Sigh

As anyone who really knows me will tell you there's 3 things I love most intensely and that's Maureen O'Hara, bacon, and Maryland Blue Crabs. The bacon and the crabs I seem do alright on my own but if anyone can get me within 50 miles of Herself well I can be very generous with my gratitude.You know I was ecstatic when the last Quickfire popped up.

The chefs immediately start talking about live, energetic, anxious to get off the table crabs...which is good because you DO NOT want to cook dead crab. Actually any dead shellfish is unwise to cook and consume unless you enjoy projectile vomiting. So the protein is rocking for this Quickfire, how about the judge?

OK it's not Maureen O'Hara but for me, it's almost as good. The Inn at Little Washington is one of those Must Eat At places on your Culinary Bucket List. Happily I've already crossed it off but would be more than willing to help someone else with their list. The Inn is beautiful, the food exquisite and the total experience is well worth the price you'll pay. But will the contestants be able to crack the mystery of the crabs in enough time to impress Chef O'Connell? I'm having my doubts.

I don't know who this knucklehead is, totally crushing an entire live crab. I also doubt this idiot got any usable meat since he's now crushed the hard outer shell with the softer inner shell and organs with the sweet raw meat. What a stupid waste. Respect the Crab you putz. The one Maryland guy, Tim, seems to get he has a huge advantage at quickly picking the hard to get at meat into a large enough quantity to do something fun like.....oh a CRAB CAKE.

So did the crabs give up their angry pinchy lives in vain? By my count there were 5 crab salad type dishes and 4 and a 1/3 crab soup/broth/chowder type dishes. Kenny actually had 3 crab dishes, two of which were not a soup or salad. As far as I can tell not one damn chef even attempted to make a simple and elegant crab cake. How about a crab biscuit and gravy? How about stuffed crab? BAH! Here's the winner.

Ed's Jumbo Lump Crab with Thai Basil, Mango and Cucumber Salad

Looking at the recipe, there's a whole lot going on. I might try making it but I think I'd rather try Angelo's Blue Crab Broth Infused with Lemongrass and Ginger first. At least he had some Old Bay in his dish.

Now my only hope is that Top Chef Masters will satisfy my Blue Crab love by doing a Maryland Blue Crab Quickfire. Oh to dream the impossible dream.

Decadence

Growing up at the doorstep of the Chesapeake Bay gave me a deeply rooted love of seafood, the blue crab holding my heart in it's deep blue claws. Not far behind in the seafood love-fest was the shrimp. Quickly steamed in a special mixture of spices, a big pile of tender pink headless shrimp would tide us through the long gray winter months until spring and that first dozen crabs. But it wasn't until I had the head-on Salty Crispy Shrimp at my favorite dim sum joint that I realized there's a lot of flavor in those lovely shrimp heads.

I'm lucky enough to live in a city that boasts a large and varied immigrant population which translates into some amazing places to shop for all sorts of ingredients. One being big, beautiful heads-on shrimp. How best to showcase these beauties? The Culinary Godmother was consulted and a plan of action was set in place. Again, simplicity wins the day.

Deep fry the shrimp in some peanut oil, maybe 25 to 30 seconds a side but really until the shrimp just reach that pink shade of deliciousness. Quickly remove the shrimp from the oil and while they are still hot, sprinkle with your favorite spice seasoning. If you want you can shell your shrimp but I eat them shells and all. Make sure you suck the heads for all their tasty goodness. Simple prep, amazing, decadent goodness.Now...it wasn't all perfection. I did attempt to make from scratch lemony mayonnaise. Where's the picture of that you asked? When there's not a picture it can only mean one thing - FAIL. Yes my virginal attempt at mayo making was a disaster and a waste of good eggs, oil and lemons. I won't give up on successfully making from scratch mayo but just not while I've got those luscious shrimp waiting. Trust me if you can find shrimp with their heads, try them just once. You won't be sorry.

Time for a Little Slice of Cake

With Top Chef taking a break, it's time to give a little love to one of my other favorite foodie shows, Ace of Cakes.If you're not familiar with the show, it's a reality based program following the creative crew of Charm City Cakes. Duff Goldman, owner and mad scientist and his crew make cakes. A lot of cakes. Now there's a couple of reasons why I enjoy this program over the rest of the Food Networks stable of cooking show nags. 1) Duff, while not a native, has made Maryland and Baltimore his home. Which means you'll see cakes like this.You know I'm loving these. 2). They all love what they do and it's evident on the show and in the pride they take in their cakes. 3). They (all the staff) got to go to Hawaii and make a Lost Cake for the 100th episode of Lost. Not cook for some writers and producers like Top Chef Masters did but actually meet the actors and crew on the set.I know which one I'd rather do.

One of the recent episodes featured a dream gig for a Crabgirl like me. Making a cake to celebrate Old Bay's 70th Anniversary. If you're not familiar with Old Bay you can check out their history at their website. It's a seafood spice that is deeply woven into my DNA, delivered on many plates of steamed shrimp and bushels of hard shelled crabs. Duff and his crew get to visit the Old Bay factory,make a cake of the iconic Old Bay can,and deliver the cake to Camden Yards for an Baltimore Orioles baseball game.Duff also got to throw out the first pitch. I'm not putting up any picture of that. Let's just say some people make awesome cakes and some people can throw a baseball. It may be that some people can do both...Duff is not one of those people. He can make beautiful cakes and this one especially touched my crabby soft shell. If you enjoy watching people doing what they love with passion and humor, check out Ace of Cakes on the Food Network.

UPDATE: For all you Old Bay lovers out there, fun article from the Washington Post on the popularity of the spice mix and the people who love it on just about everything.