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
here’s a request for our wonderful cooking freepers...has anyone tried and been successful making salt and vinegar almonds?....
Cant say that I have......my recipes are for the candied type.
No, I have candied many types of nuts. What kind of vinegar?
Spaghetti House gets some good reviews on Trip Advisor although one reviewer called the food ‘dire,’ lol. I’ve never been. It’s an old chain but still has the same family ownership. My friend, Carol Gould, thinks it was delicious. Another British chain is Angus Steakhouse which is all over the west end. That actually does get horrible reviews, lol.
BTW, last Wednesday the NY Times had a nice recipe for pork satay. Since we had just bought a charcoal grill, I made the whole thing. The only difference is because I’m dieting, I changed it to ‘lite’ cocoanut milk. This may have made the sauce somewhat ‘chalky’ but other than that, it was delicious. I used those long pork tenderloins that are so cheap. I had them in the marinade for about 6 hours which tenderized them, cut them in rounds, and put them on skewers. I served it with the dipping sauce and brown rice. I’m going to try it with chicken and beef.
Mmmmmm........the satay sounds delicious.
Gonna post the recipe for us?
I checked the web——no recipes for s/v almonds.
Although one of the nut brands sells a similar product.
Here’s link, hope it works: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/27/dining/satayrecipe.html?_r=0
The only difference is that unlike most satay recipes, it doesn’t use chicken stock.
Please post the recipe. :)
Oops! Should have read further. Thank you!
It’s a long list. If the link I posted doesn’t work, I’ll consider.
Skewered pork satay w/ spicy peanut sauce and lime wedges.
I made a link to the NYTimes recipe. Didn’t you see it?
When I use skewers I always remove them because people don’t want to be seen eating off them - uncomfortable and kind of repulsive-looking. Which is one of the reasons that pols eat their pizza with forks...aside from John Kasich, of course. One of the only reasons I respect him!
Liz, can you see my post 168? The damned link doesn’t work. Can you fix it? I’m sorry to bother you. It takes you to the Times but not to the recipe.
When I tried to link, the NYT message is they don’t have the link anymore.
Good idea to de-skewer.
B/c w/ every bite of the skewer, you get that wooden aftertaste.
BTW, I understand Japanese soak their skewers in sake before using them w/ food.
Phyllis Stokes has a you tube recipe for salmon cakes made exactly like crab cakes for a whole lot less. I have made them several times an they were really good. She calls for a can of pink salmon for $2.50. You do need to clean the fish well but my dog fully approves of the detritus.
What a great idea! I’ll soak mine in warmed Grand Marnier!
I’ve done canned salmon cakes - from a Rachel Ray recipe. It works!
You can always keep everything on hand for it easily.
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