Sauce
     1/4  cup           olive oil
     1/2  cup           butter
   1      large         onion -- chopped
   3      tablespoons   parsley -- chopped
   4      cloves        garlic -- chopped
     3/4  cup           sherry -- dry
   2      cups          plum tomatoes -- chopped
   1      cup           tomato sauce
   2      whole         bay leaf
   1      teaspoon      salt
     1/2  teaspoon      pepper -- freshly ground
          dash          Tabasco sauce
     1/2  teaspoon      thyme -- dried
   2      cups          water
                        Seafood
   1                    Dungeness crab -- fresh
   2                    lobster tails
   8      large         shrimp -- unshelled
  12      whole         clams  -- in the shell
     1/2  pound         scallops -- fresh
     1/2  pound         halibut fillets
Heat oil and butter in a large pot. Add onion, parsley, and garlic and cook
unt
il onion is transparent. Add sherry and cook an additional five minutes.
Add to
matoes and tomato sauce, bay leaves and seasonings. Stir frequently while
cooki
ng 15 to 20 minutes. Add water, cover, and simmer for a half hour.
Add all seafood except halibut to the sauce. Add more water if necessary.
Cook 
for five minutes, add halibut, and cook an additional ten minutes. When
clams h
ave opened, cioppino is ready to serve.