The first week of June brought with it cool temperatures, clear blue skies, waves of rich, green grass and of course soft shell crabs! With a limited window of opportunity, Mario and I heeded our captains orders for the Molecche con Raini – Soft-Shell Crabs with Broccoli Rabe and Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto (page 272). Now, we must apologize to all our loyal readers, due to circumstances beyond our control – an Assistant Principal, with an end of the school year schedule on her itinerary – we lost command of our precious laptop. Although we fought gallantly to regain possession, we were no match for the beady eyed professional with deadlines looming ever so close! Luckily, after many days, we wore her down and retook possession of the laptop. I am glad to announce that this evening we are now in full control!
Last weeks Memorial Day celebration also meant the beginning of Summer Hours at my studio. This half day of work on Fridays has opened up our schedule and we have returned to cooking on Friday nights (as long as there are no Little League Playoff games scheduled). Mario and I found a local Fishmonger who was willing to cooperate with two accused scallywags and we purchased 10 soft shell crabs. As I pulled the gold coins from my pocket, Mario, out of the corner of his eye, spotted some deep fried soft shells. "Dad, we gotta try these out!" he shouted. Impressed by his keen eye, we ordered up a serving and added it to our tab.
As we entered our dinghy and set sail, Mario opened up the package to reveal the fried soft shell crab. Within minutes it was gone, completely gone! Oh what joy! Both of us smiled like fat kids in a bakery! Once on board the ship Mario and I placed the crabs into the fridge and headed out to baseball practice.
Upon our return, Mario took command of the ship and quickly assigned me into the role of sous chef. I could tell that after taking a bite of his first soft shell crab, he was an advent fan and nothing would stand between him and his next serving. As he read through the recipe, he fired up the stove, measured out the oil and prepared the ingeidients. I took my role in stride, went out to the deck, began to clean and heat up the former champ.
Yea, that's exactly what Mario and I said. Oh my God! The crabs were done in a jiffy and we plated them with the broccoli rabe and sun-dried tomato pesto. We rang the dinner bell and waited for the crew to come in! To our dismay, our female crew mates could not stomach the fact that we were eating the entire crab! How could we have hurt these helpless creatures, much less eat them whole? Both Mariesa and Angela love 'dem some crab legs, but could not get past the texture and sight of a fully cooked crab.
Mariesa declared mutiny and each of us took sides. With swords drawn and ready for combat, Mario and I took our plate of crabs and walked towards the patio deck with drinks in hand, as I looked over to Angela, with my hand stretched out, she shook her head and sheepishly dismissed me! "Et tu Angela!" She looked towards Mariesa, as she dialed the number to the local pizzeria.
As shock filled my body, my loyal sous chef grabbed me by the hand and guided me out to the patio. As the sun filled the sky with an orange hue, we sat and gorged ourselves on the delicious soft shell crabs as our mutinous cohorts gorged themselves on greasy pizza.
Since Angela and Mariesa did not partake in our culinary masterpiece, and much less, declared mutiny, they will not be allowed to vote on this weeks menu. Thus, Mario and I proudly declare that this weeks score is Five Crocs!
Ciao,
Mario & Mario
The Three Tocayos
