Something to look forward to

One of the frequent topics of discussion at Sunday Dinners with J&R is my proposal of a decadant feast we shall indulge in when they win their bet with G&S, and G&S have to fly up for a visit.

My plan for an appetizer is Deep Fried Crab legs, an idea that came to me while watching Iron Chef America (Battle King Crab).

According to my father, anything that isn't Maryland Blue Crab is an inferior meat that needs all the help it can get (preach!).

But the massive size of King Crab (which is readily available in our area, though it is pricey) is a quality worth exploiting. I figure carefully cracking some King Crab legs so as to keep the meat intact in one large tube (then carefully removing the tendons) will give us a single hunk o' crab about the size of a chicken tender.

Given the looser structure of seafood, flouring won't really work, I think. What is called for here is a breading. I experimented with chicken tenders a while ago in the new deep fryer. Panko (Japanese) Breadcrumbs worked alright, but the crushed Ritz Crackers (generically called butter crackers) were a brainstorm of mine I was quite pleased with. It gave a pleasant butteryness to the tenders, and brought salt to the scenario, which saves me the trouble.

I'll try again and coat the chicken in egg (which I forgot) to try for a proper crust, then try with the crab.

I'm also planning a Tres Leche ("Three Milk") cake. But that's another Blog.

I don't WANT to eat healthy, I want to eat GOOD!

My parents' best friends, who we'll call J&R, are in a bet with other friends in California, S&G about who can lose the most weight. Loser has to fly to visit the winner.

Obviously the 'rents and I are rooting for J&R, because then we get to see S&G, too.

To aid them, we've agreed to get together each Sunday for a healthy dinner.

Tonight marked the first Healthy Sunday Dinner at J&R's place. Dinner was chicken, pasta and oven-roasted veggies, after J helpfully inquired about what stuff I won't/can't eat (vegetables & raw tomatoes, for the record).

Next week, dinner is at our place and I'm cooking the mail course. J loaned me a couple Weight Watchers cookbooks and even a hunk of salmon, when I mentioned I'd been wanting to cook with salmon.

I've never been keen on "healthy" cooking. I feel that good food is healthy enough. I've been losing weight without counting calories or sodium or compromising ingredients (whole milk is for cooking, 2% for drinking, skim for watering plants).

But thumbing through the books, I found some things I really want to try.

How does Teriyaki Honey Salmon sound? Sounds yummy to me.