Mother's Day, Yellowtail Snapper and Soft Shell Crabs
- May 8
- 6 min read
Hey Y'all, You can count on me for Public Service Announcements. Sunday is Mother's Day! Call your mom and see if she wants fish tacos for lunch. |
Mahi Tacos with Slow Cooked Baja Black Beans and Cilantro Lime Rice
Complete Meal Kit for 2, this take home kit is on the table in 15 minutes with ready-to cook fresh marinated mahi, house-made Slow-Cooked Baja Black Beans, C…
$48.00
Need A Gift for Mom?
Some kitchen gifts for mom are boring. Blenders and can openers really just remind your mom that they are spending or have spent a significant portion of their lives as your private chef. A fondue pot gives your mom a reputation as a fun and creative cocktail hour entertainer. Who could ask for a better gift than that?
Fondue pots were a thing in the 1970s when I was a kid. One very small fondue pot for a hungry family of 7 was a recipe for a swashbuckling battle over who gets to use the colorful forks and who burned who with the hot oil. These 21st century fondue pots can turn your boring cocktail hour into a charming and interesting event. |
How about a Goodie Basket? Fill up a basket with a variety of the interesting products we sell at the Catch. A basket full of the great cheeses from Cheese Brothers, gourmet crackers, spreads and dips, smoked salmon, local pastas, tinned fish and famous Hammond chocolate bars make a thoughtful gift for Mom. Throw in a Catch gift card and you win the title "Mom's Favorite Kid." |
FREE Wine Tasting On Saturday, 3:00-5:00 pm!
People who describe wine for a living are masters of painting pictures with words. I thought you would find some inspiration in the wine descriptions below as you are signing your Mother's Day cards this year. The bonus here is that you can taste these on Saturday afternoon and buy them as Mother's Day gifts.
Vincent Doucet Sancerre Blanc, 2024 - $36.97
100% Sauvignon Blanc
Loire Valley, France
Vincent Doucet Sancerre displays pear, green apple and hints of citrus. It’s crisp and clean with lovely minerality.
Belle Pente, Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir, 2022 - $35.99
Belle Pente Vineyard, Yamhill-Carlton AVA, Willamette Valley, OR
Winery Comments: This year’s rendition of the “baby Belle Pente” includes lots from all 8 of our Pinot Noir blocks, with a high diversity of clones, exposures, and elevations. The 2022 harvest was the 3rd latest in our 30 year history, producing wines with refinement, structure, and a distinct “old world” personality. There were no new barrels in this cuvee, which helps express the pure savory qualities of the vintage. A moderate dose of whole clusters adds to the complexity. Very approachable and attractive now, it will only get better with a few years in the cellar.
Lorenza Rose, 2025 - $23.99
In keeping with the Mother's Day theme, Lorenza Wines is a mother/daughter duo that are very traditionally French in their varietals and style of winemaking.
TASTING NOTES: An especially pretty peachy color, the wine is fragrant with a fruit basket of ripe cantaloupe, nectarine, persimmon and deeper savory notes. The silky mouthfeel balances the acidity. On the palate is a melange of citrus: red grapefruit, Meyer lemon, quince with persimmon, pomegranate, and a lovely savory note. The finish is both tart and silky.
30% Grenache, 25% Cinsault, 23% Mourvedre, 22% Carignan
What's a Soft Shell Crab?
Crabs have a hard exoskeleton that does not expand to allow the crab to grow. In order to make room for their growing size, they must shed their hard shell. To shed, the crab absorbs so much water that it expands and cracks the back of the shell. The crab then backs out of the old shell and spends a few days hardening the new shell. The slow hardening is the period when it is known as a soft shell crab. Sort of the equivalent of going into hibernation for a few days after peeling off those too-tight jeans.
How to Cook a Soft Shell Crab
One of the best Mother's Day gifts I have ever gotten and surely the one that has endured the longest is a cookbook called The South: The Beautiful Cookbook. I could spend an afternoon enjoying the photographs of the food as well as scenes throughout the region. I will bring it this weekend for show and tell so you can see 1. that it is an autographed copy 😊😊😊 and 2. the seafood pages are covered in food stains🙁🙁.
The South: The Beautiful Cookbook
The South: The Beautiful Cookbook [Rogers, Mara Reid] on Amazon.com. FREE shipping on qualifying offers. The South: The Beautiful Cookbook Here's the recipe you need for soft-shell crabs from this cookbook. Trust me, these authors know what they are talking about.
Pan-Fried Soft-Shell Crabs
Ingredients:
3 cups lowfat buttermilk
2 T hot pepper sauce
6 soft-shell crabs, cleaned
1 c. yellow cornmeal
1 c. all purpose flour
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
1/2 t. baking soda
1-1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 T. red wine vinegar
3 T. fresh lemon juice
3 T. water
1 c. unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces
1/4 c. finely chopped fresh parsley
In a glass baking dish large enough to hold the crabs in a single layer, combine the buttermilk and hot pepper sauce. Add the crabs, turning them once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, combine the cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper and baking soda on a plate. Remove the chilled crabs from the buttermilk marinade, then dredge on all sides in the cornmeal mixture. Place the crabs on a baking sheet and refrigerate to allow the coating to dry, about 30 minutes.
Preheat an oven to 200 degrees.
In a large, heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil to 350 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer. Working in batches of 2 or 3 crabs at a time, carefully slide the crabs into the hot oil, bottom side down. Increase the heat if needed, to maintain the temperature at 350 degrees. When the crabs are golden brown on the bottom, after about 2 minutes, flip over and cook 2 minutes longer. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining crabs, keeping the fried crabs warm in the oven for no longer than 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, lemon juice and water. Carefully pour off and discard the oil from the skillet, leaving the brown bits. Place the skillet over medium heat, add the vinegar mixture and simmer, scraping up the browned bits with a wooden spoon, for 30 seconds. Add the butter and whisk into a sauce. Stir in the parsley.
To serve, place the crabs on individual plates and pass the sauce.
Serves 6.
Three comments on eating soft shells: 1. We clean them so you don't have to do that part, 2. You eat the entire crab when it is a soft shell and 3. They are delicious.
This Week's Special Yellowtail Snapper fillet $32.95/lb. From the Florida Keys! Here's another favorite recipe from The South. Please overlook food stains. |
In Our Cases |
Arctic Char Sable Jumbo Soft Shell Crabs Pacific Halibut Whole Branzino Yellowtail Snapper Fillet Whole Yellowtail Snappers Amberjack Black Drum Swordfish Yellowfin Tuna Red Snapper Rainbow Trout Steelhead Trout Atlantic Salmon by Verlasso Mahi Sea Scallops Fluke Flounder Corvina Striped Bass Monkfish Sable Petrale Sole | Walleye Chilean Sea Bass Red Grouper Yellowedge Grouper Kitty Mitchell Grouper Red Grouper Pacific Cod Amberjack Skate Wing Wild Georgia Shrimp Little Bitches Oysters Blue Point Oysters Blackberry Oysters Swell Oysters Little Bitches Oysters James River Oysters Littleneck Clams Black Mussels Kaluga Caviar Golden Osetra Caviar Classic Osetra Caviar Salmon Roe Siberia Caviar |
And Finally, Family is very, very important to me and that's a good thing because I have a lot of family. I have two children and 8 grandchildren, two sisters and two brothers, 7 nieces and nephews and their 7 children. My family anchors me to this world which can sometimes threaten to overwhelm. They are my respite from work, world and people troubles and are always available as guests whenever I want to have a party.
I hope you can find something similar in your life with family and/or friends. You need a place to go to rest.
Happy Mother's Day.
Blessings, Kathleen |
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