Wednesday, June 25, 2014

It Ain’t No Corn Dog: Crabby BLTs

People often ask, “But what do you eat?!?!” when they hear David’s list of dietary restrictions. Our answer is usually, “Everything else!” because there really is an enormous world of food to choose from.  Gluten really isn’t even the biggest problem anymore; it’s much harder to avoid paprika and potatoes.

When, exactly, did they get so grown-up?
We were feeling especially deprived during our picnic lunch at the zoo last Sunday, which featured these sandwiches, the brainchild of my physical therapist Stephanie. I don’t know if this is something she’s eaten at a restaurant or her own decadent genius suggestion, but we certainly felt bad for everyone eating corn dogs and nacho chips for lunch that day. Our picnic cooler comes equipped with plates and silverware and cloth napkins, so we dined in style near the fountain.


I’m a big fan of the Lee Brothers cookbooks, the source of the crab salad portion of this recipe. It comes from the Lee Brothers SouthernCookbook, which I came across at Zingerman’s Roadhouse during brunch with my grad school friend Jen. Our outstanding waiter offered to have the Lee brothers sign my cookbook and send it along to me later, since they were going to be a theme event later that week; I’m only sorry that I missed the event, because I had no idea what I huge fan of theirs I was about to become.  I was going to say this is my favorite recipe, but I love the pimento cheese. And the collard greens. And the corn macque choux. And the fried chicken. And the sour orange mojitos. Everything I’ve tried from this cookbook, in fact, with the notable exception of the Cheerwine cocktail; there’s not enough gin in the world to make that stuff taste good.

As for the rest of the ingredients – well, this would be even more amazing between two slices of challah, which is not on the GF-approved list of foods; and of course, use the best-quality bacon you can find.

Crab Salad BLTs

For the crab salad:

6 oz. crabmeat (get the really good stuff from the seafood counter – trust me on this)
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (worth the bother of juicing the lime, in this case)
3 tablespoons finely diced red onion
1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh tarragon
Salt and pepper to taste 

For the sandwiches:

2 slices bread per person, toasted, or a good-quality roll
3 pieces good-quality bacon, cooked and drained
Leaf lettuce
Tomato slices


Mix all the crab salad ingredients together and salt and pepper to taste. When you assemble the sandwich, put the lettuce next to the bread so the mayo doesn’t soak through and ruin your bread; you’re going to want to eat this slowly and enjoy every bite. If you’re picnicking, pack all the ingredients separately and assemble right before you eat, which isn’t nearly as big a bother as it sounds. 

No comments: