Crab.

I am so excited to talk about the crab legs we ate last night! Oh my goodness, they were amazing! 

On our weekly grocery shop last week we came across Alaskan King Crab legs and Lobster tails, obviously out there to entice you into cooking a glorious New Year's Eve dinner! We 'umm-ed' and 'ah-ed' about it a bit as they were pricey, but when you compare it to the cost of eating it in a restuarant you are way ahead. I forgot to weigh the crab legs but it must have been about 1lb per claw and there were 3 claws, for $26. I reckon you would get less meat than what was in one claw for a dinner that costs over $26, easily! We were sold! A major treat, and it turned out to be an incredibly easy meal to fix. 

Most frozen crab is already cooked, it gets cooked almost as soon as it hits the ship's decks and then frozen, so as to be as fresh as possible. Your job is to thaw it in the fridge over night and heat it back up without over doing it. There is a lot of information on line to help with this, but 4-6mins steamed, or 6-8mins at 450degrees is a rough guideline, not much to do at all. As usual, I took the easiest and least dish washing route which meant putting the claws on a lined baking tray so that I just had to throw out the foil lining afterwards, instead of washing a huge pot with bits of crab stuck to it! Although this time my foil did rip from the rough shell, so there was a little washing to do but still way less that the other option. If the legs move at all the joints then it is thawed properly, and I ran them under hot water to wash away any remaining ice pieces still clinging to the shell. On the tray, drizzle olive oil and lemon juice over them and some salt and pepper. Then into the oven they go! You want everything else to be almost ready at this point so you can eat it straight away. (The asparagus will cook in the same amount of time as the crab, but have the squash ready and the salad just needing to be dressed - read on).

With the glorious crab I served some spaghetti squash, steamed asparagus and a simple salad of mixed leaves, sun dried tomatoes and parmesan shavings with a lemon and olive oil dressing. I felt that going with fresh, crisp vegetables the meal wouldn't be as heavy as if we had a huge carb. serving along side! That, and the knowledge of how much butter we would consume! The squash would be some good carb. for the meal without the need for a huge potato for example. With asparagus, you want to snap the ends off, it will break at the right place all on it's own if you hold it a little ways down from the asparagus tip in one hand and at the stem end with the other hand. Then bend it. The tough or dry part will break off in your hand and you eat whatever stays in the 'asparagus tip holding' hand. I have not made that sound as simple as it is, try it, you'll see. I like to cook them in a frying pan, with a tiny amount of water, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan, then I let it start to boil and it's pretty much done. You can put a lid over it to get it boiling faster too. Remove the water immediately or the asparagus will keep cooking, you also want to be eating it straight away too or it will keep cooking, or put cold water on it to stop it cooking but eat it cold. I like it hot. And it was very good dipped in the garlic, pepper butter that was meant for the crab!

The crab shells had been partially cut so our job of getting to the meat was very simple, we don't have any fancy shell fish eating tools, but prying with a fork and using a kebab stick to reach any stubborn bits of meat worked just fine for us! It worked perfectly, alternating between a mouthful of sweet crab meat dipped in butter (which you need to melt before hand so it is liquid) and then a bite of fresh asparagus or crisp salad! Wow! We just loved this meal, we couldn't stop discussing how amazing it was and how worth it it was and how we would do it all over again if we could! I love eating amazing food at home and having it cooked perfectly and knowing it is way, way cheaper than if you had gone out. You must try this at home next time you see some big crab claws and feel that the price or time is right! If you are a crab lover, you are drooling right now and don't need me to tell you that! 

P.S. Do not try and watch The Little Mermaid when hungry or you will be eyeing up Sebastian!