Ciao Gourmet

Sadly, Gourmet Magazine is being cut from the Conde Nast publication roster. And while the magazine had become very ad-heavy in recent years and was trying a little too hard to be cool and hip for the young foodie set, it is still my preferred food magazine. It's the one I grew up with. My father has been subscribing to Gourmet since the 70s and it was a staple in my home as a child. When I first started cooking (save an adventure with the recipes from my first issue of Seventeen), I always referred to Gourmet. I also recently argued with my father about holding on to his stash of old Gourmets, if only for my own personal magazine collection. I most certainly hope he heeded my advice.

This will make Ruth Reichl's appearance with First Person Arts even more interesting, I say!

Crab Happy

Growing up with a chef for a dad meant I ate pretty well as a kid. Sure, some dinners consisted of mac and cheese from the blue box, but I think I ate more steamed artichokes and filet Mignon than the average 8 year old.

One of my more resonant childhood food memories was the time dad brought home soft shell crabs. I don't remember how he prepared them, but they were delicious, with a back story that was sad and fascinating, their rarity making them even more appealing. They have lived in my imagination as a singular food experience.

It's the start of soft shell season and I decided to resurrect that childhood moment. Mike, ever the willing food adventurer, was also down for some crab action. I would bring the soft shells; he would pick up some king crab legs.

I picked up four soft shells from Ippolito's, a seafood place a few blocks from my house. I had them clean the crabs for me, which basically entails gutting them, something I wasn't quite ready to take on myself. Mike went to two of the Asian supermarkets on Washington Ave. and neither had king crab, so he got a bunch of shrimp.

I arrived at Mike's house with no clue as to what I was going to do with my crabs. I knew I wanted them to be simple, not breaded or overwhelmed by too many flavors. I referred to Mike's Joy of Cooking for some guidelines. Their recipe was perfection: grilled crabs brushed with melted butter, garlic, salt and pepper. I added some fresh lemon juice to the mix.

Mike has some stellar Asian recipes and used one for his shrimp: cooked with a caramel sauce, served with rice and stir-fried lettuce. And since the grill was still blazing from the crabs, we threw some mango on there for dessert.

The stars of the evening, the crabs, were amazing... perfectly buttery and lemony and garlicky, with crunchy claws and soft, sweet meat. Lacking the tough exterior means soft shells absorb flavors, including the charcoal smokiness from grilling, really well. We had extra lemon butter and figured it could be a dipping sauce, but it went untouched; the crabs didn't need anything more. I could have cooked them a touch longer, slow cooking them on the periphery of the flame, but the claws were getting scorched and I was getting impatient.

Make these now. Soft shell crab season lasts through the summer, but I wouldn't wait till August. I would get them now. And invite me over when you do...









Soft Shell Crabs
adapted from The Joy of Cooking

4 soft shell crabs, cleaned
3 tbls. melted butter
1 garlic clove, minced
About half a lemon's worth of juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Fire up grill. Mix together the last four ingredients. Brush on crabs. Grill crabs for about 6 minutes on each side, keeping them off direct flame, till they are red on the outside.

(I will post Mike's recipes ASAP.)

Mushroom Gruyere Crostini

My dad is a chef and a very good one at that. Back in the day, he worked for the restaurant atop the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel and the Philadelphia Inquirer featured him and his recipes on a couple occasions. Maybe one of these days I'll explore my Elektra-influenced interest in cooking and the need for my father's approval. Today isn't that day. Instead, I'll share an appetizer I made when he visited this past weekend.

And no, I didn't take a bite out of the crostini at left... at least, I don't think so.

Mushroom Gruyere Crostini

Slices of Italian bread, brushed with olive oil, salt and pepper (half a loaf)
Butter
1 shallot, diced very small
About 6 or 7 baby bella mushrooms, also diced very small
Soy sauce
Red wine (I had an open bottle of Port on hand, so I used that)
Gruyere, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake slices of bread till crusty and golden, about 10-15 minutes.

Saute shallots in warm butter (I like to heat up butter with a bit of olive oil so it doesn't scorch.). Add mushrooms and a tablespoonish of soy sauce. Let the mushroom soak up the soy sauce (about 2-3 minutes). Add a couple tablespoons of the red wine. Cook till majority of liquid is soaked up, about 5 minutes.

Spoon the mushrooms and shallots atop the crostini. Sprinkle with Gruyere.

I cooked up a similar combination tonight for dinner, but as scrambled eggs. I basically did everything the same, except I omitted the wine and added an egg.

The last time I cooked for my father, I made this.