Country Chef Reader

Happy New Year!

Excerpt from Pork Chops & Applesauce:
A Collection of Recipes and Reflections

Crab meat is Costly, yet an Oh-So worth it Treat

“I’d never bought a live crab before.” Kathy told me. “The crabber instructed me on how to cook them and I felt especially adventurous that day. So, I bought 4 of the bug-eyed, pre-historic looking creatures at an unbelievable low price of $1 each. It sounded easy enough, just drop the crab into a pot of rapidly boiling water and simmer it until its shell turns red.”

“Have you ever had to chase a crab around your kitchen? Or worse yet, have you ever been chased around your own kitchen by a crab?” She asked. “Well, I discovered the hard way that a crab needs to be dropped into the boiling water on its back. When I dropped the first crab into the pot face down, it quickly climbed back up the side of the pot, landed on the floor and, clacking its pincers, chased me screaming across the kitchen to the safety of a nearby bedroom.” Kathy howled with laughter as she remembered the incident.

“When I finally got the nerve to leave the bedroom, I chased him around the kitchen, grabbed the partially scalded cantankerous crab and quickly dropped him into the pot…on his back. Victory was mine!” She gallantly announced. “Without doubt, it was well worth the skirmish to get fresh crab meat and at such a reasonable price,” she added. “However, I think that kind of market low price is gone forever!”

Inexpensive crab meat is a price of the past. No matter how you weigh the critter - crab is gonna cost you. But for crab meat lovers the following Crab Meat Pasta-Shell Soup is Oh-So worth it!

Crab Meat Pasta-Shell Soup
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup celery, diced
1-2 tablespoons margarine or butter
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup ripe tomato, peeled and crushed
1/4 cup tiny pasta shells
1 tablespoon parsley, snipped
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
6-8 ounces fresh crab meat or 2-6 ounce cans crab meat, drained
with cartilage and shells removed

In a large saucepan, saute onion, green bell pepper and celery in margarine until tender but not brown. Add broth, tomatoes, tiny pasta shells, parsley, salt and pepper; bring to boiling. Cover and reduce heat; simmer for 30 minutes. Add crab meat and simmer 5 minutes longer. Serve immediately. Yield: 6-8 servings

This recipe originates from the kitchen of Cheryl Burke, Kent, Washington. Cheryl shared this crab soup recipe with me many years ago when she and her husband, Dan, hosted their annual Kent Fire Fighters’ Christmas dinner. Since then I’ve been making it every holiday season for either Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve dinner. It makes a satisfying and delectable main dish when accompanied with a dinner salad, fresh sourdough bread and chilled white wine. Crab Meat Pasta-Shell Soup gets a double thumbs-up from me as it’s incredibly simple to prepare, yet it tastes gourmet!

More recipes and stories for warming up during chilly winter weather can be found in my book, Pork Chops & Applesauce; Pacific Beach Clam Chowder and
Southwest Meets Northwest White Chili along with their accompanying sure-cure stories for warming you from the inside out.

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Smoked Salmon Chowder is a warming comfort food that is satisfying on chilly days, yet promises summer with sprigs of dill weed and parsley. Creamy sour cream thickens the broth and compliments the smoked fish, creating a lunch or dinner that’s sure to please all seafaring seafood enthusiasts.

Smoked Salmon Chowder
2 cups smoked salmon, cut into chunks, (alder smoked is my favorite)
OR 2 cups baked or canned salmon plus ⅛ – ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup onions, chopped
½ cup celery, sliced
1 cup green pepper, chopped (optional)
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
½ - ¾ cup sour cream or cream cheese
1 tablespoon fresh or dried dill weed
2-3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste

Melt butter in medium saucepan; saute onion, celery, and green pepper. Stir in flour, slowly add broth and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until chowder reaches boiling point. Add sour cream, dill weed, black pepper and smoked salmon; heat 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly (do not boil). Garnish with parsley just before serving, season with salt at the table. Yield: 4-6 servings

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Of all sound of all bells... most solemn and touching is the peal which rings out the Old Year. ~Charles Lamb

Happy New Year!
C. Briggs

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Labels: crab, crab shell soup, crab soup, crabmeat, crabmeat soup, new year, salmon, salmon chowder, seafood, smoked salmon, smoked salmon chowder