For Stu Dudley
 

Hi, Stu!

Just thought I'd let you know that we got wonderful prices yesterday at our local 99 Ranch Market for seafood:

1. $2.98 for live crab

2. $6.99 for live lobster

3. $7.99 for live shrimp (that usually goes for $13-17 a lb)

(Don't forget the cooler!)

Wow - that's a great price for crab. I obtained some at Marina market (Asian) & I think they were $4.50/lb - and very small. I took a cooler there so my car survived OK.

Great lobster price too (HUGE lobster catch in Maine this year).

Thanks - I'll load up in the comming week - wife is down for the count with shoulder surgury and can't clean up after dinner (I do the cooking). Crab & boiled lobster are perfect for not "trashing out" the kitchen.

Stu Dudley

Stu: the easiest (and tastiest, IMHO) way to cook crab and lobster is to steam them.

Get one of those Chinese steamers at 99 Ranch, the metal ones, not the bamboo ones. You should be able to fit two crabs (with their legs tucked in) in one layer of the steamer - that's the size to get for a family of two. There are larger steamers but you probably don't want those.

I fit the crab on the steamer layer and steam the crabs over boiling water for five minutes (i.e., until they're dead). Then take them out and give them a good scrub with a stiff brush. It's impossible to properly clean them when they are alive and there is so much gunk nowadays (I remember when crabs were clean - imagine that!), especially between the legs, on the back, and the underside of the shell where it's "furry". Then I return them to the steamer and steam for another 20 minutes or so. Serve with drawn butter. So yummy!

Oh, remember to make them hold each crab up to see that it's alive. Sometimes they'll try to sneak a dead one in.

When I purchased crabs at 99 Ranch, they steamed them for me. They put them in an oven with water already at boiling point. At the Marina Market, they boiled the crabs in water. I'm pretty sure that they are boiled at Mollie Stones, Dreagers, Whole Foods, etc. 99 Ranch is the only place where I've seen them not boiled in salted water.

Stu Dudley

Hi, Stu!

It's just my personal preference, but we never boil seafood if we can help it.

If I want beef soup, I'd boil beef to get beef flavor into the water. Same for seafood. Boiling the seafood leaches the flavor out of the food and into the water.

How did the 99 Ranch crabs taste? Maybe I'll have them steam one just to try...

Except for Lobster, I rarely boil seafood either. Usually, if I boil seafood it's to make a stock, which I'll use for a sauce.

One exception is Coquilles St Jacques a la Lyonnaise, where I'll get about a pound of bay scallops, chop them up, make a stock, then give the cooked scallops to my cat for dinner. Then I'll gently poach sea scallops in the stock for about 4-5 mins, remove the scallops, and then complete the sauce using the stock the sea scallops were poached in. If you poach/boil scallops too long, they turn into rubber.

Another exception is salmon poached in Champagne, and then I'll make a sauce with the poaching liquid.

I never boil shrimp or any fish - except the salmon.

We steam all our vegetables too - we never boil them.

Stu Dudley

Stu, you sound like a wonderful cook!

Agree that scallops can't be overcooked, nor shrimp.

I usually save the shrimp/lobster/other shells and boil those for a bisque/broth.

Vegetables - just depends. A lot is stirfried, but some - like asparagus - are cooked in a very shallow amount of boiling salted water, almost like blanching, then plunged into ice water to stop the cooking and retain the nice green color. Drain, then sprinkle with S&P and lemon/garlic-flavored olive oil.

We use very little salt. Sometimes the steamed vegetables are eaten as is with no flavoring whatsoever.

BTW: my best to your wife on her surgery and recovery. She's a lovely lady.

Now I'm hungry.... :-)

Lee Ann

>>I usually save the shrimp/lobster/other shells and boil those for a bisque/broth.<<

Yep - me too. I have a fabulous recipe for Lobster Bisque from Gary Danko - no cream - just lobster flavor & fish stock as a base. I think I may enjoy the bisque more than the actual lobster meat.

Stu Dudley

Lee Ann: Hope you can make it out to that "seafood" place in New Mexico to satisfy any seafood craving you may have. :)

Stu: Gary Danko? Now we know you are truly a gourmet cook! ((y))

Got two crabs from 99 Ranch this morning - cooked. $2.99/lb. About 4 1/2 lbs total - quite a deal. They didn't have any lobster.

Thanks for the tip, Easy

Stu Dudley

Salmon in Champagne-oh, yes!

Stu: You're quite welcome! how were the crabs?

How does one do salmon in champagne? I eat a lot of wild salmon (good source for calcium) and so am always interested in new recipes. Care to share a recipe?

Whole Poached Salmon in Champagne Sauce
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

The Mushrooms
½ lb button mushrooms
½ cup water for poaching
½ tsp salt
1 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs sweet butter

The Salmon
4 Tbs sweet butter
2 carrots finely diced
1 onion finely diced
1 celery stalk finely sliced
3 shallots finely chopped
Salt & freshly ground white pepper
1 large bouquet garni
3 cups dry Champagne
1…. 3 to 4 pound whole salmon, cleaned with head left on.
I have a fish poacher, but I suppose you could use a salmon “portion” to fit any large pan that you have

The Sauce
4 egg yolks
1 Tbs cornstarch

Optional
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 to 2 Tbs lemon juice
2 to 4 Tbs sweet butter

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350

Combine the cleaned mushrooms with the water, salt, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Add the 2 Tbs of butter & poach the mushrooms over low heat until tender (about 5 mins). Reserve them in their liquid while preparing the fish.

In a large flameproof oval baking dish (or fish poacher), melt the 4 Tbs butter. Add the vegetables, onion, and shallots and cook them over low heat for 5 mins without browning.

Season the fish with salt & pepper. Place it on the bed of vegetables, add the bouquet garni, and pour the Champagne around it. Cover the dish with buttered wax paper and place it in the oven.

Cook the fish for 35 minutes or until it flakes easily when tested with a fork. Remove it carefully to a platter and keep warm.

Strain the cooking liquid into a saucepan and reduce it over high heat to 1 cup.

Mix the egg yolks and cornstarch in the top of a double boiler, placed over medium heat. Add the reduced bouillon slowly and whisk the sauce until it heavily coats a spoon. Be sure not to let the sauce come to a boil or it will curdle. If the sauce is too thick, thin it out with heavy cream and lemon juice. The sauce should have the consistency of thin mayonnaise.

Off heat, whisk the sweet butter into the sauce.

Cut up the fish into desired portions, plate it, and pour the sauce over the fish. Surround the fish with well-drained mushrooms & serve.

From The Seasonal Kitchen by Perla Meyers

Stu: merci mille fois!

Will try this recipe soon!

Thanks again! Sounds delicious! :)