God sometimes gives us unexpected gifts. Our gift has been a grandson who enlivens our lives and makes retirement very different than the one we anticipated. He is a special joy. And that's "Casey." In 2006 we fulfilled our dream of living in Italy for a year. It was every bit as wonderful as anticipated. This blog begins in 2005 as we prepared for that experience. Since then we have explored many places together. That's the "Travel." And finally, I am a person of opinions--spiritually, politically, on just about anything and that's the "Other Stuff." Welcome to my blog.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Quick--A Recipe

I have several friends who write wonderful food blogs, complete with pictures of delectable things they whip up on a seemly daily basis. Not too infrequently a dish sounds and looks so deliciously good that Casey and Ken end up with a new and exciting taste treat. My friends are good!

Now, I do not have a food blog and there is a good reason for this--I am not a very exciting chef. More often than not I get ahead of myself in a recipe and end up doing something wrong. Detail is not my forte--never has been. Usually the result is edible but not the recipe's intent nor what was expected.

But..the other night we had two huge dungeness crab--a real weakness of ours. Preparation is so simple, crack the shells, get out the mayonnaise and begin to feast. Most special for me is that along with the sumptuous taste comes great memories of long ago years when my dad worked in San Francisco. We loved the nights he would bring home crab and fresh bread from the wharfs--what a treat that was.

This night though there was so much meat that we couldn't finish it all--a situation which I thought was not possible. The next day I turned to my trusty cookbook--the world wide net--and looked for pasta with crab recipes. I figured that I might as well combine two of my favorite foods.

I found one that sounded really really good as it included one of my other favorite foods --asparagus. I made it; it was good; I now share it with you--my contribution to the food blogging world. Unfortunately, being new to this genre, I forgot a cardinal rule--take pictures--so you will need to use your imagination. Judith, Jerry, Palma--I will do better next time.

Quick, Easy-N-Fast Pasta with Crab Meat and Asparagus

2 T. butter
2 T. Extra virgin olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ C dry white wine
Juice and finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
Pinch of red pepper flakes
¾ lb asparagus, washed, trimmed and sliced diagonally into 2 inch lengths.
¾ lb crab meat, preferably fresh Dungeness
½ C chopped Italian parsley, or a mixture of parsley and another fresh herb such as dill, tarragon, chives or basil
12 oz. fettuccine or other pasta
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2-4 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat a large pot of salted water to boiling for the pasta. Heat the butter and EVO in a large skillet or sauté pan and sauté the garlic until it’s translucent. Add the pepper flakes, wine and lemon juice and simmer for about 10 minutes until the liquid is reduced by about half.

Add the asparagus to the pan, cover and steam until it is just tender crisp. Add the crab meat and the lemon zest and toss gently until thoroughly hot.

Meanwhile cook the pasta in the boiling water until barely al dente. Drain and add it to the asparagus mixture, tossing to blend. Toss again with the herbs and transfer to a warmed serving bowl or plates, sprinkle with the cheese and serve immediately.

Yield: 4-6 servings.

From Razzle Dazzle Recipes

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well this sounds both delicious and within my limited capabilities. No photo is good - mine will be right no matter how it looks.

Jane we really are soul mates! It was years before I was able to freely admit that I wasn't goo at cooking, and didn't actually enjoy it (probably because I'm not good at it).

Like you I am occasionally inspired by one or other of our mutual blogging friends.

Jane said...

OK--Soul Mate--who are you? I need to know my sisters.

Anonymous said...

Jane - I can't imagine not being able to consume a crab - they must have been HUGE. This recipe sounds great. I wiull give it a try when I next have some crab on hand (which isn't often sadly because I despise the canned stuff).

Jane said...

Jerry, I hate the canned stuff,too. It's good to hear from you--better late than never :). Have a good one! Oh--be sure to read KZ's post today. It's hysterical.

Anonymous said...

Sorry Jane - it is me, Sheena

I need to register so that my name appears rather than anon.

Jane said...

Sheena, how nice it is to know that you took the time to comment and...let me know that I am not alone. Although, I must admit that I'm surprised to learn that you are not a member of the Jerry/Palma/Judith/Diva/etc. culinary wizards. We have other talents, though, don't we?

Anonymous said...

I keep telling you that all cooking is just a series of small easy things to do. Crack crab, dip mayo, bite bread, yes?
Tonight I did boil water, pour on cube, drink fake brodo. Easy as pie-- why do we say that?
There is a new EASY recipe for brussels sprouts a casa mia and if you haven't yet made the best recipe of 2008 so far, get Casey to do it!

Jane said...

Judith--I saw the brussel sprouts--well I didn't get past the title, really as I can not believe that there is any good way to prepare them. But--I will go back and check it out and the best of 2008, too.
Tonight we are having a favorite of Casey's and you won't believe it--rigatoni and cauliflower.