Our Annual Crab Feed
I always look forward to the night before Thanksgiving. Typically around this time of year, crab season starts. And so it did but there was some dispute among the crab fishermen and lots of the briny beasts were being held up from market...and the prices were, well, um...a bit high. But, no matter. The feed must go on.
We generally just hunker down with two whole crab, a loaf of crusty French bread, a salad and a bottle of wine from our cellar (right...the hall closet if you must know...). This year I got all inspired by our trip to Paris and made a charcuterie-based lentil salad with vinaigrette so we had that as well.... We eat until we have made a right mess of our living room then pass out for the evening. Most fun.
A few things to note: I *always* clean and "crack" my own crab that way I can save the crab "butter" (or "miso") for stirring into soups or adding to crabcakes. I don't really crack the legs as the guys at the market do (with a mallet, usually crushing shell INTO the meat...blah) but I make long-ish cuts in the shells. It works well and I don't get fragged. I (most) always make aioli. Garlic, oil and egg yolk for crab...a match made in heaven.