Table Talk
Feeling a litle crabby?
Some people hate to grocery shop. My friend, Ann, would do just about anything, if she could avoid the whole business. But I love grocery stores. Each time I enter a store, it seems that I stumble upon another interesting ingredient, piece of produce, time-saving offering or just a new cheese. Most times, I have a pretty detailed list, corresponding to a menu plan that I have made up before hand, but I rarely leave without something interesting to try, or with something that has inspired a recipe. This week, I came home with a large can of lump crab meat. I love crab, and fully enjoy the whole process of pulling crab legs apart, cracking them, and carefully picking out the sweet meat. But a can of crab meat is that much more decadent--all of the work is done and the pleasure of a pile of luscious crab meat is there for the eating. But alas, it really cries out to be used in something, to showcase it's delicious flavor. I decided to try 2 new recipes:
Crab and Avocado Tostadas with Monterey Jack, Chilies, and Red Pepper
Crab and Ricotta Manicotti with Bechamel Sauce
I made the tostadas using fresh flour tortillas, grilled crispy, with a layer of melted cheese and piled with a spicy mixture of crab, green chilies, jalapenos, red pepper and onion. They were fabulous. For the manicotti, I stuffed manicotti pasta with a simple mixture of ricotta cheese, crab, fresh basil, and fresh Parmesan cheese, covered with a simple Bechamel sauce, flavored with additional Parmesan cheese. Delicious.
