Crabby Patties

Life is simple. It is our expectations that seem to complicate everything.

For dinner all you need is the right bottle of white or rose, summer, crab cakes and chipotle mayonnaise.

For each pound of crab you will need:
one egg
1 tsp seafood seasoning
two tablespoons mayo
two tablespoons sour cream
1/3 cup bread crumbs
half a bell pepper (red, orange or yellow, they're so much more festive than pedestrian green)
Minced chives (optional, adds a nifty bit of color)
season responsibly.

Mince your bell pepper and sautee in a tablespoon of butter until soft.  Cool.
Mix all of the above ingredients together.  Form into manageable patties, about  a tablespoon or saute, and
saute briefly until browned on both sides.  Serve on a bed of arugula.  If you don't like chipotle mayo blend some wasabi into a tablespoon of mayo and sour cream.  Kapow! 

Tanked Ogre

Who can imagine that something dealing with "split-strike leveraging" could be so compelling, and ultimately a page-turner?

A flim flam man people simply wanted to believe.
I've worked with one or two people like that, haven't you?

No recommended menu here, only a confirmation of my own biases, on business self-interest.

"Life's exactly as it looks
Love may triumph in the books
Not here"

---Song of Ogres
         W H Auden

Why not a frittata?

One hungry morning  I found leftover string beans from the dinner the evening before.  What to do, what to do?  Marcela Hazan, to the rescue.

Crack and mix four eggs.  Add salt, half a cup of grated parmesan cheese, a cup or so of chopped string beans (or asparagus, or cooked artichoke hearts). Add a tablespoon or so of butter to your ten inch skillet. Heat on medium. Once the butter foams pour in your mixture, even it out, if need be, and turn the heat to low, low, low.  Your frittata will cook from the bottom up, 10-15 minutes.  The top will be runny, so, slip it under the broiler for 15-30 seconds, until set. 

Slip onto a serving dish, garnish with a chiffonade of basil (I just enjoy that word, it doesn't mean chopped, exactly, more like in strips) and a side of sliced tomatoes from your garden. Or Trader Joe's.

What? You don't have a broiler?  Try flipping your frittata, like a pancake.  If you succeed, you're a better and braver cook than I.  Or, you could run out and buy this nifty gadget.

A pickled garnish

Picking up my Diana Kennedy I came across such a simple recipe.

Finely slice one pound of red onions.
Place them in a mixing bowl.
Add one half cup fresh lime juice,
one and a half teaspoons sea salt.

Macerate for two hours before sprinkling on grilled fish or meat everywhere.
Or add to your media noches.  Or pulled pork sandwiches.
It's crisp, tangy, and not at all as oniony strong as you might expect.

Keeps in a sealed container for at least a week, and I find the bright pink hue particularly beguiling.