Fab Crab

Before...

I am not normally a big crab eater. I love the taste, so am happy to use crab meat in recipes and munch on a soft shell crab sushi roll or crab cakes but for a full crab in it's shell I really have to be in the mood for the fuss. Recently when in the US, the Boiling Crab Restaurant came highly recommended, and a bunch of us from work decided to make the trip. The first highlight of the evening was when were picked up from our hotel, not in a Maxi-taxi that we'd ordered, but instead a stretch limo! Oh, the irony! Of all places to be arriving in a limo.....From the sublime to the ridiculous!

Crab in the bag!

After bibbing up with full frontal heavy duty bibs, the food started to arrive. At a restaurant called Boiling Crab, you have to of course have crab. We tried King Crab Claws and Dungeness Crab, as well as Shrimps (commonly known by us Aussies as King Prawns), Corn and Cajun Fries. Rather than plates, they arrive in large plastic bags full of delicious sauce drenched seafood. You dig into the plastic bag and just chuck the shells on the table. Sounds messy? It was!!! I am not shy of getting into a mess in the kitchen, or at the dining table, but this has to be the messiest meal I've ever enjoyed. And enjoy we did!

...After

My colleague, also a foodie, who regularly frequents this restaurant, had a sixth sense of how much to order so the piles of seafood that arrived at the table which seemed like we'd never get through ended up being the perfect quantity! We feasted until we were crabbed and prawned out, cracking open the shells and sucking the juicy flesh from claws! Fabulous crab in a fun place where I didn't mind the fuss!

Feaster Easter

Normally at Easter we seem to be entertaining overseas visitors. Typically we end up camping but this time, with an onslaught of many guests we decided to stay at home. This was the first Easter feast that we would prepare at home but we wanted to make sure we had an Aussie Outdoor BBQ feel. Knowing that it is expensive to get steak in the Philippines (that we learnt first hand from showing up at a mall steakhouse only to find that the price of a steak there was more than a meal at Kingsleys or Rockpool Bar and Grill in Sydney) we decided to do a traditional Aussie BBQ with steak and homemade snags.

As an over achiever in the kitchen though, I couldn't stop at that. We needed to showcase some other Aussie fare. We had a cracker of a kangaroo dish - sous vide style - which I replicated for the guests but with just taster forks of the tender meat, along with some prawns and seafood sauce. You can't get much more Aussie than that!

Of course dessert was pavlova - 2 in fact to feed 18- the largest table we have ever hosted. The Aussie Easter feast kicked the festivities off for a great fun weekend.

Toblerone Tipple

I was looking for a simple cocktail dessert to go with a Jamie's 30 Minute Meal I was preparing and went back to my (late) childhood to a dessert I remember my parents making.

It's a quick an easy recipe - perfect for the 30 minute meal concept and I've no idea where it came from, but I've suitably adapted it from the original!

This recipe does come with a warning. It's perfect for the boozy Sweet Adventures Blog Hop cocktail blog hop hosted by JJ from 84th&3rd and is inspired not only by my childhood, but my hubbie's recipe for the Toblerone creamy cocktail!


Toblerone Tipple - makes 6 low ball or large wine glasses

Ingredients

600ml thickened cream
250g mascarpone cheese
4 tablespoons honey
1 x 30ml measure of each of the following liqueurs:
Sabra (Israeli choc. orange liqueur, could substitute with Cointreau but not quite as good)
Kahlua
Baileys
Frangelico
24 Chocolate Chip cookies
Sprinkle of cocoa for serving

Whip the thickened cream until just before it forms stiff peaks;
Add the mascarpone and honey and whip a little more till just combined;
Mix the 4 liqueurs in a plate or shallow bowl;
Spoon a layer of cream on the bottom of each glass;
Dip 6 chocolate chip cookies in the liqueur mix and leave to soak for a few seconds;
Place one choc chip cookie in each glass;
Layer again alternating between cream and soaked cookies - I did 3 layers with 2 biscuits halved for each top layer, as the glass was wider at the top, but you can do 4 layers if you prefer;
If there is excess liqueur mix, drizzle this over the final layer of cookies;
End the layering process with a final layer of cream;
Cool in the fridge until ready to serve;
Just prior to serving sprinkle a little coooa over the top before digging in.

Fabulousness in 15 (and a bit)

Crispy Duck 

I'm back on my Jamie bandwagon. I received his 15 Minute Meals book for Christmas and we've already tried quite a few of the recipes. What I have loved is that, although it doesn't take me 15 minutes yet (and my hubbie, when I timed him, took 26 mins) is that he encourages multi-tasking. Whilst something is searing, instead of watching it, I'm blitzing, chopping, marinading so that no time is wasted and a complete dish reaches the table all at the same time.

Chicken with 6 Veg Ragu

I love the variety of proteins and the way that he prepares them sometimes is quite unusual. We've had the Crispy Duck which also includes tofu and is the first time my hubbie has been able to palate it. We've tried a few dishes with lentils and all of the meals have lots of different types of vegetables, salad that are great supplements to get the veggie count for the day up eg. he often uses radishes and sprouts - things that I wouldn't ordinarily put on a salad, but they fit really nicely with the dishes and make the dish extra healthy!

Finally, I love getting the most out of my beloved Kenwood Chef. I can make the dressings blitzing them in the little jars, slice the veg in the food processor and liquidise sauces all with the same machine!

I think the book was made for cooks like me - gadget lovers needing some speedy after work ideas, who enjoy preparing and eating fresh, healthy produce!