black chef
Senior Cook
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2006
- Messages
- 383
here's the deal... Mom made her famous crab stew last night, but she refuses to tell my father what's in it. now, she's cooked it a several times, but this time... something was VERY, VERY different.
when i walked into their home last night, i was like, "whew... what is THAT smell?" and i RAN into the kitchen. there i saw my Mom standing over the pot saying, "you're gonna like this."
the crab stew is really simple... you take boiled crabs and clean them leaving the shells on. i'm from louisiana, so you know what's next... THE HOLY TRINITY!! saute one onion, 2 stalks of celery, and one bell pepper until soft and immediately add in one cooking spoon of dry roux. add-in the crabs, add-in some water, and let it reduce. if you like it thicker, make a quick buerre manie (butter & flour) & add it in. it's quick, easy, and very tasty. one other thing... if you like, drop-in a few handfulls of lump crabmeat on-top.
but here's the secret... Mom sauteed the trinity in an olive oil & butter ghee mixture, and she used a store bought dry roux; i think it was kary's or some other brand. when i asked, she said, "uh... i don't know, it was just some dry roux from the cabinet." then, instead of water, she used seafood stock. she didn't want to tell me what she used because she knew i would tell him.
she was mad at my father for going to the casino without her last night, but he tried to make up for it by bringing home some GOOD boiled crabs. she made this crab stew to taste sooooo good that i caught myself DRINKING THE LEFTOVER GRAVY LIKE GATORADE!!!
ain't nothing like two parents who constantly try to out-cook each other... then, there's nothing funnier than when they get mad and keep their "secrets" from each other.
meanwhile, i'm smiling and DRINKING gravy!!!