David Ross

This is an easy nibble that really impresses folks. At first they think its fondue but it's actually Hot Dungeness Crab Dip. My Father always made this every December or his neighborhood cocktail party and to celebrate the opening of crab season here in the Northwest. It's a mixture of cream cheese, cream, lots of fresh crab, Worcestershire, Old Bay seasoning, toasted slivered almonds, green onions and Tabasco. I change the seasonings depending on what I think might go well with the crab. Heat the mixture in a fondue pot over the stove then take it to your buffet table and place on the stand and light the flame. I serve it with buttered toast. It takes a bit of effort and equipment, but the thin little toasts are much better than dried out melba toast out of a box. I take a baguette and slice it really thin using my meat slicer. Works fast and gives you uniform slices. Then brushed with melted butter and popped into a hot oven until crisp and golden.

Dungeness Crab again, in a gratin................................ This crab is meaty sweet and decadent. So let's make it a Holiday decadence by gently folding the crab into a béchamel rich with parmesan and asiago cheese and topping it with fresh bread crumbs tossed in crab butter.

I love that brand of pasta, but it all the time.

The season always starts the first week of December weather permitting. I buy crabs at a fishmonger who chooses bigger crabs taken out of deep waters off Puget Sound. I like the taste of clarified butter. Seems cleaner than regular butter but it also takes me back to the way our family has eaten Dungeness for years.

First of the season chilled Dungeness Crab with clarified butter-

Tonight I'm making a batch of smoked trout gratin. It's sort of a take on a traditional salt cod but I'm using trout I smoked over applewood. Combined with mashed potatoes, lots of garlic and fresh, buttered bread crumbs. Certainly not your pimento spread, (although that's also a winner), from years past. It's best served with potato chips rather than slices of bread. Serve it hot and the smoked fish fans will love it.

In the coming days we'll see the annual opening of the Pacific Northwest Dungeness Crab fishery. I always make hot crab dip, (a blend of fresh crab meat, cream, cream cheese, lots of Worcestershire sauce and green onions), and keep it hot in an old fondue pot. Sort of retro looking and a delicious hot dip.

I'll call them "nibbles," little bites to snack on while sipping your favorite Holiday beverage. They're not really substantial to be called a first course or a plated appetizer served at the table. I'm thinking of those savory bites I can't get enough of, like little choux pastry that I stuff with herbed cream cheese and a blanket of homemade smoked salmon. Right now I'm working on a cold chicken liver mousse to spread on crackers or thin bread crisps. So what are your favorite Holiday "nibbles" and are you creating some new bites for the season this year?

In theory that may be true, but my actual experience has been the bottom of the biscuit soaks up the chicken gravy and you end up with the texture of a soft biscuit but you also have flavor from the sauce. Certainly a matter of taste though.

We've got some great ideas for the "dumplings" here at our previous Cook-Off. I make a biscuit rather than a dumpling and put that on top of the chicken mixture that last portion of baking: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/131488-chicken-and-dumplings-cook-off-51/

That's the one area where I take a shortcut and use large egg roll wrappers.

Also posted in our Time Life "Foods of the World" series here, http://forums.egullet.org/topic/21737-time-life-foods-of-the-world-series/page-6#entry1995747 One of my most beloved recipes from "The Foods Of Italy" simply titled "Canneloni"- A sauce made from canned San Marzano tomatoes, egg wrappers filled with a mixture of beef, spinach and chicken livers, a thick layer of besciamella, and dabs of butter and parmesan-

One of my most beloved recipes from "The Foods Of Italy" simply titled "Canneloni"- A sauce made from canned San Marzano tomatoes, egg wrappers filled with a mixture of beef, spinach and chicken livers, a thick layer of besciamella, and dabs of butter and parmesan-

I'm thinking of adding some diced apple to my beloved Thanksgiving "dressing." I'm not a fan of "stuffing" the dear turkey so I "dress" the bird with a separate casserole of dressing. It's a mixture of small bread cubes, lots of dried sage and poultry seasoning, eggs, glogs and glogs of butter and chicken stock, celery, onion, Jimmy Dean sage sausage and dried cranberries. I'm thinking fresh apples would add both acidity and sweetness to this rich dressing, probably a Granny Smith variety. Do you celebrate apples at your Holiday table?

Your apple crumb looks delicious and I myself am making more and more desserts in small serving dishes for one.

Thanks, also served with a little cast iron skillet of mashed potatoes.

Roasted Wild Washington Chanterelles- Roast Rack of Lamb with Marble Rye Crust and Red Wine Sauce-

It would be worth reading this review of Due Forni. I guess you could call it a chain albeit they only have two restaurants, Las Vegas and Austin. http://www.eatinglv.com/2014/09/eating-las-vegas-the-50-essential-restaurants-32-due-forni/ Settebello is a chain, but I hear good things about it from my friends that live in Las Vegas, and some are giving good reviews of Pizza Rock. I can tell you one place to avoid, Grimaldi's. A prime example of a great New York pizza place that expanded, and expanded, and their customer service tanked along the way. Especially in Las Vegas.

Nice looking rib chops on that piggy.

I think I need that pizza dough recipe.

My pleasure, but I will tell you it was weeks of fritter dough hell. I would go to sleep at night wondering why oh why my tepid little ball of dough wouldn't rise. I usually don't give up until I find success with a recipe. This one was darn good.

After three weeks of looking at different recipes, testing, tasting and weathering the fights with dough that didn't rise or was too dense, I finally came upon success. Success in the form of a delicious apple fritter that is every bit as good as the fresh apple fritters you buy at your local bakery at 6am. This is a fritter that is sweet, light and puffy yet with a dough density that can withstand the heat and pressure of 375 degree hot oil. And with many good things that come from our kitchens, it takes time and one goes through a lot of steps. The apple filling- ¼ cup unsalted butter 1/2 vanilla bean 4-5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4" dice ¼ cup granulated sugar ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 cup apple cider ¼ cup apple cider vinegar I chose Granny Smith apples because I wanted some tartness to counter the sweet dough of the fritter and the sticky sweet glaze. The secret here is the apple cider vinegar. It gives a tart punch to the apple filling yet without a strong aroma or taste of vinegar. Melt the butter in skillet over medium heat. Cut the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds into the butter, then add the vanilla bean. Add the diced apples, sugar, cinnamon, cider and apple cider vinegar and cook until the apples are soft and most of the liquid is absorbed. Store the apples, covered, in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the fritters. The fritter dough- 1 1/2 tbsp. dry yeast 1/2 cup warm water 2 tsp. sugar 2 cups bread flour 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. salt 2 tbsp. shortening 1 large egg 1/4 tsp. vanilla Additional bread flour as needed When I first saw this recipe I was surprised. Surprised that it called for more than twice the amount of yeast in other fritter recipes, less flour (and bread flour instead of all purpose flour), and baking powder. I've never paired both yeast and baking powder in a dough recipe. I figured it would result in a soft, pillowy dough that I've come to like in a good, a great, donut. In a mixing bowl, add the yeast and warm water and stir. Then sprinkle in the 2 tsp. sugar. It will take about 7 minutes for the yeast to bubble and bloom before you can add the other ingredients. In a separate bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and stir to combine. Attach the dough hook to the mixer and with the mixer running, add in the shortening, egg and vanilla and mix to combine. Slowly add the dry ingredient mixture and combine until a soft yet sticky dough bowl forms. You may need to add additional bread flour 1 tbsp. at a time. The finished dough will be smooth and hold its shape yet still soft and sticky. Turn the dough into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. I find that putting the dough in a warmed oven helps it rise. Now I don't mean a hot oven. I turn my oven to 150 then turn it off. When it's warm, about 80 degrees, I put the bowl of dough in to rise. After about 90 minutes the dough is doubled in size. And now you are ready for the really tricky steps to making apple fritters, forming the dough. The dough after the first rise- Roll the dough into a thick rectangle, about 12" x 8" and spoon the apple filling over half the dough- Fold the top half of the dough over the bottom half with the apple filling. Then cut the dough vertically into 1" or so slices- Now cut the dough horizontally, again into 1" slices. You'll have all these little squares of dough filled with apples- Now we put all these little chunks of dough into a oblong bread type of shape. Then we'll cut them into sections about 3" wide, and form them into palm-size "fritters". Sort of like the shape of a bear claw- Gently, gently, place the fritters onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment and cover. Let the fritters rise a second time, about 45 minutes- The Glaze- 2 cups powdered sugar 1 1/2 tsp. corn syrup 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. vanilla 1 tbsp. sugar 1/3 cup warm water Add the powdered sugar, corn syrup, salt, vanilla and sugar to a bowl. Stir to combine, then whisk in the warm water until a smooth glaze with no lumps forms. We'll use the glaze to cover the fritter when they come out of the fryer. After the final rise, the fritters are ready to go into hot oil. I used canola oil heated to 375 and after about 1 1/2 min. frying on each side and this is what you have- You can now see how those little clumps of dough cling together during rising and give that characteristic bakery style shape to your apple fritters. Spoon over a good coating of the glaze while the fritters are still warm. Because we are dealing with fresh, sweet dough and apples that are fried and then glazed, they taste best when eaten, oh, let's say no more than 10 minutes after coming out of the fryer and doused with sugary glaze. We wouldn't want to eat day-old fritters now would we.

Anyone have a very good apple fritter recipe? I'm looking for something along the lines of an apple fritter doughnut. I've got the apple cider ice cream made and the garnishes ready, just need the main part of the dish!

We've been showcasing a number of sweet apple dishes, (and a few savory dishes too), here at our Apple Cook-Off........ http://forums.egullet.org/topic/149304-eg-cook-off-67-apples/page-4

My stuffing using "croutons" from a local bakery that's been in business for decades, sausage, pecans and dried cranberries. Oh, and eggs, melted butter and chicken stock also go in to make the dressing incredibly rich and moist yet with a browned crust on top. (Not stuffed in the turkey).