Crab sandwich and warm spinach salad
I didn’t hesitate when No. 2 son (John) dropped by the other night and offered to make dinner: a Dungeness crab sandwich alongside a spinach salad. I was thrilled to have a night off from cooking and made a quick deal. He would do the cooking; I would do the cleanup. Afterward, we talked about getting the recipes on this Small Plates blog. But he was worried about being exact.
“I never measure out anything,” he said. So I prodded him into approximate amounts. With that in mind, I suggest that you make adjustments as you go and build the sandwich according to what you think is the correct, spreadable consistency.
Crab and cheese sandwich
1/2 pound of crab
1-1/2 teaspoons chopped dill
1/3 cup cream cheese
2 tablespoons mayo
pinches of black pepper
crusty bread cut 1-inch thick
cheddar or jack cheese to cover
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, then broil for 2 minutes until brown and bubbly.
Warm bacon dressing for spinach salad
1/2 pound spinach
5 strips bacon
2 tablespoons roughly chopped basil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
pinch of black pepper
a little salt
a squeeze of lemon juice
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sugar
Parmesan cheese
Fry the bacon in a pan. Pull out the strips of bacon, reserving the grease. Wick out half the fat. Chop the bacon. Mix the rest of the ingredients into the bacon fat. Let it boil, then toss over the spinach until the spinach appears reduced by half. Sprinkle on Parmesan cheese.
Serve warm.
Janet Cleaveland
What happens when a retired journalist spends a lot more time in the kitchen than in past years? She tries new dishes and jumps at the chance to write a blog about food, family and good times. My kids are grown now, but I'll be looking back at how they learned to cook, what recipes my husband (the Intrepid One) and I are experimenting with, and how food and conversation make for happy times in the kitchen. I worked for The Columbian for 15 years as a copy editor and another 10 elsewhere, though I didn't start out as a journalist. I thought I wanted to teach English literature. My husband grew up in Clark County, and I've lived here since 1983. My kids have grown and left home. Like my husband of 52 years, our adopted chocolate Lab would never pass up a chance for a tasty meal.