Per Tricia~
Nana has done a valiant job in keeping our cooking up to date with the
FF schedule but she drew the line on the combination of crab and grapefruit.
Those who read our post last week learned that not only did I fail to pull
my weight on creating my own Cocoa Sablés...but I managed to consume
most of Nana's. Needless to say, I was happy to jump in and carry the FF
duty this week to relieve some guilt, even if I secretly had my doubts about
this unusual combo as well. Redemption was needed and redemption
was served up for both Dorie and I - with no leftovers !
In full disclosure, I did make another speed call to Nana from the grocery
store when I learned that the tin of jumbo crab meat was $29 a pound.
She gave me her blessing to buy the $3.50 imitation version located
next to it. I know, I know - but at least I am being honest. It was
understood that whatever the results, we would presume they would have
been that much better if I had forked over the difference for the
better quality product. I bought fresh flowers instead.......
Each ingredient in the salad is a food that we enjoy separately in my
house, including the much loved Tabasco sauce - but I can say with
100% certainty that I would not have thought to combine these elements.
I was even a bit concerned to offer up the "Dorie food" to my family this
week but as usual, Dorie was right and my guys loved the dish.
I actually can not think of a FFWD where I had less faith in a recipe going
over and my husband and younger son (the available taste testers this week)
sat and ate the entire dish. I could not believe it. And this was after my
sat and ate the entire dish. I could not believe it. And this was after my
husband commented "did you just add Tabasco to that stuff...."
(sometimes I feel like I am doing a cooking show when they know I am
preparing a FF recipe - at no other time does what I do in the kitchen
stop traffic so they can watch).
This was a fun and refreshing dish and at a minimum restored the
adventure of how fun new and usual recipes can be.
We had to taste it to believe it.
Thanks Dorie !
Great post! And, no worries on Nana taking a pass on this one. I was about to do the same because of the grapefruit.
ReplyDeleteI actually used shrimp because I was making this just for one person and that's what I had on hand. Worked well too. Your version s look lovely - glad you enjoyed. I'll be making this again!
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought $8.99 for 8 oz for lump crab meat was expensive! Wow! Your photos are lovely, Tricia. So glad you and your family enjoyed it. Nana - I was also reluctant about making this week's dish, but was pleasantly surprised at the combination of flavors.
ReplyDeleteOk - let's see if 3 x is a charm. (I am on blogger and still can't comment today...)
ReplyDeleteLooks great & I think Nana deserves a pass for her recent heroic efforts.
I love it when I'm expecting a recipe to fail and it utterly delights me. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI too had my doubts about combining grapefruit and crab...but learned that it works. And I also used the imitation crab and thought it was delicious! Your salad is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteMy picky eater liked this one as well. I felt a little weird about the grapefruit but I ended up thinking it was delicious! I love the pic with the flowers - very pretty!
ReplyDeleteso excited to try this - making it for lunch today - your looks great!
ReplyDeleteHoly Mother... $30 for crabmeat? I got mine at Costco (big surprise, huh) for about a third less. I love that you are able to keep a captive audience while working through the AMFT recipes.
ReplyDeleteWay to redeem yourself Tricia, looks like you did a great job. And gorgeous pictures this week too, how handy that those flowers are in the same color palette as your salad.
ReplyDeleteLike you I about had a heart attack when I saw the price of canned crab meat. I mean, I was prepared to fork over a bit of money for fresh crab, but for canned? Not so much. My solution was to use half crab and half crayfish, which still looked pretty, but seemed to lack a little of the flavor punch I was expecting. Oh well.
So happy that the salad went over well with you and all your tasters! I totally agree with the pricy lump crabmeat...for the wellbeing of my wallet, I went with shrimp. Love it! Such a spring salad with pretty fresh flowers to match. :)
ReplyDeleteHa! I had no faith in this recipe either, and I was pleasantly surprised. I had half a pound of crab meat in the freezer, so I used that. Somehow, it was easier to use the real stuff when I wasn't actually shelling out the dough specifically for this recipe. If I had to go to the store to buy crab meat, I probably would have come home with shrimp.
ReplyDeleteWow, $29 a pound! Crab is pretty expensive here too, but I wasn't going to waste $10 on a couple of tins of crab meat that tasted vile, so I sprung for a fresh (but euthanased) crab. Your sald looks wonderful - like you, I was pleasantly surprised by it.
ReplyDeleteTricia, I also was pleasantly surprised! This was a big hit with both my husband and myself. Loved the combo of veggies, grapefruit and crabmeat! Your presentation is so lovely…looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteDon't you love when you are pleasantly surprised? I also got my crabmeat at Costco for about half that, not as inexpensive as Adriana's Costco, but less than your grocer. In any case, I'm glad that you and your tasters enjoyed your refreshing salad!
ReplyDeleteWonderful post and lovely looking salad. I love the warm orange color in all of your pictures. And I wanted to thank you very much for the warm welcome to the FFwD group!
ReplyDeleteandrea@thekitchenlioness
Love your pictures, they just pop! Yeah, I was not very excited about the expensive for the crab, but I will have to try Costco or the imitation for next time because we really enjoyed the salad!
ReplyDeleteOh my, beautiful salad and post...that orange bell pepper is a work of art. It is so amazing how stunning Mother Nature is!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed this recipe and had fun with it.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos - I love the glass you served this in! Glad to know it still tasted great with imitation crab meat, I might try that next time.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Glad you enjoyed this. I'm hoping to do some catch up over the next week. How fun to have an audience when you cook - love it when you get interaction during the process.
ReplyDelete