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Tuesday, May 16, 2017

IN THE OCTAVE OF MOTHER'S DAY

Monday is my day off so last night I decided to treat myself to an Italian restaurant near where I take my day off in honor of my Italian mother who died almost five years ago. I use to go to Augusta on my day off to visit her and our normal lunch would be Chick-fil-A. This is a far cry from Chick-fil-a.

My mother didn't like how soft-shell crabs looked as these reminded her of fried spiders. So needless to say these were not a part of her Italian cooking when I was growing up and neither were Caesar salads or mussels, since she couldn't get mussels or the fresh seafood she was used in Livorno.

I don't think, and I can be wrong, that crabs are Italian, but the way these were prepared was Italian I guess.

My first experience of eating crabs ever was when I was in the seminary in Baltimore. Baltimore is known for its blue crabs and the manner in which they steam them. The first time I had soft shell crabs I absolutely love them for their ease of eating, you eat the whole dang thing and can cut it with a fork. 

The meal was superb and worth the anxiety of eating in a nice restaurant alone.  Maybe I should do it more often to get over my phobia. Frazier had an episode where Frazier had my phobia and went to a restaurant alone only to have his phobias come true. I laughed till I cried as the show captured exactly my fears!

Fr. Z eat your heart out!




pan seared soft shell crabs in a lemon caper sauce over angel hair pasta:

6 comments:

rcg said...

That looks delicious! Italians use other crustaceons in food, why not crab? Maybe not in your mother's home town. But that is a terrific idea. You should tell Fr. Fox about it, he might Want some, too!

ByzRus said...

Father -

That looks wonderful. Hopefully, you enjoyed a cocktail before dinner and a nice wine with the meal. With a little notice, I'm sure you could have rounded up some of your nearby readers. That would be an epic get-together with lively discussion and I'm sure a really big bill when done!

Also, prayers for your mother as the date of her passing approaches.

Gene said...

RCG, I did not know that Italians used Democrats in food. Amazing....

rcg said...

Different kind of crabs, Gene.

Carol H. said...

LOL,Gene!

Rood Screen said...

Fr. Z, who travels the world and enjoys its cuisines with a frequency uncharacteristic of a priest, would be humbled at this fare.