Yes We Have no Crab Louie

A trip to Fresno brought the promise of a traditional crab louie! In the olden days every coffee shop in the Los Angeles area offered a crab louie. When I came back from Boston in the early 80's they had disappeared off the face of the earth. There's a retro restaurant in Fresno that has them now so we made a special trip with our mouths watering, visions of giant crab chunks dancing in our heads. :( The crab delivery didn't come so they were out of crab ... sniff. The restaurant was really cool though and the weather was perfect. We watched the blossoms fall like snow. Their outdoor patio features a heated stone floor and a combo fireplace/waterfall/fountain. I had actually made traditional Crab Louie last week so I wasn't too freaked. Here's how I do it:

Lettuce, avocado wedges, tomato wedges, asparagus spears, black olives, hard boiled egg wedges and of course huge hunks of crab all festooned with thousand island dressing. I found a copycat recipe for Thousand Island Dressing that imitates Kraft. I had everything, otherwise I would have just used Kraft Thousand Island Dressing.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon white vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish

1 teaspoon finely minced white onion

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 dash of black pepper
Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Stir well. Place dressing in a covered container and refrigerate for several hours, stirring occasionally, so that the sugar dissolves and the flavors blend.

My sister and I are on the salad bandwagon -another stab at Weight Watchers. We love Chinese Chicken Salad. Back in the 80's this was quite cutting edge. Way back then department stores used to have restaurants right in them. The Broadway (before Macy's took over the world!) had my favorite version in their restaurant. Here's how I recreate this long lost treasure:

Chinese Chicken Salad

2 chicken breasts
1 TB chinese red pepper paste

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 garlic clove crushed

1 TB oil

1/4 cup slivered almonds

2 Tb sesame sticks (or fried wonton skins)

1 can mandarin oranges

1 bag romaine or spinach leaves

1 bottle Joey D's Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing (I've never been able to match it)

green onions and sesame seeds

Slice chicken and combine next 3 ingredients. Heat oil and saute chicken. Toss greens with dressing to taste. Add remaining ingredients.

Really Good Chili - No Beans

Alton Brown had a great chili recipe a while back and I tested it on my SO who actually liked it! Yay! I had been sticking to a concoction for years and usually added beans to be healthy but this had no beans, did have chipotle and homemade chili powder. The first time I made it I included the lamb the recipe called for. Didn't care for the flavor with everything else. Left it out on the second round.

Here's the way I actually made the chili:

3 pounds stew meat (beef, and pork)

2 teaspoons peanut oil

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 (12-ounce) bottle of beer, preferably a medium ale

1 (16-ounce) container salsa

2 chipotle peppers canned in adobo sauce, chopped

1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from the chipotle peppers in adobo)

1 tablespoon chili powder (see homemade recipe below)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Place the meat in a large mixing bowl and toss with the peanut oil and salt. Set aside.
Heat a slow cooker on high until hot. Add the meat in 3 or 4 batches to a large skillet and brown on all sides, approximately 2 minutes per batch. Once each batch is browned, place the meat in a clean large bowl. Once all of the meat is browned, add the beer to the skillet to deglaze it. Scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the meat back to cooker along with the salsa, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, chili powder, and ground cumin and stir to combine. Put on the lid and watch until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 3-4 hours. Remove from the heat and carefully release the steam. Serve immediately.

AB's Chili Powder
3 ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and sliced

3 cascabel chiles, stemmed, seeded and sliced

3 dried arbol chiles, stemmed, seeded and sliced

2 tablespoons whole cumin seeds

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon paprika

Place all of the chiles and the cumin into a medium nonstick saute pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, moving the pan around constantly, until you begin to smell the cumin toasting, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside and cool completely.
Once cool, place the chiles and cumin into the carafe of a blender along with the garlic powder, oregano, and paprika. Process until a fine powder is formed. Allow the powder to settle for at least a minute before removing the lid of the carafe. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.