RICHARD FRISBIE :: Dungeness My Darling

 does a crab, by any other name, taste as sweet?

    My recent travels through San Mateo County in California introduced me to a concept similar to CSA called RSA, or Restaurant Supported Agriculture. In the same way consumers support their local farm, RSAs have restaurants supporting local food sources, from farms to fisheries, then designing their menus around the seasonal bounty. Today I want to tell you about the region's commitment to the ocean, the fishermen and the catch of the fishing fleet anchored in Half Moon Bay.


    The View from my room at Sheraton Gateway Hotel looking over San Francisco Bay

    Before sunup one morning we walked from the Oceano Hotel & Spa to the Half Moon Bay Kayak Company's pavilion on the water's edge. We geared up in waterproof shoes, life vests and kayak skirts (wet suits were available but we didn't need them) and got a rudimentary lesson in lifesaving on our way to the kayaks on the beach. By rudimentary, I mean that we were shown how to release our skirt once it was attached to the kayak in case we overturned and had to get out of the cockpit quickly. None of us were looking forward to getting that wet, so we listened more carefully to the instructions on how not to tip over. Fortunately it was a still morning so the harbor was like glass with a few bowling balls floating on it. We set off to see what they were.


                Kayakers before dawn in Half Moon Bay Harbor

    Harbor seals resting on a distant dock raised a head or two as we passed. They are protected and should not be disturbed. Their natural curiosity had one or more following our progress around the large sheltered harbor, keeping a low profile and a safe distance. That's what the bowling balls turned out to be, harbor seals breaking the water's smooth surface, their heads turning like owl's heads on the shoulders of the sea.

    We also saw all manner of gulls, pelicans and other sea birds, swimming, diving and/or perched on the rock jetty. Several times we avoided outgoing fishing boats, giving the workingmen a wave along with our right-of-way as we sat rocking in their wakes. Sightings of jelly fish, starfish and barnacle laden pilings completed the pre-dawn nature tour. Then we turned back towards the shore, where lights flickered on the dark hillside as a rising sun brightened the horizon.


                   The fishing fleet at dock in Half Moon Bay

    Later I went to the dock to check out the catch of the day. Salmon season starts June 1st, but this year commercial salmon fishing is banned. Most of the boats in the harbor were salmon boats, so most of the area's fisherman are suffering from the loss of an important part of their income. The whole community knows of their difficulties, and accommodations are being made for them, but I don't know how long fishermen can survive not being able to fish. It is sure to change the whole nature of the fleet, the harbor and the Town of Half Moon, not to mention our diets.

    For now, the few boats we saw going out during our morning kayak returned with a necessarily limited catch. There was rock fish, which is a common name for over 80 varieties of various size and color fish. They have in common a preference to feed in the rocky offshore bottoms, and a firm, white, mild flavored flesh. They were destined to become the basis of the ubiquitous fish & chips served in all the local eateries. Only two boats offered crabs, dungeness crabs.


                        Bill selling Crabs at the dock in Half Moon Bay

    Dungeness crabs are unique to the western coast of the US, from San Mateo north to the State of Washington. Usually their availability ends as the more lucrative Salmon season begins, but this year a few boats are still catching them later in the year, moving up the coast as the temperature warms. Only the larger males with shells more than six inches across are kept, smaller males and all the females are released from the traps to breed and grow for another year. A normal crab weighing a pound and a half has about a half pound of sweet white meat. They can be cleaned on the boat and frozen for shipment all over the world, or kept alive in tanks to sell for cooking like lobsters later in the day. Some were destined to be dropped off live at the restaurants where I was having lunch and dinner. I never did get to see them cooked because - instead of serving them whole - the chefs preferred to surprise me with more complex dishes.


    Phalanx of chefs at San Francisco Airport Marriott's un-named (very good) restaurant

    The light, sweet flavor of dungeness crabmeat works well in many recipes, including this one for crab cakes.

Dungeness crab cakes
    Ingredients
**1 bottle chilled Thomas Fogarty Estate Chardonnay
4 cups panko bread crumbs
3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley - separated

1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2 Tbsp plus 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh or dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1 pound cooked fresh dungeness crabmeat, picked over, drained and shredded
6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil - separated
Butter for frying

        Gorgeously plated and delicious Dungeness Crab Cake at the Marriott

    Cooking Process
 Pour yourself a glass of wine. Inhale the bouquet and let that smooth California Chardonnay fill your mouth. Swallow, savoring the long finish. Thus fortified, combine bread crumbs and ½ cup parsley. Reserve 1 cup of this mixture, put the rest in a shallow dish suitable for breading.


Between sips, combine next nine ingredients in a food processor and pulse to mix. Then, while the processor is running, dribble in 5 Tbsp olive oil until the mixture emulsifies. Reserve.

Saute next two ingredients in remaining olive oil until onion is translucent and peppers just tender. Combine with reserved
 bread crumbs and parsley in a large bowl. Add the sauce and the crabmeat, stirring gently until just mixed. Form into six ½ inch thick patties about 4 inches round, cover and refrigerate for one hour.

Have another glass of wine as you prepare whatever vegetables and dessert you'll serve with these delicious crab cakes. (pan-fried asparagus and cookies ordered from Hudson Valley Dessert Company work for me)


                            The Sherman Restaurant appetizer spoons

Preheat oven to 200 degrees, turn it off. Melt butter in frying pan over medium heat. Fry the crab cakes in two or three batches for about 4 or 5 minutes per side, adding butter as needed, placing finished crab cakes on a plate in the warm oven until all are done. Serve on a small bed of mesclun greens, with a wedge of lemon, or your favorite aioli. (You might want to open another bottle of wine for your guests.)

 
    I had crab cakes at the still un-named, but very good new restaurant in the San Francisco Airport Marriott. They also served a delicate crab and chopped seasonal vegetable sauté with my steak. I had a lovely little spoonful of crab on mango and avocado pieces for an appetizer on The Sherman Restaurant, an historic boat converted into a restaurant on San Francisco Bay. Kincaid's Fish, Chop and Steakhouse, located on the Bay behind the Sheraton Gateway Hotel where I stayed, provided a 3 tiered appetizer with a crab creation on the bottom. For someone who could take or leave crab before this, I was hooked on it by the end of the visit. 

    Dungeness crab is a versatile ingredient in salads, bisque, even Newburg - virtually any dish you like. The flavor is so delicate that usually only a few not overpowering ingredients are combined in crab dishes. The crab cakes above are a delicious exception. If you aren't where fresh crabs can be purchased from the fisherman, the frozen-at-sea whole crabs are a good substitute, and even canned crabmeat will do in a pinch. But, I have to say that there is nothing better than picking out your crab on the boat that caught it!

**A note about the wine -
When I am eating locally I try to pair my food with local wines. Thomas Fogarty Winery & Vinyards is located in Woodside, CA, in the hills above Half Moon Bay. They produce many wines, but their 2005 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay was a Gold Medal Winner and "Best Chardonnay of Class" in the 2008 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. It's a long lemony/vanilla mouthful of flavor, perfect with the crab.

Richard Frisbie, FOOD Correspondent:

RICHARD FRISBIE is published twice a month to Gather Essentials: Food 
It is a food junkie's take on growing, raising, preparing and - above all else - eating food. Together we'll explore the trends, addictions, equipment and regional specialties that make up the sometimes mundane and sometimes sublime cooking and dining experience. You can keep up with my other postings and Gather activity by joining my Gather network -- I look forward to hearing from you.

BIO - Richard Frisbie writes culinary travel articles, is a columnist for his local newspapers, and is a regular contributor to the many Hudson Valley, Catskill Mountain and other regional New York publications. His most recent addition to that list is a wine column called "Fruit of the Vine" for Life in the Finger Lakes magazine. Online, he writes frequent articles for EDGE publications and Travel Lady, as well as Gather.


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