The Iron Range is gearing up for Christmas. With an early cold snap setting in, I jumped at the chance to warm up at local eatery Whistling Bird for their annual “Crustaceans and Libations” seafood boil.

Our Scandinavian country fare may offer lutefisk, but it rarely brings you crawfish, shrimp, or clams. Whistling Bird’s blend of Old Bay and Zatarin’s spices added to the family-served style boil (i.e. cooked food dumped right on the tablet for picking) is just hot enough for our local palettes…

Not wanting to waste the experience – or the flavors – I saved the shells and refuse for making seafood stock. This chance will not come again soon.

The waitress absorbed my quirky request for a take home box with grace and dignity.

As I boiled out the shellfish hulls in my 12 quart Aldi stockpot with additional salt, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, and a splash of acidifying vinegar, I thought about my final culinary goal for this stock.

Cold temperatures have me wishing for Mexico, and I fondly recalled the food I ate on my recent trip to Quintana Roo.

During my stay at El Dorado Resorts courtesy of my friend and travel agent Louise Rumfello at Your Magical Vacations, I was introduced to an amazing hot and sour soup.

A single taste of this prawn and citrus soup in a fish stock base had me hooked.

Once my own stock had boiled down to half it’s original water content (4 quarts or less), I strained out the seafood bits and bid them a final adieu.

Unlike meat based broths or bone stocks, this seafood stock has no fat to speak of for flavoring. Comitted to the idea of a hot and sour soup, I added the following items for optimal taste. As always, I encourage you to think of recipes as templates for you to build your own unique flavors; edit ingredients to your own taste.

• Chopped table onions, 6-8 stalks
• Raw shrimp, one pack of 35-50 cut into thirds
• Minced cilantro, one full pack
• Mushrooms, one pack
• One lemon, half squeezed for juice directly into stock and half reserved for thin slices to garnish top
• Brown sugar, 1/4 cup
• Sesame seeds, 1/4 cup
• Anchovy or fish paste, 1 tsp
• Ginger paste, 1 tsp
• Minced garlic, 2 tsp
• Soy sauce, 1/4 cup
• Worcestershire sauce, 1/8 cup

Add seasonings and shrimp first, mushrooms second, and greenery last. They will lose color – and appeal – if left to cook in the stock too long.

If you’d like to skip the boil portion, seafood stock can be purchased at a larger or specialty grocer (the further south you go, the easier to find).

Enjoy the unique flavors of ginger and savory spice. Bon appétit!