Monthly Archives: October 2016

A Crab’s Journey

Time has certainly passed me by. I got so caught up with so many things, I barely noticed that it’s been a few weeks since I’ve uploaded a post. It’s definitely not because my food adventures have stalled. Trust me, however busy life can be, my family will always find time to eat well. It is the writing it all on a blog that I can’t easily find time to do.

As D was browsing through old pictures, he came across a picture of us in San Francisco at a restaurant called Crustacean by House of An. They serve the most sumptuous dungeness crabs that pair really well with garlic noodles.

WEst Coast crabs are really huge!
West Coast dungeness crabs are really huge!

Naturally, upon seeing the crabs, we started getting a craving.  We went out to this restaurant near his office called Pho and Crab. I called to make reservations, specifically saying we wanted dungeness crabs. When we got there, I was mildly surprised that it had a very hole-in-the wall vibe. I liked that. A lot of the best dishes I’ve had are from places looking like this. The crabs came in two flavors —- roasted garlic butter and tamarind sauce. We decided to order one of each. Our waiter had a look of panic upon hearing this. That should have been my first clue. There was a lot of back talk in Vietnamese coupled with head nodding, which to me implied an affirmative, so we sat and waited.

In about ten minutes, one  dish emerged.

Dungeness crab with Garlic Butter Sauce.
Dungeness crab with Garlic Butter Sauce.
It was followed by this plate of garlic noodles
It was followed by this plate of garlic noodles

Strangely, the second crab didn’t come out. We were so hungry so we just shared. We were almost done with the first crab and still no sign of the second one. We asked the waiter, and he said it was coming and amidst the thick accent I thought I heard the word “traffic”. Was the second crab commuting???

Anyway, after about 45 minutes , it finally came.

This is the one with the tamarind sauce. I have to say, this was definitely worth the wait!
This is the one with the tamarind sauce. I have to say, this was definitely worth the wait!

The manager came out and apologized and that was when I got the whole story. When I called, they thought I only wanted one crab. When we arrived and asked for two, they had to send someone to get the crab from their Westheimer location.  This is where the “traffic” came in. That the crab made the journey to our table in less than an hour in the midst of Houston traffic is as mind-boggling as to why one would name a restaurant Pho and Crab, then only have one single crab in the premises…..

Oh well. A good dish covers a multitude of sins. That’s what I always say when dining out. They had a good wine and beer selection which kept D fascinated and I had two glasses of pretty good Thai iced tea, so all is good.

Judging by the looks on our faces, we didn't really mind the wait.
Judging by the looks on our faces, we didn’t really mind the wait.

Overall, it was an amusing experience. Will definitely go back but would have to remember to be specific with the crab count. Judging by the size of the crab, two people could have easily shared it. Not us, though. I love D and all, but when it comes to seafood,  we don’t do the “mi crab, es su crab” nonsense…

 

Catching Up

Everyone wants to have everything. That is expected. The problem is the expectation that it can be achieved by putting in 40 hours a week. Elon Musk said something to this effect on an interview regarding his drive to develop rockets to space. I am putting in 36-48 hours per week at work and I am not even close to achieving a tenth of that magnitude. Between my job, household work, band mom duties, I find that I am always playing “catch-up” with everything else. I go on a marathon phone call with my Mom who I haven’t spoken to for almost two weeks (sorry!!!). I double up on my time at the elliptical to make up for the days I missed (and for the extra cupcake, extra cup of rice, second glass of sangria…you get the picture).

Today, I am catching up with the TV shows I missed. I will start with Blacklist. I love this show but it airs the same time as Thursday Night Football. Next is Big Bang Theory, which airs the same time as Monday Night Football. Football will always take priority, so I always DVR these shows in the hope that I will find time to catch up. Today is that day. I am marking it by making a special treat/comfort food—-tres leches cake!

The first time I had tres leches  cake was when I first moved to Houston and my childhood friend, Rhea Robinson, made it. I absolutely loved it.  I tried so many recipes that didn’t quite turn out right, until I found Martha Stewart’s. In the quest of finding the best recipes, all roads lead to Martha Stewart. She cleverly uses a basic French sponge cake. The beauty of this recipe is that it doesn’t use butter. That is a big deal because as the name implies, the three kinds of milk should be pretty much all you need (and more) for your caloric requirement.

Preheat oven at 325, then spray 9×13 pan with butter.

Gather up your ingredients.

Six eggs, separated. 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour.
Six eggs, separated. 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour.

That’s all! See why I love this recipe? For today, I add 1/4 cup of espresso coffee for flavor.  I am binge-watching so I need all the caffeine I can get.

Beat egg yolks and sugar. Once fluffy, add coffee.
Beat egg yolks and sugar. Once fluffy, add coffee.
Beat egg whites to soft peaks
Beat egg whites to soft peaks
Fold in egg yolk mixture
Fold in egg yolk mixture
Fold in flour. Go easy on folding, you don't want to "deflate" it. otherwise you will end up with a crumby and hard cake. Use big strokes and cut in through the middle.
Fold in flour. Go easy on folding, you don’t want to “deflate” it, otherwise you will end up with a crumby and hard cake. Use big strokes and cut in through the middle.
bake at 325 for 20 minutes
bake at 325 for 20 minutes
Meanwhie, mix the 3 milks. Cream, evaporated milk and condensed milk. I am using dulce de leche condensed milk. It complements the coffee flavor of the cake
Meanwhie, mix the 3 milks. Cream, evaporated milk and condensed milk. I am using dulce de leche condensed milk. It complements the coffee flavor of the cake
Once cake is cooled (about 20 minutes), drizzle the milk mixture on top of cake. Allow to saturate for about an hour.
Once cake is cooled (about 20 minutes), drizzle the milk mixture on top of cake. Allow to saturate for about an hour. Refrigerate.
Here's a slice for Mr. Reddington! Yum!!!
Here’s a slice for Mr. Reddington! Yum!!!

Many versions add whipped cream and fruits on top. I sometimes do that because it looks a lot prettier. But I don’t have fresh fruits today. So i’m settling for coffee…which works just as well.

Me and my TV buddy, Mochi. She really likes this show. She will stay in this position for as long as I keep rubbing her belly.
Me and my TV buddy, Mochi. She really likes watching TV. She will stay in this position for as long as I keep rubbing her belly.