Cider Adobo

I haven't got a clue what to write about.

Some of you bop in here for the recipes. Others of you drop by to read the stories. Both can be easy. Both can be insurmountably hard. Today it's the story.

I keep an inventory of prepared recipes and photos that I pick and choose from. Sometimes a story reminds me of a meal, sometimes the meal jogs a story idea. Today, nothing. I have an ocean of photos, an encyclopedia's worth of recipes, an embarrassment of food, but "I got nothin'".

Maybe it's because of the long weekend. Maybe it's because of the heat. Maybe my brain is just empty.

That would explain the dull echoing sound.

So today I'm going to steal from the newspaper columnists. I'm going to write about nothing. It's the oldest trick in the book. Got nothing to write about? Write about nothing! No talk about Federer winning an epic match; no blithering about Palin quitting in mid-stream. Nothing.

Sigh, maybe the dog wants to go for another walk...

Sometimes cooking is like my brain: bereft of creative ideas. The easiest solution is to take something "normal" and add a different twist. That is the easy part - start fire, put meat on fire, turn over, eat. The twist, not so easy. Well, I scoured my cookbooks and print outs and found Cider Adobo. It fits today's conundrum of trying to make pate out of chopped liver. This sauce gives grilled meats a nice sweet-sour bite. Enjoy...

Cider Adobo

from Cowboy In The Kitchen by Grady Spears & Robb Walsh

3/4 cup red wine

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup apricot preserves

1/4 cup honey

2 TBSP packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon peeled & minced fresh ginger

1 scallion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Place all the ingredients in a large heavy pan and stir well to combine.

Place the pan over medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Pay attention, this sauce has a desire to boil over!

When boiling, reduce heat to medium and cook the adobo uncovered until it reduces by half; this will take approximately 20 - 25 minutes.

The sauce should have a syrupy consistency.

Serve with grilled meats, especially game (quail, duck, pheasant), pork and chicken.

Refrigerated, the adobo will keep for about 5 - 7 days.

See nothing to it. You can barely call it cooking - put stuff in pot, boil, don't let it boil over, reduce, cool eat. But in the end you've added another taste weapon to your arsenal.

OK crablings, time to go. Until next time, remember you can do it, you can cook.

Duck Fried Rice

Crabby Quiz:  What's white, more or less 50 years old, wears glasses and weighs an average of 250 pounds?

Give up?  Why, it's everyone in Section F at last Saturday's Eagles concert.

If you are "of an age", the Eagles wrote the soundtrack of your youth. Love 'em or hate' em, you can at least hum along to everything from "Desperado" and "Take It Easy" to "Tequila Sunrise" and "Hotel California". Going to a concert now is both a pleasant stroll down memory lane and a stark reminder that time waits for no fan or band.

Saturday night brought their "Long Road Out of Eden" tour to the Palace of Auburn Hills. Given that the average age of the group is 61, it seems that the road out of Eden might be considered going in the wrong direction.  Especially unnerving was the resemblance between Timothy B. Schmit and the Cryptkeeper.  Schmit wasn't alone.  Don Henley, either setting or following the lead of his fans, hadn't missed too many meals.  It had me thinking that "Heart of The Matter" referred to a chat with his cardiologist.  

There were other changes.  I understand that Time is a merciless force, so I wasn't too surprised by the occasional cane or wheelchair.  What did set me off though was the handful of scooters.  Here's a bit of Crabby advice, if you need a scooter to get around at an Eagles concert, stop eating for a while, your heart and joints will thank you.

Speaking of joints, there was no smoking at the concert.  Beer and mixed drinks were being sold in comically large plastic glasses, but I saw no grass or cocaine.  But that doesn't mean the show was drug-free; there was a guy in the Mens room making a killing dealing Cialis and Flomax.

But no one cared.  The show lasted 2 1/2 hours with a brief break.  We heard all the old songs and only had to suffer through a handful of the new ones. Recognizing that we hadn't come to learn new lyrics, the Eagles turned into one big sing-a-long. 

Leftovers.  Some of the best meals are leftovers.  In that vein, today we're going to make that Chinese restaurant stalwart, fried rice.   This meal really exists to clean out the fridge. This can be made with any leftover meat or tofu, but in honor of the richness of the Eagles legacy, I'm making it with some extra duck breast, enjoy...

Duck Fried Rice

by Crabby

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 TBSP butter

2 TBSP Peanut Oil

8 ounces mushrooms, chopped into large dice

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 red or orange pepper, small dice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon minced ginger 

Pinch of red pepper flakes

8 ounces (or so) of leftover duck (or other meat)

1/2 cup thawed frozen peas

3 cups cooked white rice

3 TBSP Soy sauce

1 TBSP Sesame Oil

In a non-stick pan, melt 1/2 TBSP of butter over medium-high heat.  When foaming add the lightly beaten eggs and a pinch of salt.  Lift the edges of the pan to help the uncooked egg run to the sides.  

Once set, transfer the egg to a cutting board and allow to cool.

In a large saute pan or wok, heat 2 TBSP of peanut oil over high heat.  When hot add the scallions and diced peppers, cook for 2 minutes.

Add the garlic, ginger  and red pepper flakes. Saute 1 minute.

Add the duck and thawed peas, saute 1 minute.

Add the rice, soy and sesame oil.  Saute for an additional 2 minutes.

Serve.

This is great comfort food.  The spiced up leftovers not only remind you of previous meals but also inspire you to think of new ways of looking at ingredients.  It's ridiculously easy and tasty.  CrabCake2 sees to it that fried rice never lasts more than one meal.

Well crablings,  I'm outta here for now, got to try and get the ringing out my ears.  Probably should have bought those official Eagles earplugs before the show.  Joe Walsh can still bring it.

Pate de Canard; Happy Birthday Crabby!!!

"Fifteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt."


Well crablings, it's our 1 year anniversary!!! One year, 132 posts, a ton of food, (more or less), and most all of us are a whole lot deeper in debt. We've made it through chicken, fish, beef, pasta, lamb, veal, desserts, a few appetizers, stock market crashes, deep recessions, financial bailouts and a near death Tomato Tree experience.

When I started this little food blog I had no real plans or goals for it, (except for total worldwide domination of the food writing industry). What started as daily 1's and 2's visiting has blossomed to hundreds per day. So what have I learned you might ask?

I've learned that I love to cook and I love to write. I've learned that you can't make a dime off this internet thing. I've learned that without moderated comments, every screwball out there will think they have free license to have a flame war on your site. I've learned I'm terrible at following up on comments posted and am equally lousy at consistently visiting my friends' sites. For those last two things I am truly sorry; I'll try and do better this year, though I won't promise much.

What about Crab Nation? Here are your top five most visited posts:

Baker's Edge Brownies
Beef Stroganoff
Baby Lava Cakes
Mojo Marinated Chicken
Viva La Revolucion Sweet and Spicy Shrimp

Crablings like their food a little sweet and with some heat, and they especially want some chocolate for dessert.

The future? The truth is I've considered dropping the site. The lack of feedback has me feeling like I'm shouting at the ocean. I know you're out there, I just can't hear you.

But then it was pointed out to me that I wasn't going to give up eating was I? And did I suddenly hate writing? Well, no. So, when in doubt, when you find yourself in a creative hole, do you stop digging? Hell no, you just dig faster!!!

Over the coming months, there'll be some changes made. The two biggest will be to the look of the page and the introduction of video. I'm not going to be eliminating the blog posts, just adding an occasional video to see if that grabs your attention. Of course that means I will be revealing Crabby's true identity. Be forewarned, though SSSal and Boonsta think I'm cute, I have always felt that I have a great face for radio. You may want to keep the kids and small pets away from the first videos.

What to have for our birthday celebration? What to have? What to have? I know!!! Something ludicrously complex and involved. You've had it very easy with me crablings; I've made a point of showing you how simple it is to make tasty inexpensive meals. Well for my birthday I want a blow-out. I want something involving cranes, trusses and pulleys. I want Pate.

SSSal makes a sensational Pate de Canard. This is not goose liver mousse, this is the ultimate meatloaf. It is involved, but in actuality it's harder to assemble than it is to cook. But if you're squeamish, if you're scared, just follow along.

"Fasten your seatbelts, everybody. It's going to be a bumpy night." Enjoy...


Pate De Canard
from Saveur Magazine, December 2008

2 duck breasts, trimmed of fat and skin,about 1 pound
3 cloves garlic
2 TBSP orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier
2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
9 bay leaves
1 pound boneless pork shoulder, chilled
3/4 pound fatback, (lard if you can't find any fatback)
1/4 pound chicken livers
2 eggs, beaten
1 TBSP chopped thyme leaves, plus 8 sprigs
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon paprika
4 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/3 cup shelled pistachio nuts
3 TBSP dried green peppercorns
12-15 slices bacon

Cut the duck breasts into 1/2 inch cubes.

Finely chop the garlic.

Transfer the duck cubes, garlic, orange liqueur, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 3 bay leaves to a small bowl. Stir to coat the duck. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to three days, the longer the better.

Chop the pork shoulder and fatback into 1/8"cubes. Mound the pork and fatback into separate piles and continue chopping with your chef's knife. Transfer the pork and fat to separate bowls and refrigerate to chill.

While the pork and fat are cooling, using a food processor, finely chop the remaining garlic. Scrape down the sides and add the chicken livers. Pulse until they are pureed.

Add the pork and fat back from the refrigerator. Working in short pulses, process the mixture until it takes on the consistency of coarse hamburger meat. Transfer to a large bowl.

Add the eggs, chopped thyme, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, paprika and salt to the pork-liver mixture. Mix the ingredients together using your hands until well combined.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 day and preferably 3 days. The longer the better.

When you're ready to assemble, transfer the duck mixture, including any juices, to the bowl containing the pork-liver mixture. Remove the bay leaves. Gently fold the duck into the meat along with the pistachios and peppercorns. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Line the bottom of a 1 1/2 quart terrine pan, (or a loaf pan will do), with 4 evenly spaced thyme sprigs and 3 bay leaves. Place the bacon strips horizontally (the short way) across the bottom of the pan, covering the herbs.

Spoon the duck-pork-liver-fat mixture atop the bacon strips and gently smooth with the back of a spoon. Lay 4 strips of bacon lengthwise, (the long way) across the top of the pate.

Cover the top of the pate with two sheets of aluminum foil and crimp to the side of the pan to form a tight seal.

Boil a pot of water.

Transfer the terrine pan to a 9x13 baking dish. Transfer the baking dish to the middle rack of the pre-heated oven. Carefully, pour in enough of the boiling water to reach 1/2" up the side of the terrine pan.

Bake the pate until an instant read thermometer inserted into the middle of the terrine registers a temperature of 158 degrees, about 2 hours.

Transfer the baking dish to a cooling rack, do not remove from the water bath, remove the foil. Cut two rectangles of cardboard to exactly fit inside the terrine pan. Wrap both pieces of cardboard in aluminum foil and place them over the pate.

Place three 15 ounce soup cans atop the cardboard. Allow the terrine to sit in the water bath for an additional hour.

After an hour, remove the terrine pan from the water bath and transfer the pan to a refrigerator. Chill for at least 1 day and up to 4 days, (you guessed it, the longer the better).


To serve, remove the soup cans and foil, slide a knife around the edge of the pate. Place a serving platter atop the terrine pan and, firmly holding the terrine pan to the platter, very quickly flip the the mold over. The pate should slide easily out of the terrine mold.

Cut into 3/4" slices and serve with baguette, Dijon mustard, cornichons, maybe a little macerated onion and a killer glass of champagne.


Well, well, well. I warned you crablings; I told you it would be involved. But you only have a birthday once a year so go whole hog, (or in this case, hog, chicken and duck). If not consumed right away, this concoction with last for a week.

Interestingly enough, except for the duck, this is a very inexpensive dish, and a pound of duck isn't going to break you either. It is labor intensive and needs at least a week of planning and fussing, but it's the best "meatloaf" you'll ever have.

Well, I'm off. Happy birthday to all of you and remember, until next time, you can do it, you can cook.

Now where did I leave the rest of that bottle of champagne?


Oh, I also noticed that you don't much care for the quizzes, well tough, I like 'em. Today there are two quotes in the body of the post, "Fifteen tons..." and "Fasten your seatbelts..."

Who said them?

Duck, Shrimp & Andouille Gumbo; It's the Super Bowl!

"Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Fillet of fenny snake,
In the cauldron, boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog..."

--- Macbeth, Act IV, Scene I


Fenny snake? Eye of newt, toe of frog? Wool of bat, tongue of dog? What is this? Has Anthony Bourdain gone back to eating in Cambodia?

Fenny snake? Do you have any idea how hard it is to fillet fenny snake?

Look, I know the Super Bowl is this Sunday. I know you are all looking for that magic potion that will hypnotize your guests. I also know you're now pulling out your hair wondering why you agreed to have the party at your house. But fear not, Crabby's here!

Then again, I do have some bad news. I don't do chili! It all tastes the same and, short of adding mouth incinerating amounts of hot peppers, it's always forgettable...until the next morning.

Nope, today you're going to have to work. This recipe is involved. This recipe requires intricate planning. Success with this recipe comes from having your "place mis'd". Today we're going to make a quick gumbo. There's plenty you can do ahead. You can make much of it a few hours before the game and finish it when your guests arrive.

This meal is not for the faint of heart. But I know you can do it. We've been together for nearly a year and I have taught you well. It's the Super Bowl, it's time to bring your "A" game. So crack out the pots and pans, sharpen the knives and enjoy...


Duck, Shrimp & Andouille Gumbo
from Cooking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America
Supersized by Crabby

makes 12 -14 servings


4 TBSP butter
3/4 cup flour
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 TBSP tomato paste
1/4 cup white wine
48 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup tomato puree (or crushed tomatoes)
1 ham hock
3/4 pound andouille sausage, removed from casing
4 skinless duck breasts
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 pound raw, peeled & deveined shrimp
3 plum tomatoes seeded & diced (or 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes)
Hot Sauce to taste


In a large pot or Dutch oven (Le Crueset), bring the chicken broth to a simmer.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When fully melted add the flour, stirring constantly. Cook the roux until it turns a medium to dark brown, about 8 - 10 minutes. Set aside, roux can be made first, but kept warm on your lowest possible stove setting while you prepare the rest of the gumbo.

In a large heavy duty pan, over medium-high heat, heat the vegetable oil and saute the onions, celery and bell pepper. Cook until the vegetables are just golden brown, about 10 -12 minutes.

Add garlic to the veg and cook 2 minutes more.

Add tomato paste and, stirring constantly, cook the mixture until it takes on a rich red/brown color, about 4 minutes.

Deglaze the pan by adding the white wine. Scrape up any brown bits.

Now, whisk the roux into the simmering chicken broth. Whisk vigorously to break up any lumps that may form. Add the vegetable mixture to the broth. Add the tomato puree and the ham hock & simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.

While the stock mixture is simmering, heat a large saute pan over medium high heat and add the andouille sausage. Saute until cooked through, about 4 - 5 minutes. Keeping the fat from the sausage in the pan, add the andouille to the gumbo base.

Reheat the andouille fat and add the duck breasts, seasoning each with salt & pepper. Saute the duck until just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side.

Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the duck to a cutting board. Quickly dice the duck breasts into bite size chunks and add to the gumbo base. Don't worry if the duck appears underdone, it will finish cooking while simmering in the gumbo base.

Reheat the saute pan over high heat. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and add to the hot pan. Saute until just done, approximately 1 - 3 minutes depending on the size of the shrimp used. Add to the gumbo base along with the diced tomatoes. Add the hot sauce or serve on the side.

Simmer all until heated through. Serve over white rice with plenty of beer. Watch the game.


Whew. I know crablings, I know. But have the base ready late in the afternoon and then cook off the duck and shrimp at the last minute. But I promise you, this recipe beats the pants off of an ordinary chili. You can do it, you can cook!

Mighty Duck

Before Paris and Nicole, before Britney and Lindsey, there was the Brat Pack. The Brat Pack was a group of young actors from the '80's including, Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez. All of whom except for Sheen appeared in the movie "St. Elmo's Fire". This truly vapid waste of celluloid depicted the lives of six college friends as they started to make their ways in the real world. All suffer the tediously predictable problems that come from having to become an adult. Think of the movie as "Friends" without the laughs, haircuts or $5000/month Manhattan apartment.

Like Par-Nic-Brit-Lin, the Brat Pack's personal lives were tabloid fodder. Estevez's initially perhaps the most interesting, he was engaged to Demi Moore and in 1992 married Paula Abdul (Yep Idol's own Paula, I would love to have seen that gift registry).

In 1984 Estevez would play Otto in the cult classic film, "Repo Man". One of the scenes in "Repo Man" is when a group of street punks rob a convenience store. As the robbery goes bad, one of the thugs lies dying in a pile of cans labeled "Food". No description of what's inside, just black and white labels proclaiming "Food".

Food was boring. Food was generic. Food that wasn't fast seemed excessively complex, fussy and even exotic. Gourmets ate the parts of animals most people threw away (pate, sweetbreads) or ate weird things like sushi, risotto or duck. Thankfully, as people got wealthier and the world got more "globalized" (huh?), people started to get more adventurous with eating.

Today crablings we're making duck legs. I don't want any whining or squeamishness. A duck is nothing but a chicken with a better publicist. This recipe appeared in the Sunday New York Times Magazine (1/27/08). It is ludicrously easy, so no excuses. Ideally you'd make this meal in a dutch oven, like the Le Creuset I pimped in an earlier post, but a big, oven-safe pot will do the job.


Duck Legs Braised With Red Wine and Lime


4 duck legs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 medium yellow onions, peeled and sliced
Grated zest of 2 limes
2 tsp minced serrano or jalapeno chili or large pinch red chili pepper flakes
1 cup red wine
2 tsp lime juice, more as needed
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro


1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 C). Season the duck with salt and pepper. Place the dutch oven pot over medium-high heat, and add the oil. When hot, add the duck, skin side down, and cook until golden brown (approx 2 minutes, but take a peek and make sure they don't need a little more time). Transfer to a plate.





2. Turn the heat to medium-low, add the onions and a little salt and cook covered, stirring occasionally, until they are softened, about 15 minutes. Stir in the lime zest and serrano chili (or pepper flakes). Add the red wine, ½ cup of water and a pinch of salt. Nestle the duck legs, skin side up, on top of the onions. Bring to a boil, and then cover, place in the oven and cook until the duck is tender but still toothsome, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

3. Transfer the duck and 1/2 cup of the onions to a plate; cover to keep warm. Purée the remaining onions, the cooking liquid and lime juice in a blender (or if you have one, use a stick blender and puree right in the pot). Adjust to taste with salt and lime juice. Stir in half of the cilantro.

4. Mound the reserved onions in the centers of 4 plates. Put a duck leg on top of each, and pour the sauce around the duck. Sprinkle the remaining cilantro over each plate. Serve as a hearty appetizer. Serves 4 (as an appetizer or small dinner, add additional legs if you're serving bigger appetites for dinner).

Adapted from “Aroma,” by Mandy Aftel and Daniel Patterson.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Active Cooking Time: 15 minutes (lots of breaks for wine sipping while the onions are "sweating")
Passive Cooking Time 1 1/2 Hours (Plenty of time to work on the Times Crossword Puzzle)
Cleaning Up: Measly. One cutting board, a grater, a knife and the pot.

Tip 1: Peel off the duck skin before eating. It's soggy and doesn't add much to the meal.

Tip 2: Serve with rice pilaf or mashed potatoes (roasted garlic mashed would be best, you'll get that recipe another day).

Tip 3: Serve a Pinot Noir with dinner. WW Bob recommends: Mark West or Castle Rock from California at less than $15 each; A to Z or Erath from Oregon at $15 to $20; or a Jadot French Red Burgundy at about $40 for you big spenders.

Alright, I know I promised a WW Bob story for this post but that's going to have to wait. Post your questions and comments. Until then, just remember, you can do it, you can cook.


P.S. Don't rent "Repo Man", it's crap.