Corn and Crab Soup

This is what usually happens. I get an idea for a recipe, I get all the ingredients, make the recipe, then have a few left over ingredients, so I try to think of something else I can make with that ingredient, decide on something, go buy the rest of the ingredients I need for it, make it, have a new leftover ingredient, try to think of what I can make from that, etc…It’s a vicious (and delicious) cooking cycle.

My roommate left a magazine with healthy recipes laying open on the counter, so I glanced at it and saw a recipe for a salad with crab, corn, black beans, tortilla chips, and lime dressing. It looked fantastic. So I bought crab, corn, black beans, tortilla chips and lime. And it was delicious.

But then I still had this very large tub of fresh crab in my fridge. I needed a good way to use a lot of crab quickly. Crab cakes were the obvious solution, but I had a cold at the time, and wanted something more soothing.

So I decided to attempt to recreate my favorite crab and corn soup from Acadiana. I stopped by the store on my way home from work, got all the necessary ingredients, busted out my favorite teal colored dutch oven, and made soup. (Confession: this was the first time I’ve ever made soup. I don’t even really like soup. I only like Acadiana’s crab and corn soup.)

Verdict: It was pretty good. It needed tweaking. One of my friends like to joke that I don’t like “flavor.” Aka I don’t like spicy food. It’s true. My mouth is super sensitive to spicy foods, and they just make eating uncomfortable rather than enjoyable. (Plus, I grew up in the midwest. Meat and potatoes are rarely prepared with a lot of spice). But this is one case where I will admit that this recipe needs more zoot. I didn’t include the jalapeno. I’ve never cooked with jalapeno in my life. The stuff terrifies me. But if I did it again, I’d use it. The soup needs it.

And luckily, I’m going to Acadiana for lunch tomorrow (it’s DC Restaurant week!!!!) so I can hopefully indulge in the real deal to remind myself why I sometimes pay a lot of money for really exceptional food at a restaurant.

Also, I apologize, this is one of the few times I made a recipe for the blog after work, so I was losing light really quickly. The photos didn’t turn out great.

Corn and Crab Soup

Serves 4

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1 tablespoons butter or margarine

2 Tbsp cornmeal

1/2 medium onion, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1 jalapeno, diced (include seeds for more spice)

3 ears fresh sweet corn kernels
2 1/4 cups chicken broth

2 corncobs (use the ones you just cut the corn off of!)

1/2 pound fresh lump crabmeat, drained

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 tsp old bay seasoning

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium heat; whisk in cornmeal, and cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Add onion, bell pepper, jalapeno and sweet corn kernels, and saute for two minutes. Add the broth and corncobs. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove and discard corncobs. Stir in crabmeat, whipping cream, old bay, salt and pepper. Cook until thoroughly heated, about 5 more minutes. Serve with warm crusty baguette for dipping!

(My other thought was to use chipotle peppers instead of jalapeno…I think it might be interesting. If someone tries it, let me know how it tastes!)

Crab and Roasted Cherry Tomato Sandwich

I don’t wear shorts. I either wear jeans or skirts in the summer. I don’t know why, I just hate shorts. In high school I’d buy shorts from the boy’s section of the store, but now that I’m in my mid-twenties that doesn’t seem like a viable option. I know they make longer shorts for women, and I always try them on, hopeful, but they never look good. My opposition to shorts can be a problem. Especially when it’s 107 degrees out.

I went to the Nat’s game last Friday, and it was somewhere upwards of 100 degrees. There was just no way I could wear jeans. And none of my skirts really go very well with a red Nat’s t-shirt. So, I dug deep, both psychologically and into my dresser. I pulled out the one pair of shorts I own. The pair I bought at Target because I thought this might be the year I start wearing shorts. It wasn’t. I would occasionally put them on, look in the mirror, and promptly change into a pair of jeans. I’d also like to add that this has nothing to do with body image. I just hate shorts.

But I decided this had to be done. So I bypassed the mirror and headed to the ballpark.

As my friend and I were walking in, a guy with a camera pulled me aside and asked if I wanted to be in the Fan of the Game Contest. I waffled, knowing that this would involve me making a fool of myself on the jumbo tron. But really, how can you say no?

They pre-tape the contest. So they choose three fans, have them act like an idiot in front of the camera for what feels like 4 hours (they cameraman kept saying “ten more seconds” ….. “ten more seconds” …. “ten more seconds”) Sometime after the third “ten more seconds” I stopped believing him that this was almost over. Then some producer chooses your best 5 seconds of embarrassing yourself, and they play it on the jumbo tron in the 6th inning. The crowd cheers for the fan they want to win. Sadly, I was beaten out by the guy who painted his entire torso white and then painted on a Nat’s jersey, complete with name and number on the back. In the end, he really committed more than I did.

I did provide a catalog of awkward dance moves. This one looks like some snaps with a head bob. I also busted out the “crazy white girl” (jump around in a circle while waving your arms over your head. A real classic) and the Liz Lemon “spinning a basketball on your finger” (as seen in the Dealbreakers episode of 30 Rock).

I also specifically asked if they were going to match me up against some cute kid so there was no way I’d win. He assured me they wouldn’t. They did. Luckily, I still got more applause than the little sucker. Yeah, take that, cute kid.

Anyway. The rest of the night was a lot less eventful. I devoured a plate of chili cheese fries faster than should be humanly possible. To atone, I went to the farmers market the next morning and bought tons of fruits and veggies. The sweet corn right now is out of this world. And the peaches are so juicy you don’t really eat them so much as drink them. And sun gold cherry tomatoes. Ah, the light of my life. They are so sweet when you roast them, it’s like candy.

So, hit your local farmers market and grab some this weekend. And then make this sandwich. You can sub out anything for the crab. Maybe tuna? That’s easier to come by. Salmon? Chicken? Or keep it veggie.

Crab and Roasted Cherry Tomato Sandwich

Serves 1

Print this recipe!

6 inch baguette

10 cherry tomatoes (sun gold is the best!)

1 tsp olive oil

pinch of salt

3 slices fresh mozzarella (or whatever cheese you prefer)

1/2 cup fresh lump crab

handful of fresh baby spinach

1 Tbsp mayo

1 Tbsp sun-dried tomato pesto

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat cherry tomatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, or until skin breaks and they look wrinkled.

Slice bread in half lengthwise. On one side, spread mayo, on the other spread pesto (or whatever tasty spread you have on hand). Add roasted cherry tomatoes to the side of the sandwich with the pesto, smooshing them down a little. Top with crab and slices of mozzarella. Stick back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes, keeping the sandwich open-faced (so that the mayo side gets all nice and toasty and cheese gets melty. Remove from oven and add spinach. Close sandwich, slice in half, and enjoy!