James Beard’s second book, Cook It Outdoors, published in 1941, was billed as “a man’s book written by a man.” It was filled with recipes for hearty, two-fisted fare, cioppino being one of his prime examples (although, curiously, spelled “chippino”). A devil-may-care West Coast bouillabaisse with as many recipes as it has cooks, it is a fish stew originated by the Italian fishermen who settled San Francisco’s North Beach in the late nineteenth century. They took the day’s catch, usually including crab, shrimp, clams, scallops, and mussels, and cooked them all (including shells) with flatfish in a seasoned tomato-wine sauce. As the Italian community became a tourist attraction in the twentieth century, the colorful dish took on symbolic character and has since become as much a San Francisco signature as sourdough bread (with which it customarily is served).