Seafood Stew

Over the holiday break I wanted to attempt to make a seafood stew. T had a lot of opinions about what kinds of seafood should go into it! After reading a lot of recipe options, we settled on one from Ina Garten, with a few alterations. Here is the adapted recipe which was delicious and definitely a keeper:

Ingredients
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 small)
2 cups large-diced small white potatoes
2 cups chopped fennel (1 large bulb)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups good white wine (we used Toasted Head chardonnay)
1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes, chopped
1 quart (=32 ounces) Seafood Stock
1 tablespoon chopped garlic (3 cloves)
1 teaspoon saffron threads
4 large Atlantic sea scallops
1 pound tilapia, cut in large chunks
2 pounds mussels, cleaned and de-bearded

a dozen Alligator Point clams
3 tablespoons Pernod
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
Toasted baguette slices

Directions
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or stockpot, add the onions, potatoes, fennel, salt, and pepper, and saute over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, until the onions begin to brown. Add the wine and scrape up the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Add the tomatoes with their juices, stock, garlic, and saffron to the pot, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Add the scallops, fish, clams and mussels, bring to a boil (this is important as adding everything will really bring the temperature down), then lower the heat, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the pot to sit covered for another 5 minutes. The fish and scallops should be cooked and the mussels and clams opened. Discard any mussels or clams that didn't open. Stir in the Pernod, orange zest, and salt, to taste. Serve ladled over 1 or 2 slices of toasted baguette.