Dungeness Crab

Last week, the husband, our boy and I took a little trip to San Juan Island. It's a short car and ferry boat trip from our new digs in Seattle. It's incredibly beautiful and relaxing...the perfect place to unwind after a cross-country move.

One of our adventures while we were there was catching Dungeness crab. It was entertaining and hilarious. Little crabs scampering all over the boat with our son giggling like a maniac and me trying to keep their pinchers from my toes and the husband trying to wrangle them into the cooler. And it was delicious, too. At the end of our crabbing, we had pile of fresh seafood for dinner. Glory be.

Interested in crab catching fun? This is how our day went down...

After securing a fishing license (let's stay out of trouble, now), our first step was baiting the crab trap (with stinky frozen salmon heads) and tossing it into the water. This was trickier than it seemed. You have to be strategic with where you leave your trap...if the water is too shallow, you'll end up catching rock crab instead of Dungeness. Not bad, but not ideal. If the water is too deep, you'll lose your trap. And then you're out a bunch of money and you have no crab. Lame.

At this point you need to exercise some patience. Your trap needs to sit in the water waiting for those little crabby crabs to wander in. So read a book, bake some cookies, take a hike, whatever. Just leave the trap. We left ours for about 12 hours.

Once your patience is exhausted, it's time to sail out to your trap and haul in your catch. Well, hopefully you have a catch. You could have a whole lot of nothin', but let's focus on the positive. (Our first day, we only ended up with one rock crab that was big enough to keep. So don't feel bad if you don't have a ton of crabs. Day two was much more fruitful.)

Pull up your trap and get your ruler ready. Dungeness crabs need to be at least 6 1/4" or you have to toss them back in. And they need to be male crabs, too. The ladies get to keep on swimmin'. Also keep in mind that you can only hang on to five crabs. So gather the big boys and pop them in a cooler for the boat ride back to land.

There are a couple ways to put the poor crabs out of their misery. Some people boil them alive, but we prefer to chop them in half with a well-placed shovel blow to end it all quickly. Then scoop out the guts and gills and use a hose to spray the crabs clean.

Now fill a big, giant pot with suuuuper salty water and get that baby boiling. If you're really serious, use this bad boy:

Carefully drop the crabs into the pot. Once the water returns to a boil, set your timer for 15 minutes. When the time is up, use tongs to remove the crabs from the water.

Place the crabs in ice water for a few minutes so they stop cooking. Once the crabs are cool enough to handle...dinner is served! There are plenty of things you can do with the crab, but when it was swimming in the ocean minutes earlier, we like to eat it simply with melted butter and a squeeze of lemon.

Forget cooking...let's get crabbing!
Erin

I went to the Big Apple, and I took a big bite.

A few weeks ago, the husband and I spent a long weekend in New York City with Ryan and Niki, some of our dearest friends.  Although our trip was booked months ago, we happened upon an insanely gorgeous weekend at the end of October. It was 80 degrees and sunny the entire time. It was like fall took a hiatus just for our trip. Holla, fall. Thanks for watching our backs on that one.

Although we enjoyed the Statue of Liberty, Cirque du Soleil, and plenty of shopping, one of our primary agenda items was exploring the culinary delights of NYC. And explore we did.

We totally dorked out and took pictures everywhere so I could share our food adventures with the you folks here at Hot Dinner Happy Home. Hope this inspires you to take your own culinary tour, even if it's just around your own town. Good food is there for the eating, people.

The Doughnut Plant
Check them out online: www.doughnutplant.com
Dear hipsters, thanks for taking one of my favorite breakfast foods and making it oh-so-cool. We couldn't even handle ourselves at The Doughnut Plant. I wanted to try absolutely everything on the menu, and, between the four of us, we almost did. Although I am admittedly a cake doughnut kind of gal, the Creme Brulee doughnut was something magical. It was creme brulee. And doughnut. At the same time.

Other recommended doughnuts: carrot cake, pistachio (ye gads), vanilla bean, peanut butter & jelly (holy cow), and coconut cream.

Dean and Deluca
Check them out online: www.deandeluca.com
Dean & Deluca is fancy food. It is clean and beautiful and all the produce has been buffed to a high gloss. The people who work there are friendly. They offer you samples of their wares to make sure you're happy with the not-so-cheap cheese you're about to purchase. And you will be happy. Because it's Dean & Deluca.

This is my D & D challenge for you: Ask to sample the ugliest delicious cheese they offer. You will be afraid, your knees make buckle, but stay strong. Just taste it. Savor it. And swoon. Oh, Dean & Deluca.

Street Pizza
Don't pay more than $1.50. Eat it like a taco. 'Nuf said.

Schiller's Liquor Bar
Check them out online: www.schillersny.com
When you walk into Schiller's, you feel like you won a golden ticket to the coolest party in town. People are giving air kisses, and it's not looking the least bit contrived. They're wearing nerd glasses and party dresses. They're tall and gangly and beautiful and awesome. They can't help it; coolness is their natural state. Their fabulousness exudes from them. Whatever you do, try your best not to feel insecure. They are like dogs who smell fear. Just be cool. Just. Be. Cool.

Order a glass of "decent" red wine and something that comes with french fries.

Make sure your significant other orders the sliders so you can eat one. Share a round of deviled eggs. Didn't know deviled eggs were "in" again? Yeah. Me neither. But I'm so glad the people at Schiller's did.

Rue 57
Check them out online: www.rue57.com
Well, hello, Paris! What are you doing in New York? Bustling waitstaff. White linens. Champagne cocktails made for day drinking. We were there for brunch and enjoyed the menu from the breakfast burrito to the omelette Lyon.

The homemade granola is served with Greek yogurt that's been strained to make it extra creamy and then delicately drizzled with honey. I know because I asked.

Molly's Cupcakes
Check them out online: www.mollyscupcakes.com
Say you're wandering the streets of New York, seeing what there is to see, and you stumble upon a little cupcake shop. Neat. Then you note that the cupcake shop has won a contest on the Food Network. You're interest is piqued. When you see that they sell filled cupcakes, you giggle and shimmy and press your nose to the glass separating you from your sugar high. Ladies and gentlemen of Hot Dinner Happy Home, may I present the Cake Batter Cupcake:

Pastis
Check them out online: www.pastisny.com
Again with the French food. I have a thing for it that can't be helped. The French know their way around a kitchen. They have some kind of magic in their souls that seeps out with results like coq au vin. Pastis, oh, Pastis. You need to go there.

Meals at this gem are served with the finest people-watching in town. I don't think Niki and I said a word the entire meal; we were too busy savoring every crumb and admiring the beautiful people strolling past our table.

Order steak frites because it's perfectly French. Sop up the meat juices with crispy, salty french fries and wash it down with a cocktail. Then order the sticky toffee pudding for dessert. You're too full for dessert, you say? Order a coffee and wait a few minutes until you can force it down. It was the most unbelievable thing I've ever tasted. For serious. The clouds parted and angels sang. They sang, "Sticky Toffee Pudding!!" It sounded strangely like Rufus Wainwright.

Berkli Parc Cafe
Check them out online: www.berkliparc.com
When you walk into Berkli Parc Cafe, you become a graphic designer who works out of his home. Or a grad student studying anthropology because her parents have enough money to pay her private school tuition and then support her when she can't get a job. Or maybe you're writing a novel with a heroine named Neve who wears opaque tights. Whatever you're doing, it needs to be done on a Macbook at Berkli Parc Cafe.

Now let me tell you about the Thanksgiving sandwich. In addition to turkey, it boasts cranberry chutney, and, get this, stuffing. It's Thanksgiving leftovers without the hard work. I love.

And if your husband isn't interested in a froo-froo sandwich, he can wander three doors down to a little eatery called Fried Dumplings. He should order...fried dumplings.

Thanks for being all I hoped, New York.

P.S. Thanks to my sister for many of the fabulous recommendations on this list. She is much more awesome than I and knows her way around cool-kid establishments everywhere.

P.P.S. Here's another NYC tip: Make reservations. You're not Jay-Z; there isn't going to be a table and a bottle of Cristal waiting when you walk in the door.

P.P.P.S. If you are Jay-Z...OMG. I have arrived.