I serve this dish as part of a 3-course meal starting with warm toasted Marcona Almonds (I buy them at Trader Joe’s), Coleslaw, Seafood Pilaf, Lemon Sorbet for dessert.

SEAFOOD PILAF

1/2 cup yellow onion, 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons salted butter,  3 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste, 2 Roma tomatoes, peeled and chopped, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon white pepper, 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, 1/8 teaspoon saffron threads, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, 1/2 tablespoon turmeric, 1 cup frozen peas, 3 cups shrimp stock, 1 cup dry white wine, 15 jumbo shrimp, head and shell on, 16 mussels, scrubbed and debearded, 1 1/2 cup uncooked long grain basmati rice, 2/3 cups white mushrooms, thinly sliced, 1 (10 1/2 oz.) can condensed chicken with rice soup, 6 ounces lump crab meat, flaked and cartilage removed.  Garnish with chopped flat-leaf parsley

Devein and remove the shells from the shrimp. Wash the shells in cold water and put them in a pot with a  small yellow onion, 1 celery stalk, 1/4 small bell pepper, 1 garlic clove, 2 carrots, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon,  and 4 quarts of water.  Bring to a boil and skim off any foam that rises to the top of the pot.  Lower heat to a simmer, cook for another 30 minutes, set aside. Drain off vegetables, this is your stock. In a large, heavy skillet add the oil and butter, when the butter melts add the rice, brown the rice, this takes about 5-minutes.  Add the onions, mushrooms, soup, garlic, tomatoes, sugar, pepper, paprika, turmeric, saffron, cayenne, peas, turmeric, shrimp stock, wine, stir together.  Taste the mixture will taste a little salty, ignore when everything is cooked it will be okay.  Cook with the top on for about 15 minutes, lay the shrimp, and crab meat on top, put the lid back on, and cook for another 10 minutes. In a separate skillet add, about 1/2 cup of the shrimp stock bring to a boil add the mussels, put a top on the skillet and cook them until they open.  Add the mussels to the pilaf pot and serve!