frank - my crabby dinner.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, my main squeeze and I had the fabulous idea to cook live crab.. having never done it before in my life. I've always watched mother put her crab in the boiling water with ease, staring at the poor sea creature squirm with fear as his last moments of earth were filled with visions of hot, bubbling water and steam. It was that Sunday that my main squeeze and I decided to conquer one of my fears... this was happening. 

Along with the beautiful crab that we picked up from the market, we decided to grab half a dozen of oysters and half a pound of clams, too. Why not make a seafood feast out of the evening? 

The goal: baked oysters, steamed clams and crab; to prepare all courses without getting pinched or attacked. And of course... on the way home, my main squeeze decided to name our little pincher, Frank. Note to self: "Don't name your food" should be listed right under the "don't play with your food" rule. 

With a big boiling splash, a few screams here and there, we managed to cook the little feisty bugger. Success! Frank became part of our dinner, and we enjoyed every last bit of him.

The clams and oysters turned out fantastic too - tender, soft and juicy. For some easy how-tos on preparing the lovely sea creatures, see below.

If you have other fun recipes, feel free to share in comments below!

xoxo

Clams

• Prep: Make sure all of the clams are shut tightly, and none of the shells are broken. Run them under cool water and lightly brush the sand and ocean gunk off the shells. Let the clams soak in cool water for about 15 mins, so that the clam will spit out any remaining sand. When adding the clams to the pot, don't drain but rather pick the clams up from the water one by one. 
• Cook: Dump a bottle of Heineken into a pot along with 1/4 cup of green onions, 1/4 ginger and 1 clove of garlic. Let the pot come to a boil, then add the clams. Keep a close eye on the pot, to not let the clams over cook. As soon as the shells open, the clams are ready for the belly!

Note: Feel free to substitute beer with wine, if you're in the mood for a classier night :) White wine is recommend, with extra garlic, basil and chili pepper flakes to give it some extra kick.

Oysters

• Prep: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Rinse and brush off the sand and ocean gunk from the oyster shells.
• Cook: Place the oysters on a cookie sheet or baking tray; then  put them in the oven for about 15 to 20 mins until the shell just barely opens up. Ready to eat!

Note: We left our oysters on the shell, but feel free to shuck before placing them on the cookie sheet. When doing so, keep a close eye on the oven as to not overcook them. 

Frank pre-boiling pot of water.

Frank the Crab

• Prep: Place Frank gently in the sink and lightly rinse him under cool water; try to scrub his underbelly of ocean gunk. Put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Add 1/2 cup of green onions, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 5 to 6 slices of fresh ginger. 
• Cook: As soon as the pot comes to a boil, drop Frank in! Leave Frank in the boiling pot until he turns completely red all over. Remove him and sprinkle with pepper, salt and fresh green onions.