Pumpins up the Jam

It's an epidemic. First it was the pumkins sign from "There was a Pumpkin that Lost it's 'P'." Now this.

I mentioned the "pumkins" sign to my husband (H) and he laughed and said he saw the sign too and also took a picture. He retrieved the picture from his phone and we realized it was a different sign. This one is even worse.

Maybe it's a pumpkin stand/gas station.

Yesterday on an excursion, I saw a 4 pack of Dogfish Head Punkin Ale. With the theme of misspelled pumpkin this week, I, of course, had to have it. The packaging also helped encourage my purchase. I enjoyed the label around the neck of the bottle since, for the past thirty-five years, my dad lovingly refers to everyone he meets as "Punk". In addition to that, the sign said the Ale is named after the annual Punkin Chunkin festival held near Lewes, Delaware. I like a good story too.

I brought it home intending to have it with dinner. I thought it would go nicely with the grilled, Dutch apple (pork) sausage, brown buttered noodles, sauerkraut and brussel sprouts. I was right. First off, the color was beautiful, a rich, warm orange that just screams of autumn (I'm a girl. I like pretty things). The aroma was inviting and the flavor is rich but not too rich. I agree with the review from The Brew Club, the flavor of the spices and pumpkin is very subtle but you know it's there. I would call it "just enough." As a fan of pumpkin ales, sometimes the spices can be overpowering. This is definitely not the case with Dogfish Head Punkin Ale. It's a crisp, enjoyable beer.

In the end, I look forward to enjoying my other three bottles of Dogfish Head Punkin Ale. I hope I don't have to share.

More World Series Food Banter

It's ironic that, with the weighty healthcare debate raging, our good senators from New York and Pennsylvania are making wagers that involve eating cheesecake and cheesesteaks. I guess Senators Specter, Casey, Schumer and Gillibrand aren't concerned about their heart health. It's that or they know that, after the dust settles, their bypass surgeries will be covered by the same primo, taxpayer funded healthcare coverage they now enjoy.

John Devore delves a little deeper into the New York/Pennsylvania food rivalry in his Slashfood piece "World Series Food Wager: Cheesecake vs. Cheesesteak." I don't know about you, but I'd go for the scrapple (with ketchup).

There Was a Pumpkin that Lost Its "P"

We saw this sign as we drove by a local farm today. I instantly flashed back to my daughter's preschool days and thought of the They Might Be Giants song "Alphabet Lost and Found." Now in second grade, my daughter recently had the word "pumpkin" on a spelling test. She boldly stated that, if the person who made the sign took her test, they would have only gotten a 7 out of 8. Too bad.

New Yorkers start Food Fight with Phillies Fans

Check out No Cheers for the Bronx in today's Philadelphia Inquirer. An Inky writer addresses the New York Post article that not only referred to the Phillies as the Frillies, but compiled a set of food centered insults by Yankees fans directed at Phillies fans.

The Post claims that we're "Yuengling slinging rubes" and our claim to fame is a "steak and cheese" called a "hoagie." They even brought up the jail cell at the Vet, the former home of the Phillies, which most likely connects right back to the Yuengling slinging; but who cares? None of this has anything to do with baseball and the last I checked, that's what the World Series is all about.

So much for making cream cheese out of Chase Utley. He hit the first home run of the series.

Purple Rain, Purple Haze, Purple Cauliflower

The autumn leaves weren't the only show stoppers in Morgantown, PA today. Look at this beautiful, purple cauliflower I found on today's excursion to Weaver's Orchard. I'm very fortunate to have daughters who love vegetables. They also love anything purple. I'm sure if Fancy Nancy was going to eat a vegetable, it would be this one.

For those who want to know more about purple cauliflower, I found a this great entry at The Persnickety Palate.

I also picked up a few Stayman apples and took this shot. The very sight of it makes me want to bake something.

Crabs and Spaghetti

About a month ago, I was at Shop Rite browsing the fish counter. They had pre-cooked crab claws for .99/lb. They were on the small side but, at that price, who could walk away? I came home with 3 pounds (too many) and put them in the freezer.

This morning, I called my mom for a consult on how to make an old family favorite, Crabs and Spaghetti. When I was a kid, we ate a lot of hard shell crabs during the summer. There were vendors that would set up shop in various spots around our neighborhood with bushels of live crabs. My dad would drive around to the different vendors and buy them by the dozens. After scaring us with them, he would cook them and a feast accompanied by a newspaper tablecloth, nut crackers and rolls of paper towels would follow. If there were leftovers, my mom would make Crabs and Spaghetti for dinner the next day. Please note that there was no recipe for this until today. It's just "this is how you make them" and a basic ingredients list. My mom (also known as the General) even stopped by midway through and told me to add more tomato puree and water. I chronicled the process.

If you're going to eat this, I suggest that you plan to be at the table for a while and wear really old clothes or a rain poncho. It's going to get messy.

Crabs and Spaghetti

3 lbs crab claws, defrosted if frozen and rinsed thoroughly.

If the crab claws have any seasonings on them (like Old Bay), rinse off all of the seasoning. I poured the claws onto paper towels and dried them as well.

If you have crab bodies, you can also use these, but you must thoroughly clean them first by removing the outer shell, the lungs and the tomalley (the mustardy yellow stuff in the cavity). After they are cleaned, rinse them under cold water.

4 small-medium garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons of butter
8 cups canned tomato sauce
3 cups canned tomato puree
1 cup of water
Cracked black pepper to taste

1 lb thick spaghetti or linguini, cooked according to package directions
Optional: locatelli (romano) grated cheese and red pepper flakes for toppings

You will also need nutcrackers to open the crab claws when it's time to eat them.

In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter until the butter foams. Add the garlic and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the crab claws and toss to coat with the oil/butter/garlic mixture.

Add the tomato sauce and puree, toss to coat the claws. Add the water and stir from the bottom. Add cracked pepper to taste. Set your burner to medium heat, cover and simmer stirring occasionally. I eventually reduced the heat to low and simmered this most of the day.

Please note that the canned tomato sauce is salty enough so I don't think you need to add any salt. If the sauce seems too thick, add water, a little at a time, until it thins out to your liking.
Mine was pretty thick and everyone seemed to like it that way.

This made a lot. I have enough for another dinner and will make a new box of spaghetti to go with it.

Which Came First, the Poacher or the Pod?

I inherited my mother-in-law's three egg poacher. More accurately, I saved it from the trash heap where it probably rightfully belongs. The very sight of the rusted bottom, handle-less poacher brings back memories of long ago Saturday mornings. I can still picture us sitting around my mother-in-law's kitchen table with the Philadelphia Inquirer crossword puzzle and the aroma of pre-squished (to fit into the toaster) Lender's onion bagels in the air. I can hear mom asking if we wanted eggs as she simultaneously cracked them into the poaching cups.

I do love poached eggs. I think it's the simplicity. An egg and water, it doesn't get any more simple than that. Of course, when you add in the particulars like how long to poach them; whether to serve them on toast or in a cup; and whether or not you can get them out of the poaching cup in one piece not to mention scrubbing the egg remnants out of the cups after breakfast, maybe things aren't so simple.

Since our family of four loves eggs and the antique poacher only had three cups in addition to its other issues, we finally bought a new, 4 egg poacher. The manufacturer boasted that it was a "4 cup nonstick egg poacher." While the pan was non stick, the cups were plastic. Thanks for protecting us from all of that sticky water. The sticky eggs were another matter. This new, erroneously labeled "non stick" poacher was even less functional than the c. 1950 one I was using.

You could imagine my excitement last week as I strolled through the gadget aisle of Crate and Barrel. There they were, bright and yellow, sitting in a bin waiting for me to happen upon them... poach pods! A set of two cost $9.95. I scooped up two sets and made my way to the cash register.

They sat on my counter for a few days until I could wait no longer. I decided that we would have breakfast for dinner. I read the instructions and greased the pods liberally with a buttered paper towel while I brought 1 1/2" of water to a boil in a sauce pan.

I cracked my eggs into the pods as I waited for the water to boil. I also toasted and buttered the English muffins (I owe my ability to crank out a hot breakfast to working the breakfast shift at Lou's Deli during the 80s).

Cue my first set back since all of the poach pod excitement began. Without noticing, I must have tipped over the pod. My egg was sprawled out on the counter. To make matters worse, I spilled the other pod trying to slide it over away from the first mess.

I was a little discouraged but decided to poach on.

I reloaded the pods and carefully placed them into the water. I did spill a little of the egg white into the water as I put it in but it wasn't a major issue. I covered the pan as instructed and decided to set my timer for 5 minutes, splitting the difference between the 4-6 minutes specified in the instructions.

The "eggsperiment" resulted in perfect poached eggs that slid out of the pods with no coaxing necessary. They were perfectly shaped as well and tasted delicious with no rubbery after taste from the pod. There was also no residue left in the pods so clean up was quick and easy.

Poach pods are a winner! Thank you, Crate and Barrel.