Crab Louis (Page 156)

RECIPE #1140

• Date: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 -- 7pm
• Location: Berkeley, CA
• Kitchen: Our Temporary California Home
• Fellow Chef: Matty
• Recipe Rating: B+
  

I made this recipe as part of the All Seafood All The Time Plan. I started by making the dressing: I whisked together mayonnaise, chili sauce, scallions, green olives, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, salt, and pepper. My special gentleman then composed the salads by lining each salad plate with shredded iceberg lettuce, and topping with crab meat. He then sprinkled the crab meat with capers, and arranged tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and lemon wedges on the plate. We topped the salad with some of the dressing and served. This salad was pretty tasty. I loved the flavor of the dressing. It was tangy, and creamy, and flavorful. Yum! The combination of iceberg, crab, egg, and dressing worked very well, and the capers added a much appreciated burst of flavor. This dish was developed around 1915 in San Francisco, and indeed it did feel like it came from an era long past. There was nothing modern about it, and I am not sure how well-received it would be in general right now (e.g. perhaps it would go against some people's sensibilities to eat super-decadent, super-expensive crab meat on a bed of iceberg lettuce). My special gentleman and I both thought it was tasty though, and it was very quick to make.

The recipe is here.

Yesterday, with the moral support of good friends (Emilee, Brian, Sam, Ricky, my special gentleman, Eli, and Alp) I tackled my first lobster recipe from The Book. Sam summarized it best -- when he was prompted to touch the live lobster he said, "Mama, I'm too scared." He just turned two, but he knows what he is talking about. The experience was a little scary. But, lobster now conquered, I am feeling newly motivated not only to tackle the other 8 lobster recipes in The Book, but also to find some of the other more obscure seafood I still need. Today I made a list of all the seafood items that I need but have yet to locate in Berkeley (steamers, octopus, soft-shelled crab, king crab legs, crawfish, perch, shad roe, and gray sole). I also made a list of all the fish markets that I haven't been to yet. Tomorrow after work I am going to head out with both lists in hand and not return until I find at least one of the above items. I have about a month left in Berkeley, and if my calculations are correct I have 32 seafood recipes left to make (not counting all the salt cod recipes, which are easy to make even in the Midwest). If I leave Berkeley with only a dozen seafood recipes left to go I will be very pleased, so I aiming to get through 20 more seafood recipes in the next few weeks. All Seafood All The Time!!