Instructions: Continued from Part 1

NOTES:
* Marseille-style fish soup - A friend and I had been talking about the glories of bouillabaisse for the past year and we finally decided to use New Years Eve as an excuse to fish rather than continuing to cut bait, ad nauseam. The following recipes are a combination of several derived from old issues of _Gourmet_, Julia Child, the "Playboy Gourmet Cookbook," and "gee, that sounds good, lets add it."

* The accompanying Rouille is a garlic-hot pepper mayonnaise condiment traditional to Marseille-style fish soup. Rouille is traditionally made with a mortar and pestle but I prefer to use a food processor, its just too much work otherwise. Pass the rouille as a condiment. Usually about 1 T pepper.

* If you cant get fish trimmings for the court bouillon, add bottled clam juice and shrimp and lobster shells.

* To be truly authentic, our bouillabaisse should have included eel, but my friend was a bit squeamish about that so we left it out. Basically, any combination of shellfish and firm-fleshed fish can be used with the more variety the better. I dislike using crab since it flakes so easily and is lost in the broth. If you cant get live lobsters, substitute frozen lobster tails but be careful not to overcook.

* Use saffron threads, rather than saffron powder which tends to be adulterated with safflower and not the same thing at all. Be conservative with the saffron, a little goes a long way and can give the dish a medicinal taste.

* We preceded our dinner with herbed leek and prosciutto tartlets served with champagne. Dinner included bouillabaisse; a hearts-of-palm salad with pimento and greek olives and vinaigrette dressing; lots of crusty french bread to soak up the broth; a dry white wine (Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc 84); and my friends mothers sponge cake with whipped cream icing, fresh raspberries and raspberry sauce, accompanied by Asti Spumante.

Difficulty: moderate to hard.

Time: 2 hours.

Precision: approximate measurement OK.

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