Posted on 04/21/2016 5:43:42 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
We in Maryland heard some good news during the past week: due to conservation efforts and weather conditions, the Blue Crab population is going to be about 35% higher this year. This is good news for crab lovers, but especially good news for the watermen along the Chesapeake, who make their livings from the 'Beautiful Swimmers'.
The first time I encountered a crab, I was a teen, lying in bed asleep, when my brother came into the room, dangled a live crab in front of my face, and yelled, "Wake Up"!
He had come home from a friend's house with a bucket full of fresh crabs and got us all up, late at night, to cook and eat them. My Tidewater-born Granny steamed them, and our Dad showed us how to crack, pick and eat them. They were very nice, but I'm not sure I was really 'sold' (perhaps I was still groggy from sleep, and from the visual shock of arthropod anatomy wiggling in front of my startled-awake eyes!)
I WAS sold, however, on my first real Maryland crab cake, which came from the Phillips restaurant in Baltimore. Long before, I had read in some popular writing that 'ambrosia' (the 'Food of the Gods' in Greek mythology) MUST have been 'oysters and champagne'; but my first taste of a good Maryland crab cake decided for ME the meaning of 'ambrosia', and I have been an addict ever since. (I will even buy the frozen Phillips ones in the supermarket, in a pinch - which frankly don't measure up at all to the ones in the restaurant.)
Here is the recipe for the very Maryland Crab Cake that has been offered in the Phillips restaurants since 1956:
http://www.phillipsfoods.com/recipe/shirley-phillips-crab-cakes/
And here's a recipe for Crab Rangoon, or Crab Wonton - which, in the average Chinese restaurant, is made with surimi - or "krab with a 'K'" - but can be easily made at home with the Real Thing, even though this recipe calls for 'canned':
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/200657/crab-rangoon/
(My favorite books about the Chesapeake are James Michener's 'Chesapeake', and William Warner's 'Beautiful Swimmers', q.v.)
-JT
Thank you for the Maryland Crab Cake recipe! I’m really looking forward to making these.
I hope you like it. I’ve since eaten Crab Cakes all over Maryland; there are lots of recipes, and you just have to experiment. But I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in the Phillips, as a first try.
-JT
RASPBERRY TIRAMISU / So easy and so impressive; good for a crowd
PREP Heat on med 20 min til jam-like frozen raspberries, sugar and lemon juice; cool down.
MASCARPONE LAYER -A) Mix mascarpone cheese, super-fine sugar.
B) In 2nd bowl beat fresh cream semi-firm. -Mix A and B delicately until smooth.
ASSEMBLY layer in bowl mascarpone mixture, then layer of jam-dipped
ladyfingers. Repeat three times, ending w/ mascarpone. Smooth with
spatula. Decorate w/ plenty of fresh raspberries. Saran/chill overnight.
SERVE Sprinkled w/ conf, add small mint leaves if you have them.
Lovely! I never made the original, Italian ‘Tiramisu’ that was so popular many years ago; this one, I may try:-)
-JT
The original tiramisu is, of course, fabulous....ladyfingers dipped in coffee/rum mixture, layered w/ mascarpone. Mouth-watering, satisfying dessert.
The raspberry version is an inspired use of seasonal berries
That is expensive and it’s only 10 oz. My husband would go through that quickly.
Another ‘Bawlmer’ thing, is addressing folks as ‘hon’, short for ‘Honey’. It’s charming:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Baltimore#Hon
-JT
We would go through it quickly, too. I’ll keep looking.
-JT
That looks really good! I’ve never tried one like that before.
Breyers makes a really good Tiramisu gelato now. It’s in a smaller see through container. I don’t normally buy their ice cream because it’s more like ice milk, so I’m glad I decided to give it a try.
Mmmmm......Tiramisu gelato. Thanks for the hint.
Jun Tanaka's Baked Warm Chocolate Pudding
METHOD Melt/stir over simmering water diced 125g sweet butter/170g best 70% dk chocolate. Set/hold offheat. Elec/mixer on high 5 min into a sabayon 3 med eggs, 60g superfine sugar (light and fluffy and triple in size). W/ spatula, gently mix 1/2 completely into chocolate/butter. Repeat with second half. Gradually add/completely incorporate 75g flour.
FINAL Spoon into buttered/floured ramekins or tea cups; fridge/set 2 hour. Bake on sheet-tray 400 deg 6 min. Set on counter a min. Dust with conf.
SERVE immediately w/ scoop of ice cream.
I remember him. Good looking guy with a British accent. I think he’s occasionally been a judge on other competition shows. There was a Chopped winner, a black guy who reminded me of Morgan Freeman, who also had a British accent who got work on some of the other competition shows. They make him judge next to that Bernie Sanders Wife lookalike, that farmhouse lady who has the hectoring tones of Hillary Clinton.
I just had a tiramisu parfait at Nick and Toni’s in Manhattan last week after The King and I. I’m not sure it works in parfait form but it had a little sugar brittle on top that was nice.
Didn’t foodTV cancel that farmhouse cooking show?
Seems to me they were looking for a Paula Deen clone when they got her cooking.
They may have but it’s definitely still on tv unlike Paula. Plus she judges some of these contests. I believe she has some in with the Food Network.
Paula’s trying to creep back....she’s been on her son’s flop of a foodTV show.
Paula lost bigtime....she was queen of the cooks at the time she admitted to using the “N” word.......couple TV shows, the magazine, retail cooking products...and so on.
When her first show was on - what? 20 years ago? She was a quiet cook who knew her stuff. She ballooned into the most crass, vulgar idiot who made Richard Simmons look controlled. She had an interesting back story and she blew it. But, on the other hand, she made gazillions of money so why feel sorry for her?
I’ve ‘lost’ another box of brown sugar that has turned into a solid rock.
Does anyone know if those terra cotta ‘savers’ that you wet and keep with the brown sugar actually work? I’m also wondering if using the vacuum packer to seal it into mason jars would keep it soft.
-JT
The easiest trick to soften that brown sugar rock....put it in a low oven. In no time it will be soft and usable.
Or put a slice of apple in the br/sugar pkg when storing.
The moisture in the apple keeps the sugar soft.
I feel pity for that sucker she inveigled into marrying her. Course, he got a few good meals out of it. So it wasn’t all a loss for him.
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