eG Foodblog: C. sapidus - Crabs, Borscht, and Fish Sauce

[DesertCulinary]

While I was playing volleyball, Mrs. C was busy getting groceries. First, she stopped by the Common Market, an organic foods store.

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Coming out of lurkdom....

I had to comment - we actually saw Mrs C taking these pictures! We were doing our weekly stop in the Common Market and noticed a woman taking pictures in the produce department. The produce guys were giving her funny looks - it looked like they were going to say something to her, but I hope they left her alone! It made Jeff feel a little better as we often stop for food pictures too!

It is nice to see someone from our area posting! We currently live out in the Jefferson area.

[little ms foodie]

great blog!! I'm just starting it but had a question about those yummy pancakes! I see that you are using bread flour, why that instead of AP?

Also I love your meal planning, that is almost exactly what I do- i love having all the cookbooks out and open!

I have never heard of dogs eating veggies! very funny!

[Megan Blocker]

. . . while elder son sliced cucumbers. The boys eat as many cucumbers as we can lug home from the store.

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You're raising your sons right, Bruce - cucumbers RULE. This blog is fantastic so far...can't wait to see what the next few days hold!

[purplewiz]

Crabcakes ready to eat.

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While I always admire your Dinner! thread posts, this one is just grabbing me - they look SO good, just so classic and edible!

I'm looking forward to the rest of your blog!

Marcia.

[C. sapidus]

We have had such a ridiculously warm winter, the lent roses (Helleborus x orientalis) are leafing out and ready to bloom.

Anyway, tonight’s dinner – presented by food group rather than sequentially. As usual, Mrs. Crab and I shared kitchen duties. I’ll try to answer questions and preview the rest of the week after posting. First, the green stuff.

I had never made collard greens before, so thanks again to Ludja and mrbigjas for their advice. We boiled the smoked ham hocks for an hour . . .

. . . added collard greens, boiled them a while, and then added the mustard greens.

Finished – thanks for the tip, the biscuits did a great job of soaking up the pot liquor. This was something new for me, but Southern greens seemed appropriate for Martin Luther King’s birthday. So, any greens experts out there: did I make a mess of my greens?

Eternal cucumbers (thanks for the memorable phrase, Priscilla).

Salad greens. Mrs. Crab made a salad dressing of key lime vinegar, canola oil, and sugar.

[C. sapidus]

I love cornbread, but it isn’t on the very short list of things that I know how to bake. Instead, I made biscuits. Ingredients:

Out of the freezer, on the parchment paper, and ready to bake:

Finished biscuits. Even elder son liked them, and he doesn’t normally like biscuits.

[C. sapidus]

Guiness stout for me, dry Riesling for Mrs. C.

Folks were hungry before the ribs were done, so we started eating. Biscuits, greens, and marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes on the plate . . .

. . . and the dinner table.

[nakji]

I hope to cook my first recipe from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen this week.

Yay! I look forward to it.

As for Vietnamese coffee, I'm not sure if you have access to the same Trung Nguyen blends I do, but the "Passiona" blend is my favourite - it tastes like dark chocolate. The "Legendee" is pretty good as well, and bills itself as weasel coffee, but I doubt that, what with the volume of it that they sell. Their straight-up orange/brown bag simply marked arabica is fine as well. I don't find French Roast tastes anything like Vietnamese roasts - Vietnamese roasts taste sweet and buttery, especially when the roast is fresh.

Currently I'm getting all my coffee from an independent roaster here in town who makes all of her coffee taste like dark chocolate. I keep meaning to take pictures. Some of the really hard-core old fashioned coffee shops roast their own coffee - in a wok on the street.

And try as I may, I still can't hit the correct tone over the "sua" in cafe sua da.

Those biscuits look like they're so light, they're about to float right off of the plate.

[MarketStEl]

Sorry I'm late to the party -- between work on manuscripts, taking down the Christmas decorations and attending the Martin Luther King Day activities in Chester, I haven't had time to sit down and savor your blog.

Sriracha sauce with collards! <slaps forehead> D'OH! Why haven't I done this before? It'd probably work well with smoked turkey butt and cider vinegar added to the water, too (my preferred seasonings; sometimes I toss in that Maryland staple, Old Bay, too).

Speaking of Old Bay: I note that your crab cakes were free of the stuff. Being that you're a Marylander and all, can you explain this omission?

And how is downtown Silver Spring faring these days? It seems that every time I open a Washington Post, there's something about yet another effort to restore Silver Spring to its former grandeur or something like that.

And pardon me if this comes off as a little impudent, but: since you all have a yard (I don't ), why don't you use a charcoal grill to do your ribs? Just askin', is all.

Blog on! Everything looks delicious so far, although I must confess that ibuprofen makes for a rather unusual side dish.

[C. sapidus]

Ribs out of the fridge:

The first glitch: we were almost out of smoke pellets. Since we don't have a real smoker, pellets seem to give more smoke flavor than wood chips. We usually use hickory or mesquite pellets to wring as much smoke flavor as possible from our less-than-ideal setup. If we had more pellets, I would have started the ribs off with two smoke packets, and then added two more smoke packets when the first stopped smoking. Oh, well.

Smoke pellets in their foil packets, with one small hole for smoke to escape.

If you look very, very closely you can see a little smoke.

Another potential glitch: we were almost out of propane. I left the back burner off for the first hour or so to conserve fuel, and turned on the back burner when the rumbling of growling stomachs became threatening. Fortunately, the propane lasted just long enough.

With only the front burner on, it was easy to keep the temperature down.

About half-way done. I use a rib rack, so the ribs in front get a lot more heat than the ones in back. To equalize, I shuffle the ribs front to back every 20 minutes or so. If you look under the grates, you might see the two foil smoke packets in front and the two water pans in the back.

Mop: cider vinegar, yellow mustard, and salt. I brush this on in the last half-hour or so.

Done!

A little smoke ring. The ribs could have used another half hour or so, but the family was hungry and restless. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.

Rib aftermath. Elder son was the rib consumption champ tonight.

[mrbigjas]

I had never made collard greens before, so thanks again to Ludja and mrbigjas for their advice. We boiled the smoked ham hocks for an hour . . .

Finished – thanks for the tip, the biscuits did a great job of soaking up the pot liquor. This was something new for me, but Southern greens seemed appropriate for Martin Luther King’s birthday. So, any greens experts out there: did I make a mess of my greens?

c.s, they look delicious to me -- i usually slice them thinner so they're easier to eat, but that's just a matter of preference. i'm getting hungry just looking at them. and those people that don't like pot liquor, just because it's grayish green and cloudy and looks like dishwater? those people are wrong.

now, what's up with those square biscuits? and, a freezer? do tell. i've always just made biscuits, cut them out with a (round) cutter and cooked them as is--did you make them before, or do you freeze them for a while before cooking to firm things up, like a pie dough?

[little ms foodie]

OMG those ribs look really good!!!!

[C. sapidus]

c.s, they look delicious to me -- i usually slice them thinner so they're easier to eat, but that's just a matter of preference.  i'm getting hungry just looking at them.  and those people that don't like pot liquor, just because it's grayish green and cloudy and looks like dishwater?  those people are wrong.

Cool - I wondered about slicing up the greens. Do you slice them before or after cooking? Mrs. C and I liked the greens, so there will be a next time.

now, what's up with those square biscuits?  and, a freezer?  do tell.  i've always just made biscuits, cut them out with a (round) cutter and cooked them as is--did you make them before, or do you freeze them for a while before cooking to firm things up, like a pie dough?

I'm not much of a baker, but the recipe was "biscuits for breakfast" from King Arthur Flour. Freezing is supposed to make the biscuits flakier by delaying when the butter and shortening melt. We still have three biscuit squares in the freezer for use later in the week. Besides, the efficiency of square biscuits appeals to me - no waste, and we don't have to buy a biscuit cutter.

[maggiethecat]

I'm enjoying the cooking, the kids, the dogs... but a shout out for the Slice of Life dinnerware. I hog the surgery plate, myself.

[C. sapidus]

Thanks to everyone for all of the kind words and encouragement. Let me try to answer some questions - apologies if I missed any.

Please to the Table is a good one; are you familiar with The Art of Russian Cuisine by Anne Volokh?  Out of print, but chockablock with good stuff.

I have not seen The Art of Russian Cuisine, but I’ll keep an eye out. When we want really good Russian food, we whine until our friends from Russia invite us to dinner. They make amazing quantities of delicious Russian food, enjoyed around a crowded table while simultaneous conversations bounce back and forth in multiple languages.

Do you put extra sugar in the coffee?  Or the sweetened condensed milk be sweet enough?

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No extra sugar – in fact, I probably use less sweetened condensed milk than most folks. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth.

Coming out of lurkdom.... 

I had to comment - we actually saw Mrs C taking these pictures!  We were doing our weekly stop in the Common Market and noticed a woman taking pictures in the produce department.  The produce guys were giving her funny looks - it looked like they were going to say something to her, but I hope they left her alone!  It made Jeff feel a little better as we often stop for food pictures too!

It is nice to see someone from our area posting!  We currently live out in the Jefferson area.

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Howdy, neighbor! I often wondered if there were any eGullet folks in town.

Mrs. Crab asked the good folks at Common Market for permission to take pictures for the blog. Apparently, they were interested and supportive.

great blog!! I'm just starting it but had a question about those yummy pancakes! I see that you are using bread flour, why that instead of AP?

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Mrs. Crab responded, “There is another kind of flour?” What a joker. But seriously, bread flour is what happened to be on hand. Mrs. Crab does most of our baking, usually in the bread machine - hence the bread flour.

As for Vietnamese coffee, I'm not sure if you have access to the same Trung Nguyen blends I do, but the "Passiona" blend is my favourite - it tastes like dark chocolate. The "Legendee" is pretty good as well, and bills itself as weasel coffee, but I doubt that, what with the volume of it that they sell. Their straight-up orange/brown bag simply marked arabica is fine as well. I don't find French Roast tastes anything like Vietnamese roasts - Vietnamese roasts taste sweet and buttery, especially when the roast is fresh.

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Thanks for the advice on Trung Nguyen blends – I might try mail-order if they aren’t available locally. Your blog picture of Vietnamese coffee and SCM dripping from a spoon was inspirational.

Sriracha sauce with collards! <slaps forehead> D'OH! Why haven't I done this before?  It'd probably work well with smoked turkey butt and cider vinegar added to the water, too (my preferred seasonings; sometimes I toss in that Maryland staple, Old Bay, too).

I used Cholula hot sauce on the greens, but Sriracha is a great idea <also slaps forehead>.

Speaking of Old Bay:  I note that your crab cakes were free of the stuff.  Being that you're a Marylander and all, can you explain this omission?

I made “Faidley’s World Famous Crab Cakes” from John Shields’ Chesapeake Bay Cooking. The book has seven crabcake recipes – some use Old Bay, some don’t. Clearly, more research is needed.

And how is downtown Silver Spring faring these days?  It seems that every time I open a Washington Post, there's something about yet another effort to restore Silver Spring to its former grandeur or something like that.

Ah, yes, the saga of downtown Silver Spring. It seemed to be thriving when I got off the Metro (subway) last week. I don’t follow the redevelopment issue that closely any more – some of the recent developments have been fought over for at least twenty years. I do try to check in every once in a while, though.

And pardon me if this comes off as a little impudent, but: since you all have a yard (I don't  ), why don't you use a charcoal grill to do your ribs?  Just askin', is all.

Blog on!  Everything looks delicious so far, although I must confess that ibuprofen makes for a rather unusual side dish. 

No offense taken. I like the convenience of a gas grill, but a Weber Smoky Mountain is on my list - it just hasn’t come to the top of the list yet, y’know?

Old knees + volleyball = ibuprofen for lunch

[C. sapidus]

I'm enjoying the cooking, the kids, the dogs... but a shout out for the Slice of Life dinnerware.  I hog the surgery plate, myself.

Ding ding ding - we have a winner! I wondered who would notice the plates first. Mrs. Crab is a nurse, so she gets the surgery plate. I had the "grilling on the moon" plate, for obvious reasons.

[C. sapidus]

When you get a chance, I'd love the actual recipe/proportions. Crabcakes are not in my background, and the few attempts I've made have fallen apart before/during cooking.

I'll be happy to PM the recipe to you, but it may not be until next week (I know that you understand why ). Can you get blue crab meat in Hawaii, or do you use something else?

[GourmetLight$]

As I looked at the spent plate of ribs, I couldn't help but think of how my Mom was never happy with how we ate our bone-in meat, and always finished our bones clean! Unfortunately, I just heard from my sis that she's in the the ER for testing tonight (she's a young 70), so the memory was timely. Let's hope it's just something minor and has many years of bone nibbling in her future!

Great blog thus far, and I went back and looked at your kitchen remodel and must say it's wonderful! Love the sliding trash bin too.

Cheers,

[C. sapidus]

This should be a pretty normal work week for us, with a few accommodations for blogging logistics. Normally, Mrs. Crab and I eat lunch at one of the two cafeterias at work. One cafeteria is heavily subsidized – it is hard to spend more than $3 USD for pretty decent meal. In the spirit of the foodblog, we decided to take one for the team and eat as many restaurant lunches as our work schedules allow.

For international restaurants, the best choices would be Ethiopian, Thai, and/or Indian. We also have a couple of local restaurants in mind – one restaurant offers my absolute favorite cream of crab soup, and the other restaurant serves seasonal foods from a 1790s-era building (wonderful desserts, too).

Do y’all have any preferences? Viewer choices will be considered where possible.

Workday logistics will definitely interfere with blogging time. I will not be able to post from work, so there will be a long lull during the day. I had hoped to skip out of work early, but that may not be possible because I have some projects due this week. When I get home, there is a mad rush to get dinner on the table while transporting the boys to and from basketball practice. Also, I need to stop by the Asian and Latino markets for some things we didn’t get over the weekend. You get the idea.

In other words, you may not hear from me until fairly late in the evening. In the meantime, please feel free to ask questions or chat amongst yourselves.

Goodnight!

[C. sapidus]

As I looked at the spent plate of ribs, I couldn't help but think of how my Mom was never happy with how we ate our bone-in meat, and always finished our bones clean!  Unfortunately, I just heard from my sis that she's in the the ER for testing tonight (she's a young 70), so the memory was timely.  Let's hope it's just something minor and has many years of bone nibbling in her future!

Great blog thus far, and I went back and looked at your kitchen remodel and must say it's wonderful!  Love the sliding trash bin too.

Cheers,

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Thank you, and best wishes to your mother. Mrs. Crab is normally the bone-nibbler in our family, but she is on her best behavior these days. OK, now I'm really going to bed.

[snowangel]

Bruce, if you have the opportunity, and they permit, do take pics at the local Latino and Asian markets. Do either (or both) have meat counters?

Last time I was at my Asian market, I got a jar of a pretty neat condiment -- ithe brand is Por Kwan -- Chilli (sic) Paste with Sweet Basil Leaves. It's in a glass jar, with a nice oil slick on top. It's very nice and zingy, and makes a great addition to eggs. Ingredients listed are red chili (32%), sweet basil leaves (27%), soya bean oil (22.99%), garlic (14%), salt (4%), paprika natural color (.01%). They suggest cooking with it, which I haven't done.

And, another Choula lover! It's that, sirichi, chipotle Tabasco, or the green Cajun Chef stuff.

And, I'd say, for lunches...whatever strikes your fancy!

[davidthomas8779]

no waste, and we don't have to buy a biscuit cutter.

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I've never used anything but a wide-mouthed juice glass

And now that I've finally edited my profile to point out my proper current location, I feel a need to point out that prior to 18 months ago, I lived in Virginia and Georgia for 28 years and therefore know more about biscuits than the average Northern Californian.

Edited January 16, 2007 by davidthomas8779 (log)

[SuzySushi]

When you get a chance, I'd love the actual recipe/proportions. Crabcakes are not in my background, and the few attempts I've made have fallen apart before/during cooking.

I'll be happy to PM the recipe to you, but it may not be until next week (I know that you understand why ). Can you get blue crab meat in Hawaii, or do you use something else?

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Actually, with the name of the recipe (Faidley's World Famous Crab Cakes), I found the recipe online!

Will have to check & see what kind of crabmeat I can get -- we usually buy our crab as whole legs/claws in shells, but I know Costco sells crabmeat packs. What's your trick to keeping the crab cakes from falling apart?

[SuzySushi]

no waste, and we don't have to buy a biscuit cutter.

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I've never used anything but a wide-mouthed juice glass

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And the bottom of the juice glass doubles as a cookie-press...

[Syrah]

Last time I was at my Asian market, I got a jar of a pretty neat condiment -- ithe brand is Por Kwan -- Chilli (sic) Paste with Sweet Basil Leaves.  It's in a glass jar, with a nice oil slick on top.  It's very nice and zingy, and makes a great addition to eggs.  Ingredients listed are red chili (32%), sweet basil leaves (27%), soya bean oil (22.99%), garlic (14%), salt (4%), paprika natural color (.01%).  They suggest cooking with it, which I haven't done.

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It is really good used in stirfries.. pork especially for some reason.

I am just loving this blog C. sapidus!