How To Eat Crab

First, you need to know what kind of crab you like. I recommend going to Red Lobster or Joe's Crab Shack and trying a combo of Snow (that's Opilio for all you Discovery Channel buffs), King, and Dungeness (if they have it). There are probably other types of crabs, but they're used for stuffing or other lesser dishes.

King crab is HUGE. When choosing what crab to eat it's important to remember that size isn't everything. There may be more meat with King crab, but it has a fishy taste. I hate fish. If you like fish (salmon, trout, halibut, it doesn't matter), then King could be for you. King also isn't tender, and can be chewy.

Snow and Dungeness are much smaller, but are very tender and have a buttery taste. Snow is our favorite. Dungeness tastes the same, but in short, is UGLY and looks nasty.

Next up is how to actually get the insides out. When you order crab you will get a couple basic tools (if you don't, ask for them). First is a nutcracker. The only other tool you might need is the tiny fork. I love the tiny fork. It makes me feel even bigger than I am, but when I eat mashed potatoes with it I end up eating very little which in turn makes me feel smaller :)

IMPORTANT! The tiny fork is NOT for getting meat out of the shell. You will end up destroying the meat and end up with nothing. Crab meat won't hold up to alot of grabbing, pulling, cutting, or piercing.

Ok, here we go, actually eating the crab. Remember, the goal when eating crab is to eat each piece as whole as possible. When served crab you'll get at least one arm and some legs. The legs we'll get to last since they are the easiest to eat. The arm is the only part that you'll need the nut cracker for. DISCLAIMER: King crabs need a nutcracker for most of the meal. They are hard and spiny and no fun at all to eat. Anyway, start with the claw. Take hold of the claw with one hand and the next segment with the other and bend and pull to separate the two. Then grab the moveable 'finger' and bend it backwards and pull out. Both of these actions should remove the cartilage from inside the claw. Then use the cracker to crack open the claw. Use the fork or fingers to pull apart the shell and grab the meat inside (which should still be intact).

For all other parts repeat the grabbing/pulling to remove the inner cartilage. Now, DON'T use the cracker for the other parts. Simply grab a segment with both hands and crack in two. Be gentle though. If done right you should end up with meat hanging out of one end. Easy. Sometimes the meat will be hiding inside one end. In that case you use the tiny fork like a can opener and open the soft side of the shell.

Crab eating can be fun, like eating ribs (but with less sauce), if you let yourself. Blaire and I got really messy at Joe's (I was eating potatoes and sausage without a fork :P). If you don't get messy, then you did it wrong.

so, we have a blog. I'm not allowed to change the landscape here, even though the colors are so....bleh.

Well I did it!

I finally plucked up some courage and set up my own store on etsy.com, which is a super cool marketplace for handmade or hand altered items. I'll keep a gallery of my items listed in the sidebar of the blog so you can see what's new, or you can head over to my store to check it out yourself. I'm even set up tp accept paypal, so I feel super business-y and official.

Tell your friends, family members, and anyone you think might care :) I'll be creating new things all the time and hopefully the world will like Elliette as much as I do.

Fun Filled Weekend

Last weekend we went down to American Fork for my sister-in-law Melissa's baby shower. While we were there we swung in to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner. It was good times and for some reason we were treated like we were super important. I'm not complaining, it was actually kind of nice.

We got a $5 gift card for our next visit and they took our picture and posted it on their website.

I FINALLY have something to say. . .

So I've had this blog for several months and I've avoided posting because I thought I didn't have anything to say. Now I suppose I have something worth telling to people I know.

I've always liked to sew and recently the inspiration hit me to mix somthing else I like with sewing. . .babies. That's right, I'd like to give birth to a collection of infant and children's clothing. I've decided to name my venture Elliette in honor of my soon to be niece whose impending birth got me motivated to start sewing in earnest. I hope in time to have onesies, skirts, jumpers, pajamas, bath towels and quilts and much more. I'll soon be opening my own store on etsy.com, so I'll keep you posted on that.

All items are either hand sewn by me, or trims and embellishments are hand applied by me. All designs are my origional work and I've really enjoyed creating these tiny garments.

Take a look at these first items and let me know if you'd pay any money for them.

These are size 0-3 months old. I jazzed them up with some cute trim.

I didn't make the onesie, but the denim skirt is made from recycled jeans. I also added a snap closure to the waist to make it even easier to put on. Should fit babies 3-6 months.

On this shirt I hand appliqued a flower and added a button center. The skirt has an elastic waist to fit baby as she grows. I added a pintucked trim in the same polkadot fabric. Should fit babies 0-3 months.

I didn't sew the onesie here either, but I sewed the skirt. I added a casing with RicRack so it can be adjusted to fit baby as she grows. Should fit babies 3-6 months.