Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Ben and Jerry Stew...

I'm not sure about everyone else's parents, but when mine come over to our house, they always bring food.  The 'rents come over quite often, as my Dad is a contractor and he's currently working on my neighbor's house.  The food they bring sometimes make me think I'm charging a cover fee to get into our house.  They bring anything from a premade dish to a bunch (just ONE bunch) of green onions.  And earlier this week, they brought these:

My mom cleaned these for me and they sat in my fridge, ready for me to cook them up after work.  They've been in my fridge for a couple of days and I was starting to get attached, so I forced myself to not name them (I would have named them Ben and Jerry because I craved ice cream right after work) and had to figure out a way to cook them somehow.  I'm not a huge fan of crab because they're a PAIN to eat.  I hate cracking the shells, getting my hands crab-juice-dirty, just so I can get a tiny morsel of stringy meat...so not satisfying.  That's why Chris breaks the shells for me and gather all the meat in a small little plate:
Lovely...eh?  

So...what do I do with all this buttery crab meat?
Well I had some canned tomatoes in my pantry...
I diced up some onions I already had in my fridge....
Peeled and diced up some potatoes....gotta love my starch!
Add water and other spices (Johnny Seasoning, oregano, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, red wine, red pepper flakes, clam juice is ideal but since I didn't have any..I used fish sauce) and let simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.
I cut up some salmon (Costco...hollah!!) into bite sized cubes...and set aside

What do I do while I wait for the stewing red pot?

I practiced shooting in low lighting but I had no subject, so I decided to shoot my little terra cotta soldier friend we got from our vacation trip to China.

Hmm...didn't do my soldier friend justice here.  I didn't focus right and his face was a little blurry.

Maybe an hour is too long to stew tonight.  I was bored...and this is what I do when I have nothing to shoot.  Right after this, I dropped the cubed salmon into the stew mixture and let simmer for five more minutes.  And then.....

VOILA!!! 

Ahhh...it was definitely worth the wait.  I gathered some crab meat (mooches to the hubby that shelled them) and piled it onto the top of my bowl.  And YUM!!  Salmon and Crab stew!  We have lots left over and it'll be much better tomorrow when the flavors finish marinating together in that pot.

Have a wonderful evening, everyone!  

15 comments:

  1. Oh, you are just like my dad, not liking crabs but didn't want to crack them because it is "not worth the effort". Chris is so sweet to do all the work for you.

    I really like the effect of the salmon picture. clear in the front and blurry in the back. Did you set the aperture to max and focus on the front of the salmon?

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  2. Is that a Le Creuset on your stove?! Because I HAVE THE EXACT SAME ONE. Same color and everything. Kuh. Razy.

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  3. Yum Cindi! I love crab like crazy...esp done chinese style :-) This stew looks delicious...now if only i could be bothered to peel and crack the crab meat.
    These photos are lovely and look like they've been taken by a professional - you're quite the budding photographer now!

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  4. Oh, that looks so good! I love a seafood stew. And this sounds so easy to put together. I may pick up some salmon this weekend and cook this up. I love your receipes that you've been posting!!!

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  5. I love crab too, YUM. That looks so warm and delicious!

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  6. Ha I thought you were making ice cream stew from the title of your post!

    This stew looks seriously delicious though. If I wasn't crazy intimidated by actually cooking seafood, I'd totally try it!

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  7. first off, i'm super jealous of your new camera! i have wanted a decent (non point and shoot) for a while. these photos are really great! you make the food look so appetizing in every shot. and now i must go raid my fridge and find something to eat. ;)

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  8. Inkmark - Yes, I did shoot with the f stop wide open and my ISO at probably 800 with my shutter speed on 100 due to some light bouncing back from the chopping board. Thank you for the compliment!!!

    Ami - HAHA...don't you just love the pot? Chris got it for me I think for Christmas back a couple of years ago. I've since collected a couple more Le Crueset items and I can't live without them!

    Jen - Aww you're so nice for saying that! I truly appreciate it. I know I've been shooting a lot of food but food is easy because it doesn't move!!! haha. Stay tuned for more to come of real subjects!

    Pamela - Yum! Just make sure you have some clam juice on hand. It's the key ingredient. I didn't have any and used fish sauce which turned out pretty good but I wished I had the clam juice though.

    Jan - Yes, it was quite warm and I was sure sweating when I was finished. Haha.

    Kathleen - Seafood is pretty intimidating isn't it? Because it's so delicate and easy to overcook. A seafood stew is a good way to start because you just drop everything in right before you're ready to eat it and you won't overcook it!

    Aimee - I hesitated a bit before I made the purchase of this used camera but then I thought...wait...this is two dresses! I can totally forego not shopping for awhile and invest in a piece of equipment i'll use for years to come. And I'm so glad I did!

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  9. WOW! Chris is like the superest sweetest hubby to crack and shell all the crab for you. I loveeee crab, but I've never cooked with it, just cooked it and eat it outta the shell like at chinese restaurants :) My main beef with crab is that cooking it smellllllllls.

    Lorispeak

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  10. All of these food posts are making me 1) really hungry, 2) want to get off my butt and cook something other than frozen meals, and 3) want a new camera!

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  11. Oh my lordy ... I love real crab anything! That looks soooo delish, and your upgraded photography is making things better/worse for me! ;oP

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  12. The Salmon and Crab stew looks Yummo! I'm so glad that you incorporated the food posts to your blog. I had the same intention when I started my blog, but I have yet to start. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  13. Yum. That looks so good. I have to say though, I love it when my mom cooks crab. She has this vinegar, garlic, and sugar dip (don't judge it) that is delicious.

    I've never heard of it being cooked this way, but crab and salmon, what can go wrong?

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  14. Lori - Can I come over and take the smell away from you because, I may be weird, but I LOVE the smell of crab. Haha!

    Sara - Haha...so funny. You eat a lot of frozen meals? Sometimes fresh cooked food takes just a little more time but it's so much more satifying! And less sodium! :)

    Lisa - Thank you, Lisa! I was hoping I wasn't too in-your-face with the photos!

    Natasha - Aww...it's great to know that someone out there likes my cooking photos and recipes. I'm so glad to hear that because I know I've focused my blog on fashion a lot and I was afraid my regular followers would get bored! But I'm glad it doesn't seem that way.

    Aki - Is your mom Filipino? haha...because my husband's mom makes the same sauce for crab. And believe me, I LOVE IT!

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  15. Yumm-o! Your crab and salmon stew sounds delicious. How sweet that your parents always bring something when they come to visit. It's funny because my mom will always try to bring me stuff/send me home with stuff as well...the funniest part is that she makes fun of my grandma for doing the same thing (ie, grandma always tries to give my mom the freebies that she gets from the senior center!)...but my mom is exactly the same way!

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