This recipe is incredibly simple to execute. It tastes great, it’s light, fresh, and healthy. It makes for a striking presentation without any fuss.

1lb stone-crab claws (or your favorite crab in season)
crab “boil” mix
2-3 Belgian endives, rinsed
6 oz prosciutto
1-2 tbsp butter, melted
lemon juice
olive oil
honey
salt and pepper

Heat water in a large pot, as it comes to a boil, add the crab “boil mix”. Since this is basically salt and spices, it’s something you can make yourself, too. Start with salt and add spices to your liking. Add the crab claws to the boiling water and cook 5 minutes. Remove the claws from the water and allow them to cool.

Cut the lower part of the stem from the endives. You may need to discard a couple of the outermost leaves. Take the leaves and arrange them on a plate, making an array of endive “scoops”. Slice prosciutto and line the endive leaves with a few ribbons each. Stone crab season ranges from October 15 to May 15–only a single claw from each crab is harvested (creepy or cool–they grow back).

Crack the stone crab claws and scoop out the meat. Make sure absolutely no pieces of shell find their way into the crab meat! Add a small scoop of meat to each endive leaf. Generously sprinkle each leaf with lemon juice. Next drizzle a small amount of honey, melted butter and olive oil over each leaf. Take care to coat the leaves without drowning them–the salt, sweet and savory are needed to counter the bitterness of the endive. Add salt and pepper, and you’re ready to serve immediately.

I think next time I might crisp the prosciutto a little before it’s incorporated into the dish…

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With a little time and patience, and after a considerable amount of procrastination, I finally tackled de-badging and de-chickleting on the car. It looks great, not a scratch in the process, and a much more clean look. I think the whole process took an hour.

I removed a “GM” “chicklet” from each front fender, and all the “Pontiac”, “Solstice”, and “GXP” letters. I heated up each piece for approximately 2 minutes from a few inches away with the hair dryer. Next, I sprayed on a liberal amount of WD-40, then gently pressed the bondo knife through the adhesive backing of each piece. I spent the most time rubbing WD-40 to remove all but the most stubborn pieces of adhesive. The final remnants of adhesive cleaned off thanks to a little Goo Gone.

“Bondo” knife (incredibly soft plastic)
Hair Dryer
Goo Gone
Microfiber Cloth
Clay polish
WD-40

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For all of you who know me and readers out there on the web, please have a happy and safe 2009! Enjoy the festivities this evening, as we draw to a fast close of the 2008 holiday season.

My posts will resume this weekend. First on the list, better organization of archives. Till then, cheers!

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1 lb mussels
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
2 tbsp roasted garlic
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 12oz can beer
1/3 cup lime juice
1/2 tsp chinese five spice
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup serrano peppers, minced

Add all ingredients except mussels into a saute pan. Simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Rinse mussels thoroughly. Raise heat of broth to bring it to a low boil. Add mussels, cover and allow them to cook for a few minutes until the mussel shells are open. Discard all mussels which do not fully open. Serve a few mussels and a few spoonfuls of broth. My suggestion is to serve it over rice.

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Tahini Sauce
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 tsp Worchestershire
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp dill
3/8 tsp salt
3 tsp olive oil
3 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice

The Condiments
2 small tomatoes, halved and sliced
1 red onion, chopped
feta cheese
pita bread - halved into pockets
kale or lettuce, chopped
artichoke hearts, chopped

Kicked-up Batter
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup parsley, minced
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp basil, minced
1 tbsp oregano, minced

olive oil

Follow the recipe for making your falafel um…batter? Kind of like calling “paste”. You can use a box to make it quick and easy (simple as adding water to a mix, typically). Or you can make your own, I used this recipe from About.com on a previous attempt. I kicked my box mix up a little as the ingredients show above.

After the batter is well mixed, form the batter into balls (use your hands). Flatten these balls out on wax paper or foil. You want rounds about 3/4″ thick and 2 1/2″ in diameter. That’s about the right size to fill up half a pita when crushed.

Prepare your sauce in a small bowl (or use a pyrex measuring cup to simplify the measurement process). Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

Heat about a cup of the oil of your choice in a medium frying pan. I used olive oil, but light sesame oil comes to mind as well. Warm the oil until a drop of water vaporizes on contact in it. Add falafels to the oil, taking care to avoid spatters. Cook until dark golden brown. Allow them to cool on paper towels to soak up any excess oil.

You can serve these as build-your-own or pre-make them. A falafel with “the works” in this case would be a pita pocket, a crushed falafel, lettuce, onion, tomato, artichoke, a few spoons of Tahini sauce, and a sprinkle of feta cheese.

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