A Match Made in Heaven: Bloody Marys and Crab

Kate and I were chatting about the menu this afternoon, and I expressed my discontent with the crab crostini as a third appetizer. She said, "Well, did you see the Bloody Mary appetizer I sent you?" No, I did not! I quickly looked up the recipe she was referencing and I think it is the answer to our problem! This delicious looking spoonful of goodness is supposed to be made with shrimp, but Kate and I see no reason why it can't be made with crab. In the recipe, you toss the crab with a little celery and scallions and put a dollop on a Chinese soup spoon. Then you make a Bloody Mary conconction and spoon the liquid on top of the crab. I love the presentation! Plus, the recipe reminds me of my tradition to have Bloody Marys on holidays and special occasions.

Speaking of the Bloody Mary Shrimp/Crab recipe gave Kate another great idea. Why not make Bloody Marys for our crab prep cocktail? Post a comment if you have opinions about this. Maybe a Bloody Mary cocktail overlaps too much with the appetizer. But, then again, maybe the cocktail will be a nice foreshadowing to the delicous spoonful of crab yet to come.

Crabfest Shirts Ordered Today!

Today I ordered the Crabfest 2009 t-shirts! I'm so excited about them, although it will be difficult to top the apron of '07. I'm imagining my post Crabfest t-shirt with battle wounds, such as splatters of Paoli cioppino. We will have bibs of course, but you never know (some of you will recall that Kate's butter warmer exploded in '07). This reminds me that I need to add steamed hand towels to the list of serveware. But, I digress. The t-shirts feature a chef-crab logo with our motto Bib Me, so aptly stated by Kate when describing her readiness for this year's fest. I plan to wear mine to the gym after crabfest so that people can wonder, "What is this fun and delicious crabfest that I see depicted on that woman's shirt?" I debated putting the menu on the back of the shirt, but decided it just would not be fair to those who can't attend. I do like the idea of documenting the menu. Remember those high school t-shirts that people used to wear that had all the members of the class on the back? One day, I might make a shirt that has a long list of all the crab dishes we've prepared. Yes, I just might do that.

Photo of the Day: Heavenly Crab Cakes

This year we will not be making the heavenly crab cakes that have graced our table at Crabfest I, II, and III. We love them, but it's too tempting to try new recipes. I hope that one year we can do a "Best of Crabfest" menu, and these crab cakes would certainly make the cut.

Whenever I have the opportunity, I order crab cakes at restaurants, only to be disappointed by the quality of the cake. They are often too bready, too fried, too small, and over seasoned. The flavor and texture of the crab gets lost and you might as well have ordered a tater tot. I have experienced two amazing crab cakes dining out. One was at the late great Le Virage in Walnut Creek. This thing was so delightful it defies description. It sat on the center of the plate and just barely had a tan. I think it must have been seared quickly in a skillet, rather than deep fried. Its best feature was that it was a solid cake of crab, with a very minimal amount of other ingredients, such as egg and bread crumbs, required to hold it together. The plate was decorated with an accent sauce and garnishes that complemented the cake... bits of capers, red onion, and diced potato of all things. As a special treat, the sauce often changed, so you could order the same dependable crab cake with an element of surprise.

I experienced the second amazing crab cake at Ruth Chris Steakhouse. This cake was a no frills cake, but it was the largest cake I've ever seen! And it was solid crab. It came on a sizzling plate of butter like a steak and was ever so slightly crispy on the outside. Man, I want one right now!


The crab cakes we make at crab fest have a good crab to bread crumb ratio and we are able to shape them as we like. I like size of the patty-- not too small, which allows for enough juicy crab in the middle that is not fried. The crab flakes off the cake nicely. Some years they have come out a little more brown than we'd like, but I think that was a pan issue. They always taste delicious. We serve them on a bed of greens with a lemon vinaigrette that accompanies the recipe. Seeing them now tempts me to add them to the menu for the fourth year.... but that crab salad with the lime curd is calling to me. Any thoughts on this matter? The link for the recipe for Crab Cakes of Crabfest Past is posted on the right.

Photo of the day: No sympathy

There's no nice way to put it. We're killing crabs. If this is not your cup of tea, you are respectfully not invited to crabfest. Here is a photo of a perfectly nice crab. We really appreciate his sacrifice.

This particular crab was purchased from a live tank at the San Francisco Ferry Market, a place that makes me weep with joy, and then with sadness, as California markets are apt to do. You see, I don't have the beautiful veggies and fresh seafood here in the landlocked cornfields that they have in the Bay Area. Last year Kate introduced me to some produce markets in Berkeley that put me in a state of shock. Who knew you could buy 17 different varieties of radishes?

The second photo is a picture of our SF friend after he has been lovingly boiled for about 12-15 mintues. Nice, use of tongs, Paul! Into the ice bath he goes!

Crabfest: A Brief History

We are about to embark on our fourth and much anticipated Crabfest--an event that was born out of my desire to eat the amount of crab that I would normally eat in one year if I was still living in California. One day I was lamenting my Midwest address to Kate and said, "When I come home, I'm going to eat a year's worth of crab!" She said, "I'll help." Such a good friend. I knew I could also count on Paul and my dad to support my gluttonous goal.

Kate began researching the acquisition of live crab. I was accustomed to buying it at the grocery store, and picking it clean. But Kate had read that cooking it live at home produced the most succulent crab! It's true! Once you go live, it's hard to go back.

Traditionally we toss around recipe ideas until we settle on a menu. Then we start making lists of everything: cooking apparatus required, pounds of crab required, produce and other ingredients required, number of plates, forks, spoons, etc. Then we delegate tasks. Paul is the Excel pro, and his crabfest spreadsheets are a work of art!

Paul usually gets the job of picking up the crab since he lives in SF, although Kate and I have also purchased it live at other markets. Kate got some huge ones last time! The crab that we buy is either live or purchased very fresh. Paul and I usually boil the crabs and my dad and I crack and clean it (Paul and Kate have done this too, but then shift to recipe prep as soon as there is enough crab ready to go). Originally, we had a rule that ALL the crab we used in the recipes had to be obtained by boiling our own crab, but that got to be too time consuming. We made the executive decision to buy some freshly prepared at the Ferry Market in an effort to maximize our crab consumption.

Once the crab is shelled, we are assigned recipes and we each begin working on something. Traditionally, Paul has worked on the crab cakes and the soup. Kate and Mike have worked on anything that requires a dressing or a marinade (Kate likes tinkering with sauces). I work on a recipe, but I am also the kitchen manager of sorts since we have the fest at my parents house and I know where things are. I also man the recipe board and make sure that things are on track. And I make sure the serving pieces are in place. My dad is a crab cracker and cleaner, cocktail preparer, head wine steward, and official taster!

We take breaks and eat as the dishes are ready. Usually, 3 recipes are ready at a time and we have 2 seatings.

At Crabfest 2007 we realized we had too much going on. We had 7 filling courses! We were stuffed by the 4th course (I think the chilled avocado soup with crab relish was way too rich). At that time we decided that the next crabfest should only include 3 or 4 courses. Sometimes we pick recipes by going through cookbooks or looking online, and sometimes we try to recreate dishes that we've had at restaurants during the year, such as the Louis Lettuce Cups from Strip Steak in Vegas. They were delicious and small! And they were served on escargot-style plates, each cup filling a little hole. I love the aesthetic of that.

For Crabfest 2007 (the most recent fest, since 2008 was abysmal for crab), we had aprons made with our own logos! This year I'm planning on designing t-shirts and kitchen towels. Yes, it's over the top, but that's the whole idea. Too much crab, too much champagne, too much fun!

"Can you have too much cioppino? I mean really?"

Just got off the phone with Heather who called to chat about the pending crabfest decisions. Heather revealed that she's not a big fan of the mayo-crab combination. Good to know! But, she's flexible, so we'll see how the recipe vote goes. The crab martini only has 1 TB, so I think that would be okay. We also discussed the inclusion of a cioppino for the soup course. She's in favor of using her grandfather's recipe with that lovable ingredient: two glasses of wine (one for the pot, one for the chef!) I know that Heather's grandfather must have been a great, great man. It turns out that Heather will be making the cioppino 3 times this Christmas season. I asked her, "Are you sure you want to have it at crabfest? Maybe that's too much cioppino." She replied, "Can you have too much cioppino? I mean really? Can you? I can't." I can't either. How stupid of me to ask. Heather is going to send the recipe when she gives it a test run. Grandpa wasn't too specific on some measurements, so Heather's going to take notes on her first Cioppino of the season. Thanks for sharing the family recipe, Heather!

Welcome to Crabfest 2009!

So excited to start a crabfest blog! I'll be posting recipes and pictures from past crabfests soon.