[Sca-cooks] Drake's a food nazi - was Mastajhi Soup

[Craig Jones.]

>
>I assume Kiri and other East-Coast US-types can use blue crabs, which
>are very sweet, but somewhat smaller than the ones I think you're
>referring to. They do have a removable, dish-like carapace (Kiri,
>think Crab Imperial, medieval Chinese style), probably with each
>decent-sized one serving one. The only problem is that with blue
>crabs being smaller, the proportion of meat to shell is probably
>different, and it's probably just a little more difficult to pick
>that much meat out of just the claws and legs. Actually, the best
>meat probably is in the body section anyway... maybe this could be
>made with the meat of as many crabs as needed to provide one shell
>per serving, and then augment it with good-quality lump or backfin
>crabmeat. (People used to getting this in cans may not be aware of
>the availability of excellent-quality, fresh, refrigerated, shelled
>crabmeat, but it exists...)
>
>Adamantius

Thanks darling, I forgot that everyone's crabs are different (not a
peep outta you Lainie...).  I have contemplated getting the shells and
buying crabmeat in a can but I just can't do it.

For probably the same reason as my flatmate called me a "Food Nazi"
last night. My response: "Nein!"

I mean we'd all explode if we were watching Ainsley Herriot on the
telly and watched him take Atlantic Salmon, cold smoked and then hot
smoked over oak logs, fry it and mash it with cream cheese and add
other unmentionables such as mayo and schlep the mess onto a well
toasted bagel.

I on the other hand would have lightly toasted the bagel (very
lightly), spread a thin layer of creme fraiche on each, some thin
slices of salmon in the middle, some dill and cracked black pepper and
maybe a couple of caperberries...   If the salmon wasn't hot smoked, I
would have made gravlax with it...

Of course, I ranted to the telly for a good 10 minutes.  That's not an
over-reaction, right?

Sheesh,  I don't understand how some cooks take prime ingredients and
create convoluted creations that don't let the ingredients sing their
praises...

Drake.