Curry Crabs

I’m back! Thank you for waiting patiently. After being hacked again I did not want to go through the trouble of putting my site back up for it to get hacked a third time. Hopefully this is it!

Even though work is demanding, and baby is demanding, and my house is a mess…I still get chances to cook. To close out the summer (What? I know, its fall) I was stuck with almost half a bushel of cooked blue crabs. I used it as a chance to work on my cookbook (based off my maman’s recipes).

What. Haven’t heard about that thing in awhile right? Well now that I actually have a child, it’s even more important to keep that kitchen legacy alive. Before I was writing it for my future children.. and here I am 4 years later with one. Oh wow. It’s been 4 years since I started and I still have made 0 progress. Okay that’s a lie, I’ve got a few recipes written. Lao food is complicated and takes me awhile to write and test over and over!

Would any of you be interested in being my help kitchen? I would email you the recipes I’m working on, and you tell me if you can understand how its written, and if the directions make sense? Leave a comment or email me! miemo {at} miemonster {dot} net!

Posted on September 29, 2015 by miemo 0

Crabby Cravings

I am addicted. Maybe because I haven’t had crawfish ALL year. It’s just a lot of effort to do at home when you live in a condo. But every week, literally, every week, I’ve gone to Captain Pell’s and engorged myself on blue crabs. I always eat at least six. I know that sounds a little bit much. Especially because I’m pregnant. Mercury and all that jazz. But I looked it up. Crabs only live a couple of years anyway, that doesn’t give them enough time to build up mercury. So they are low on that scale.

So of the 4 times I’ve gone this last month, the price did go up. I guess because market price went up. But here’s the skinny. You can get a dozen medium steamed (male) crabs for $45 or ALL YOU CAN EAT for $45. I can’t really eat more than a dozen (if that, I usually share with whoever I end up going with) so the dozen is good for me. The husband is allergic to blue crab (poor guy) so he gets snow crab leg platter which he really enjoys. Their other dishes have been good too. Though I don’t usually have much room for them. The hush puppies are yummy and I love their fries.

We usually get the same server and HE’S GREAT. Even when they are busy, he tries his best to take care of you. But if you are going in for crabs, you plan to stay awhile so no worries if its busy. Crabs come out really fast!

Captain Pell’s
10195 Fairfax Blvd
Fairfax, VA 22030

Posted on May 6, 2015 by miemo 0

Crab Bisque

Another soup to keep you warm? Crab bisque. This is a pretty quick easy way to do it. Again there are no measurements. Because I am using condensed Campbells soup, the more milk the better or it will be way too salty!!!

Stir in the lump crabmeat and heat on medium until steaming, do not let it boil.

Add curry powder and black pepper to taste. Easy right? You gotta keep tasting and alternating milk and curry until you get it the way you like. If it tastes bad, that is your fault not mine! Once you get it steaming and the taste you like, enjoy! I like it with a little bit of toasted, buttered, garlicky bread.

Crab Bisque

Ingredients:
1 can (10.5oz) of Condensed tomato soup
1 can (10.5oz) of Cream of mushroom
Lump cooked crabmeat
Whole milk
Salt
Pepper
Curry Powder

Directions:
In a pot whisk together the tomato soup and cream of mushroom. Add one can of milk to start. Whisk until well mixed. Add crabmeat, make sure not to add to much. You want it to be a good amount of crab per bite, not too much, not too little. Stir till well mixed, turn on the heat to medium. Bring it to steaming, NEVER LET IT BOIL. Stir frequently so it doesn’t burn on the bottom. Once hot, taste it. And add black pepper, salt, and curry to taste. If its still too salty, add milk to make it creamy.

Posted on October 8, 2014 by miemo 0

Out & About

It’s been awhile since I’ve been out and about. So last Saturday I spent the day with my friend Tiffany and we had a whole day of food, people watching and catching up.

Our first stop was Hot & Juicy. She never been to a down and dirty seafood joint. Now that my older brother moved back to Louisiana 🙁 this will be my choice for crawfish when the season rolls around again. Since they were frozen, we opted for shrimp, po boys and crablegs.

After walking around in the cold, we decided to stop in for some tea and coffee at Sidamo on H Street. Super cute, tiny place known for it’s Ethiopian pour over coffee. Here we caught up. People watched, and made up stories about the characters we saw. Nothing interesting. But a very cozy time.

No trip to H street is complete without a stop into Dangerously Delicious Pies. I can’t believe I haven’t written about this place yet. If you find yourself near a location, stop in! They have both sweet and savory pies. This trip, I came home with Blueberry, Lemon Chess and Baltimore Bomb.

The night ended at Lyon Hall. One of my favorite spots for happy hour. I love their charcuterie and mussels. And we got exactly that, along with some rose. Perfect ending to our girly day of food!