Quick boil some water. It’s default pasta night!

No wait– I am kidding. Well I am not kidding that it is default pasta night but I am kidding that I need boiled water for this pasta. Because who says default pasta needs be traditional “Italian Style” noodles. Not me!

Tonight’s default pasta takes a decidedly Asian twist, because I am using a package of Chinese style pancit noodles I have had sitting in the fridge for months. Because truthfully I had never cooked with them before so did not really know what to do with them. So there they sat. Until tonight.

Because in true default pasta fashion I just decided to use them on whim. In fact it is these very noodles that convinced to take this pasta dish in an easterly direction.

You see, impulsively I bought a couple of pounds of clams today. Now I am sure you know clams don’t keep fresh all that long, so I knew clams were going to be on the menu tonight. I also knew it was going to be default pasta night because when I blindly picked up the clams today, I did not pick up anything else to go along with them. So I knew whatever would be happening to these clams it would have to happen with whatever other ingredients I could find in my fridge or pantry.

I was in the mood for seafood but the hunky BF wanted pasta.

What’s an over-achieving boot-licker to do?

Well combine both ideas and make everyone happy of course! This is another one of those made up recipes. I can’t take all the credit though, because the BF suggested combining them (and he chose the shell-shaped pasta whose sychronicity with the shellfish made me smile). I emailed my brother for more help and he suggested chorizo. He also chose the wine for this pairing.

Though, I share the credit– and I am not one to “tweet” my own horn (well maybe I am), I still have to say this is one of the best recipes I ever made up.

The word cioppino and the dish itself have become San Francisco classics. Still, its roots (even its name) may be Italian in origin. Which may lay some credence to the tale I have heard told that it was first brought to the American palate in the North Beach section of that great city by the bay.