San Francisco's Dungeness Crab

On a recent trip to visit our old friends in the San Francisco bay area, we went to Sam and Anissa's house ( TofC contributors ) for yet another crazy-good meal. This time they brought home a couple live Dungeness Crab's from their local farmer's market in Marin County and made magic appear in the form of a rich and delicious naughty pasta creation.

FRESH TAGLIATELLE WITH DUNGENESS CRAB 

& HABAÑERO PEPPER LEMON CREAM SAUCE

Serves 6

Ingredient List:

2 live crabs

4 star asnise

2 fennel tops (reserve some of the green lace like leaves for final garnish)

2 smashed garlic cloves

2 bay leaves

8-10oz of fresh Tagliatelle pasta (or similar)

1 diced shallot

1 TB butter

1 1/2 cups half and half

1-2 sliced Habañeros ( seeds removed )

zest of 1 lemon

salt

lots of fresh cracked black pepper

For Crab Preparation:

Fill a large pot with water and add the star anise, 1 TB of salt, fennel tops, smashed garlic cloves, and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Cook crabs ( one at a time if you don't have a big enough pot) for 15 minutes per pound. Allow to cool and extract meat.

For Sauce Prep:

Saute the shallot in butter and when soft and translucent, add the 1 1/2 cups half-n-half. Cook over low heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Add habañeros. Once its warm and starts to thicken, add crab meat, lemon zest and some cracked black pepper.

Boil the fresh pasta in salted water and drain. Add pasta to the sauce and cook/stir for 1-2 minutes more until the noodles have absorbed the sauce and the sauce has absorbed some starch.

Finally, garnish with the fennel leaves... Voilà !

Recipe by Sam Grawe

On a Date in Italy: Down to the Amalfi Coast

Guest post by: Sam Grawe

In this post, we continue to follow Sam and Anissa on their road trip in Italy. Here is Sam's report on two restaurants near Sorrento:

We left Rome after a few days and cruised down to Sorrento,  Agripoli, and the Amalfi Coast. South of Sorrento is where Mozzarella comes from. We ended up at an awesome place in a small seaside town called Agripoli il Ceppo. It was the spot, rustic and simple.

In another Amalfi coast town, Ravello, there's a spot called Trattoria Cumpo Cosimo on Via Roma, 48, where an old lady named Netta rules the roost and cooks up amazing food:  

Photos and text: Sam Grawe

Next up: The 1960's hotel designed by Gio Ponti in Sorrento, the final post featuring Sam and Anissa's Italian road trip.  
 

On a Date in Italy: A Roman Deli

Guest post by: Sam Grawe

In part II of On a Date in Italy, we continue to follow Sam and Anissa as they step inside a magical deli in Rome. Here is Sam's report on the salumi, cheese and beyond:

So this place Roscioli in Rome is a deli, and a restaurant, and was our favorite overall meal. The best cheese and meat selections, amazing carbonara, and such a great vibe to be eating in the middle of an amazingly stocked deli!

Salumi selection:

Lazzio cheese selection with truffle honey:

Carbonara...

Lil choco dippers with coffee

the vibe...

Next up: Down to the Amalfi Coast



Text and Photos by Sam Grawe

On a Date in Italy

Guest post by: Sam Grawe

Sam Grawe and his wife, Anissa, hit the road in Italy last month to celebrate their first wedding anniversary.  We will publish Sam's road trip report in several posts, here is the first one, in his words:

Here's a brief rundown on some stuff I/we ate:

In Milan, at Peck, a wonderful upscale food store with a cafe on the second floor.

Bresaola with Robiola and Arugula:

Crespelle stuffed with Ricotta / Zucchini flowers / topped with a white sauce / cheese:

In Parma, at a Parmesan cheese producer outlet:

 



Parmesan Mousse with Candied Pear and aged Balsamic:

Culatello ham (only made with the tenderloin of the right leg of the pig, the one it rests on while lying down instead of the one that it stands up with!):

 

The best street in Rome! (no salumi in sight unfortch):

Probably the single best dish I ate in Italy. At a place called Pizzeria Roma Sparita in an overlooked section of town.

Pacchieri stuffed with ricotta/artichokes, topped with cherry tomatoes & pancetta chunklets and cheese:

Roma Sparita is famous for their Cacio e Pepe ( Pecorino Romano and pepper )



Trippa alla Romana in Rome!



Anniversary styles:




... On a Date in Italy continues here!


Photos and text: Sam Grawe

Cornmeal & Masa Waffles with Old Buds

During a recent December visit to San Francisco, we visited some of our dear friends who just moved into their Eichler designed home in Marin County. After our sleepover, we woke up to the sounds of sweet crackling vinyl from Sam's vast record collection playing on the speakers, and to the smell of... toasting masa flour? Yes. Sam Grawe, who spends most of his time as editor-in-chief of Dwell Magazine as well as playing and writing music, improvised a waffle recipe incorporating gluten free ingredients to create an earthy and scrumptious take on waffles. Sam and his wife Anissa tag team a super crazy good meal. I wish I could photographically report on the dinner they made the night before, but I'll just say it involved a cut of meat that was Japanese inspired sweet, salty and grilled to fall apart perfection. It was serious.

After our morning waffle hour, we took a hike in the foothills behind their house, where Sam took field recordings of the babbling brook for potential tracking in his music room. Eero, their mystical looking cat, was waiting for us by the door when we got home with owl like eyes.

The colors in the nearby hills are seamlessly integrated with the color choice on their living room walls. Eichler houses use tons of glass which brings the outside in.  Nature reflected in any interior will always be cool.

When coming up with the waffle recipe, Sam busted out a classic recipe to get the job started... It's fun to riff off basic recipes, especially when you like to cook off the cuff.

Sam decided to toast the masa flour before adding it to the cornmeal and the other dry ingredients.

 

Instead of regular milk, Sam used almond milk. At this stage he also added a few egg yolk and mixed it until all ingredients were fully combined and smooth.

Adrian on Coffee Patrol

Sam then added some whipped egg whites and slowly folded them in. No over mixing allowed here or else they will have no fluff!

Et Voilà. There it is. Serve with whatever you fancy. Next time we will turn it savory by incorporating some green poblano peppers and jack cheese to make it sort of Mexican style. Or perhaps with honey and make it kind of sopapilla-esque and New-Mexican.

TofC on Design Milk

This week, Trail of Crumbs received a high-five from Dwell Magazine's editor-in-chief, Sam Grawe. Sam is one of our favorite cooking pals and is also the man behind music projects like Hatchback and Windsurf (along with Daniel Judd).  Lots of warm California memories of living in the Bay Area down the road from Sam where we cooked many a meal together while listening to his flea-market vinyl finds. Much time has also been spent cooking and chilling at one of our regular haunts, Casa Rincon, on Mexico's Pacific coast.

Sam at Casa Rincon

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Stuffed with Queso Fresco & A Chili Relleno