cooking FOR fun
WITH SAM BOZZO
Viale Cioppino
Twas the Season
Written By Larry J. Mickartz
T
raditions and holidays go together. Andy and
Lynn Viale are a local couple who have kept
a family holiday tradition alive. Usually they
prepared a cioppino dinner on Christmas
Eve but due to quirky work schedules over the years it
was moved to a weekend in December. If you haven't
already meet Andy, he is well known in the community
as the creator of Andy’s Rub, that delicious concoction
of special spices.
It was a cool afternoon last December but in typical
California style we gathered around the Viale's back-
yard pool. Andy and Lynn said they usually prepare the
feast is for about 12 people but on this particular after-
noon there were around 25. They were also celebrating
the visit of Lynn’s brother, John Lecher, from Texas.
While Andy was the chef of the day, his son, Drew,
and grandson, Kaden, were the willing and able sous
chefs. Andy and crew began the prep about 9:00 in the
morning. By 3:00 in the afternoon, the sauce was ready
for the crab and seafood.
J.Chris and I were among the willing beneficiaries
of the delicious feast. Sam Bozzo set it up and gave us
a little Viale history, followed by the Viale's recipe. It
has a long list of ingredients, including Andy’s Rub,
of course, and requires much preparation. Although
a little overwhelming to the novice chef, we decided,
after tasting the finished cioppino, that all the effort
was worth it.
Sam wrote: Andy Viale grew up in San Francisco and
has great memories of the holidays and this delicious
cioppino recipe. He remembers his mother and their
neighbors gathering to make the flavorful sauce.
Meanwhile his father and his friends went down to the
wharf to throw the crab pots into the water and with
a few beers waited patiently for the catch. About four
o'clock in the afternoon the men would hoist their crab
pots and survey the catch. Back in those days, crabs
were an easy catch, so off they would go back to Andy’s
house where they added the catch to the sauce. Andy
said that back then only crab was in the pot. They ate
it with that great San Francisco crusty sourdough.
These days Andy adds shrimp, scallops, mussels and
clams. When cooking with the family and friends Andy
hands out assignments with everyone having a job and,
of course, a few b eers or glasses of wine.
90
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
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