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.

This is one of those recipes. You know the kind I mean. The “there’s nothing in the house and I must eat something” kind of recipes.

You see I have been traveling. I am just back from a great trip to Panama where I led a cooking demonstration for my new best friends at Boquete Gourmet. I am planning several posts about my trip so more details are coming. But if you want a sneak peek at my adventure CLICK here to read Boquete Gourmet’s post about our tremendous, fun filled evening of food from the classic restaurants of Hollywood. But then pop right back over here, ‘cuz I’ll never forgive you if you don’t.

Anyway, back to Los Angeles part of this story. Where was I? Oh yes.

Naturally I arrived home to an empty fridge. I am pretty good at emptying a refrigerator, especially right before a big trip. I hate to come home to a bunch of waste, so I had not done much shopping before we left. You see I have a mortal fear of those large, green and black hairy refrigerator monsters that always manage to sneak into my vegetable drawer when I am out of town.

Today I have soup. Or do I have stew? A Spiced Chickpea Stew with Feta Toasts

STEW : (formal) To undergo cooking by boiling slowly or simmering, especially a mixture of meat or fish and vegetables with stock.

(slang) To be in a state of anxiety or agitation

SOUP: (formal) A liquid food prepared from meat, fish, or vegetable stock combined with various other ingredients and often containing solid pieces.

(slang) A chaotic or unfortunate situation.

I don’t know whether to categorize this as a soup or a stew. Which has got me in a ”state of anxiety or agitation” leading to a “chaotic or unfortunate situation.

The Martha Stewart recipe that inspired me was solidly in the soup category. I say that because she called it soup. Flat out, no hemming and hawing. Soup period. Soup!

My version uses the same great flavors, chickpeas, tomatoes, coriander and red pepper. But I have let it cook a lot longer and I have left it a lot chunkier, so I tend to want to call it a stew. But these definitions above make no distinctions concerning texture. Conundrum.

In case you didn’t know the phrase “Sippity Sup” started out as the title of a Nursery Rhyme.

I feel kinda bad that I sorta usurped that poor old Nursery Rhyme. I mean it was a lesser-known Nursery Rhyme to begin with. I don’t think it held much favor with Mother Goose. So it wasn’t really that hard to beat the Google pants off it.

Still, there was a time when you could Google “Sippity Sup” and you’d find references to that less than popular children’s poem of the same name. Then “along comes a spider” in the form of a food blogger. And guess what? Now that poor little Nursery Rhyme does not even come up on the first page when you Google the phrase. That’s my fault… it wasn’t intentional. I never even knew what HTML was before I started this blog. Let alone understand how to optimize it!

Well, this is it! The last TomatoMania for 2009.

It's been a great tomato growing season. I learned so much from Scott Daigre. I hope his guest posts here were helpful for you as well.

But the hightlight of these past many Monday's (for me) was our tomato recipe contest. I so enjoyed cooking the 6 winning entries and posting them here for you. It was a great way to step out of my culinary box, stretch my tongs and try new things. That's what life is all about isn't it? The new and the exciting wrapped around and mingled amongst the comfort and love of things familiar. Because with out one, the other just seems hollow!

Speaking of adventure mingling with comfort. I have the last of the winning recipes for you today. It's certainly adventurous, but has all the comfort of a delicious slow-roasted tomato sauce too.

This is a recipe for Fried Spaghetti with a Roasted Tomato Sauce. It comes to us from the mind of Eric, the soon to be chef behind the amazing blog, Eric Rivera Cooks. I saved it for last because I wanted to end this series with a smile. Anything Eric cooks you know is made with a smile. That man loves life in a way that makes his blog a joy to read. He is smack dab in the middle of culinary school and he is sharing his love for this adventure almost everyday. So go read him and smile.

As far as his recipe goes, I'll let it speak for itself. So click here and read it. I admit to making one rather large change though. Eric fried his spaghetti strands one at a time. I don't have the patience, so I opted to form my cooked noodles into nest shapes before coating them in his flour mixture. It's a nod to one way dried Italian pasta is often sold, sure. But it also makes a great bowl to hold the sauce. I love the way the nest keeps the chunky tomatoes safely nestled inside, but still allows some of the sauce to leak out over the bottom of the bowl. Making for a very pretty presentation.

So that's it for TomatoMania 2009. All that is left is for Scott to bring you a few parting words! Take it away Scott...