Hey Hey Old Bay!

I wanted to share a few things I am enjoying lately.

While I absolutely love to entertain & happily obsess over my menu for days & days prior, I don't go crazy with unnecessary gadgets or houseware items. Once in a while, though, I see something that just rocks my apron off & I must have. This, my friends, is one such thing. I am in love with my cooler! 

I already christened Tommy last weekend when I had friends over. The cooler even lifts off so that it can be transported. And you just gotta love the bottle opener! Not only is it pretty but it works well too ~ the ice hardly had melted when we checked it the next morning. 

Onto more things I am diggin'...

Old Bay & Garlic Crab Legs by Live.Love. Eat

{ Printable Recipe Here }

My previous post was for crab legs with an Asian twist that were to die for. I loved them so much I had to prepare them again the same way, stovetop, but with my own special sauce this time. The result was a solo lovefest with just me, 1.4 lbs crab legs, a side of mashed potatoes & a glass of white wine. They were out of this world, better than any crab legs I've had. I even thought of starting my own little crab truck where I serve nothing but crab legs in different sauces.

Can you picture that? BYOB!

Bring Your Own Bib

1.5 lbs Snow Crab Clusters
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 stick of Butter

Garlic Powder

Old Bay Seasoning

White wine

Prepare the crab as in in this recipe by breaking the crab legs into pieces & removing joints & unnecessary parts. Since this was just for myself I didn't even bother cutting the shell on one side as I did in the last recipe. I did, however, try out the clusters this time. While a part or two were fishy I enjoyed them.

Heat olive oil & butter in a skillet on medium high. When butter is browned & hot, add crab leg pieces. This will make a beautiful sizzling sound. Toss the pieces around to coat in the oil butter mixture. Add a few sprinkles of garlic powder & Old Bay. Use your judgement here. Add white wine, about 1 cup. Toss lightly. Crab legs should warm through over medium heat for no more than 7 minutes. Take off heat & keep covered until ready to indulge.

{ Food for Thought }

1.4 lbs = 2 clusters was perfect for me. If you're preparing for quite a few people, I say plan on 2 clusters per person. And you definitely want to have a seafood/nut cracker & little fork standing by to help you with this.

And one last thing to enjoy....

I had forgotten how much I loved Old Bay Seasoning. So, tonight after  cleaning out my freezer to make room for about 40 lbs of meat I got from my boss who bought 3 cows in an auction, I decided I needed to make french fries that were taking up way too much space. That's what I told myself.

Have you ever just added a few seasonings on hand to spice up your fries? Oh my.....

Cook your fries the way you want. As soon as they are off the heat, sprinkle with sea salt, a little garlic powder & just a bit of Old Bay seasoning. Wow....

Go spice things up a bit & have a great weekend!!!!!!

Linking Deliciously to Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays!

Sweet & Peppered Crab Legs

The original name of this dish from the Food Network magazine was called Spicy Peppered Crab Legs. Since these weren't really spicy & my 6yo boy even loved it, I wanted to give it a more fitting name. Now, let me get on to telling you how much I am in love with this dish.

For years I have been enjoying crab legs, whether out or at home, simply broiled then dipped into butter! So when I came across this recipe that prepared them in such a unique way I had to give it a try. My mom came over for dinner while Dad was away golfing with the boys & since she loves crab legs but doesn't have the patience to crack them, I knew these would be perfect.

My mom & I loved these!!! To top off my excitement of the success, Tristan ended up enjoying quite a few pieces of crab meat that I had picked off & handed to him without the sauce.

This is simply a MUST try. With a little Asian influence, the sauce is just perfect without overpowering & taking away from the sweet subtlety of the crab meat.

SWEET & PEPPERED CRAB LEGS

{ Printable Recipe Here }

3 pounds Alaskan king or snow crab legs, thawed if frozen
Freshly ground pepper
2 tblsp vegetable oil
1 stick unsalted butter, cubed
6 cloves garlic, chopped
10 thin slices peeled ginger
8 scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 red or green jalapeno peppers, seeded & finely chopped
2 tsp sugar
2 tblsp oyster sauce
2 tblsp soy sauce
White rice, for serving

Pull a leg off the cluster (1). You will see it has 2 joints (2 & 3), one on each side. I like to remove these knobby little ends because the meat sticks to them when you crack open the leg. Also, break the claw (4) off then pull the pointy thing (5) out of the claw & discard.

You are now left with a thick leg, a claw & a skinnier leg. Depending on the size of the thick leg you can break it in half or just leave whole. You want 3-4 inch pieces. The skinny little leg doesn’t have much meat in it but just save them & add to the pot. Now, cut along the shell on each piece so the meat can easily be removed after cooking.

Place the remaining ingredients by the stove. Toast 2 tablespoons pepper in a small skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes; remove from the heat. Heat the vegetable oil & butter in a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium-high heat until sizzling. Add the garlic, ginger, scallions & jalapenos; sprinkle with the sugar & cook, stirring, until the mixture is fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the crab pieces, oyster sauce & soy sauce.

Cook, tossing, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Scatter the toasted pepper on top & continue to cook, tossing, about 1 more minute. Transfer the crab & sauce to a bowl. Serve with rice.

{ Food for Thought }

First things first, this was not spicy. My 6yo even ate the meat with no problem.

I usually use the thinner snow crab legs since I find them easier to handle without all the sharp points that king crab has. Also, 4lbs = 9 clusters = 3 hungry people was a perfect equation. While I always pick from parts of the cluster when just serving crab legs with butter I didn’t use the clusters for this recipe nor did it call for it. It's up to you. Some people tend to say the clusters are fishy.

I was running late for this weeknight meal so I just used ground ginger & it was more than OK!

{ Linking Deliciously to Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays }