scrubbed clams on top. Cover tightly and steam for 10 minutes or until the clamshells open. Serve with strips of pimiento for decoration.

Real Spaniards use: eels, lobster, crabs, fried eggplant sticks and oysters, mushrooms—any or all Paella is one of the great dishes, to be made with whatever is available.

Scallops in a wine sauce, baked in their shells.

Any shell­fish will respond to this treatment, alone or in combination. Large scallop and clam shells can be bought in any gour­met shop; once you have them, never let them go.

• 1 ½ cups white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 T fresh chopped parsley
• ¼ tsp each thyme and fennel seeds
• 1 ½ pounds scallops
• ½ pound mushrooms
• 6 shallots or a small white onion
• 1 T butter
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Alternate Sauce Preparation:

Sauce #1

• 1 tin condensed mushroom soup
• 2 egg yolks
• 4 T heavy cream

Sauce #2

• 4 T flour
• 2 egg yolks
• 4 T heavy cream
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 T butter

Combine wine, bay leaf, parsley, thyme and fennel; bring to a boil, add scallops and simmer 10 minutes. Sea scallops should be cut in pieces, but the tiny Eastern bay scallops are used whole. Drain, but reserve the hot liquid.

Separately, sauté sliced mushrooms, shallots or onion in butter and lemon juice, for 10 minutes. Strain and combine all the hot liquids in one pan, all the solids in another.

• Oysters, highly seasoned, baked on a bed of spinach.
• 3 dozen oysters, opened on the half-shell at the fish market
• 1 package cooked frozen chopped spinach
• 2 cups white sauce, made from condensed cream soup (celery)
• 3 T sherry
• 1 egg
• 2 T butter
• 1 T each minced onion and parsley
• ½ tsp Worcestershire Sause
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp Monosodium Glutamate (Accent Powder)
• 6 drops Tabasco
• a dash of nutmeg, and of Nepal pepper

Heat the oven to 375.

Bed oysters in their shells upright in crumpled aluminum foil in a baking pan.
Sprinkle lightly with sherry.

Cook spinach till slightly underdone, and drain thoroughly.

Meanwhile, combine condensed soup with ½ cup milk and heat gently. Add a beaten egg, blend thoroughly and place over hot water.

In a separate skillet, melt the butter and saute onion for 3 minutes. Add drained spinach and ¼ cup of the soup, plus all seasonings, and blend. Saute for 3 minutes, distribute over the waiting oysters. Top with the rest of “the soup-sauce, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and bake for 15 min­utes until light brown.

• 1 pound cooked shrimp
• 3 cups water
• 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon fresh minced chives
• 2 teaspoons fresh minced parsley
• ½ cup cucumber
• salt and pepper

Reserve 8 shrimp for garnishing; grind the remainder or pound in a mortar. Combine ground shrimps with water, wine, bread crumbs, lemon rind, and generous pinch of ground nutmeg in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and cook for 7 min­utes, stirring constantly. Strain through a fine sieve and re­turn to low heat.

Beat together the egg yolk and cream and add, stirring gently. Heat until shrimp soup thickens slightly but do not allow to boil. Finally, remove from fire; cool, add the chives, parsley and peeled diced cucumber. Chill overnight in the refrigerator, and serve with a garnish of the remaining shrimps, coarse-chopped, plus a large tablespoon of sour cream or yogurt.

12 Cherrystone clams
3 shallots
2 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1 cup heavy whipped cream

Place scrubbed clams in a deep sauce pot, sprinkle with olive oil, add water, parsley and minced shallots. Steam the clams open over a medium flame (10-15 minutes), while whipping the cream. Then strain the clam broth into 4 cups, add three shelled clams to each serving, top with a generous tablespoon of the whipped cream, dusted with paprika.

Cold soups are for warm evenings, to be followed by an omelet, salad, fresh fruit and coffee.

All cold soups are two-step cookery, of course, since they require time to chill.