Crab and Corn Chowder
February 8, 2006 | Filed Under Cilantro, Crabs, Tarragon, Parsley, Stephen Cooks, Saltshaker, Basil, Corn, Vegetables, Weekend Herb Blogging, Seafood, Soups/Chowders/Gumbos, Herbs, Fellow Bloggers, Food Blogging Events | Leave a Comment
I’ve never been much of a chowder fan, although recently I saw an enticing clam chowder recipe that made me interested in trying it.
Then, the other day, I stopped by Saltshaker and found another recipe that immediately caught my attention: Crab and Corn Chowder. I’d never heard of this before. I like corn and crabmeat, so, those two ingredients were the deal breaker for me. I made a mental note to try the recipe sometime in the near future, preferably on a very cold day.
However, the next morning with unseasonably warm weather, I woke up with the recipe in mind and like a person hypnotized, found my way to the store to buy the ingredients needed to prepare it – corn, potatoes, red bell pepper, crabmeat and herbs. Oh, so many wonderful herbs! By the way I would have used this recipe for my Weekend Herb Blogging post but I was too late.
The herbs involved a mix of cilantro (coriander), basil, tarragon and parsley. How exciting for me (cilantro being one of my favorites!)!
I returned home and started preparing the ingredients to cook. First, I boiled the corn and then made a corn stock. Yes, that’s right. Corn stock. Me. Actually, it was quite easy – boil the corncob and use the results in the recipe.
Call me weird, I’ve become excited about the idea of making stock out of different food products. Initially, I only knew of chicken, beef, and later fish stock. Then from Stephen, I learned about lamb and red shrimp broth and some of its uses. Really cool! So, now I can add corn stock to my list. That’s okay, you can laugh at me. 
My cooking momentum was interrupted when I had to walk the dogs and then found out I forgot to buy half and half milk. I had to run back to the store. I almost used canned evaporated milk but didn’t have enough. It’s probably better that I didn’t use the can milk since I’m sure it may have altered the taste of my first time chowder. Can anyone tell me if there’s a difference?
The meal is not hard to make and once I returned from the store, I continued cooking. My favorite part of preparing the meal was chopping the aromatic herbs to add to the chowder. As their combined scents wafted up, making me happy, I started to do my happy dance (See #9 of my culinary confessions.).
Soon, my crab and corn chowder was ready and I served it with crusty bread as the recipe suggested. Everything tasted fresh and delicious, from the potatoes to the crab to the vegetables. The mixed herbs especially gave it that added special flavor.
I’m glad I didn’t wait a day longer to try this crab and corn chowder.
Paz
The corn kernels removed from the cob
Making my corn stock
Most of the ingredients together in a pot
Cilantro, basil, tarragon and parsley ready to be chopped
The finished product
Ed. Note: I’m submitting this post for Weekend Herb Blogging #19. The herbs for this week are cilantro, basil, tarragon, and parsley, pictured above. Thanks, Kalyn!
*One can blog about herbs, plants, vegetables, or flowers for Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB). To see the list of other interesting WHB posts, go to Kalyn’s Kitchen, Sunday.
"Do They Have Soft-Shell Crabs?"
August 31, 2005 | Filed Under Crabs, Seafood | Leave a Comment
“Do they have soft-shell crabs?”
This is the question that obsessive-compulsive Melvin Udall (played by Jack Nicholson) keeps asking everyone on the way to the restaurant with Carol Connelly (Helen Hunt) in the romantic comedy As Good As it Gets. Has anyone seen this movie? I recommend it. Mainly about relationships and how falling in love can change a person (for the better), the film is funny and has it’s touching moments. Rent the video if you haven’t seen it yet.
The answer to Melvin’s question is, “Yes.” The restaurant does serve soft-shell crabs (and he’s very happy about it).
Like Melvin, I decide that I want soft-shell crabs and wake up in the morning with the idea of making them, for the first time, for dinner.
I’ve been frequenting the new Citarella food market in my neighborhood. They have a very nice fresh seafood selection. Each time I go there to buy fish, I notice that the person next to me orders the soft-shell crab. On different occasions, I ask two of them how they plan to make it. Both of them say they will sauté it.
They describe the cooking process in a way that makes my mouth water. It also sounds easy to prepare. By now, you can see that I like EASY recipes.
I remember watching Tyler Florence do a food show called Crazy for Soft Shell Crab, where he teaches a woman, who loves eating soft shell crabs, how to make them at home.
Tyler has three different recipes and I decide to choose the one with the least amount of ingredients and work involved – Sautéed Soft-Shell Crabs with Caper Brown Butter. Here is the recipe.
I buy my soft-shell crabs from Citarella and hurry home! Yay! Today is Soft-Shell Crab Day!
In the kitchen, I prepare the ingredients beforehand, so that the only thing I have to worry about is sautéing the crabs. I juice the lemon, pull out the capers, chop the parsley, and put the ingredients aside.
Next, I flour the crabs and put them in the pan of oil to sauté. The whole process is easy. I fry the crabs on both sides for three minutes each. Then I make the Caper Brown Butter sauce to pour over the crabs. In no time, the crabs are ready to be served.
Not bad at all. The sauce tastes a little bit tangy. I’m not sure if it’s because of the capers or the lemon juice or both, but overall, the crabs taste good. I may have sautéed the crabs a bit longer than I should (they are very brown) but no major harm is done.
In the future, I think I’d like to try Tyler’s Soft-Shell Crab Salad with Green Goddess Dressing and then his Soft-Shell Crab B.L.T. with Lemon-Pepper Mayonnaise recipes.
Yes, I have soft-shell crabs and now I know how make them!
Paz
