twothirds

Sunday’s dinner was Spicy Vietnamese Crab and Garlic Noodles. The concept was good, but it is one of those meals where the effort and cost overwealm any potential enjoyment.

The crab was procured live from the local market. This gave me the pleasure of being judge, jury and executioner. I followed some directions off the interweb and…

First, place the crab on it’s back and hold it in place with a large cleaver or french knife positioned on the center-line of the crab, between the two sets of legs. Strike the cleaver a sharp blow with a rubber mallet or similar tool; chopping the crab in half and killing it instantly.

I lack a rubber mallet, but a rolling pin was a great substitution. Previous adventures with live crab had me follow directions of, “…strike the head against a hard object and rip off its top shell.” Yikes! Not easy.

At this time I should point out that a recently live crap cut in half will have involuntary muscle spasms. This is common sense and I was already equipped with this knowledge, yet I still let out a “little girl scream” as 1/2 a crab body managed to leap out of my hand during cleaning.

Without too much fuss, I was able to de-leg the crab, cut into quarters and pan fry it. Aromatics were added and it was placed on top of noodles. The finished product looked yummy, but then I remembered I had to de-shell the beast.

I always enjoyed crab as a child. I am not sure why it seems like so much more work these days. Maybe my hands are too big? Either way, after 30-minutes of cracking, poking, cursing and swearing, I was finally ready to eat.

I would make this meal again, but I would use bulk lump crap to save time and money. I do enjoy the taste of crab–I just hate all the fuss required to enjoy it.

This weekends project was “French Onion Soup” topped with devil cheese (no TUMS needed). While I do enjoy the flavor of French Onion Soup, the best part is the cheese-crusted crouton. Mmmm caramelized cheese.

The recipe was rather time intensive (2.5 hours in the oven + 60 minutes on the stove + ~15 minutes for the crouton), but I would do it again on a slow weekend afternoon. Mainly, I am just happy I did hack off any digits. With six onions to chop, I went “onion blind” half-way through the second onion. Most of the onions were cut with at least one eye closed.

I should have broiled the croutons for a few more minutes, but I was getting hungry.

Looks like epicurious.com is not ready for all of the pre-Thanksgiving meal planning.

With 80 degree weather on Friday, I decided to put my mint plant to use and made some fruity drinks. Gina had a berry-infused mojito in NYC which served as my inspiration. Since I half-ass most things in the kitchen I do not have a recipe, but it went something like this:

• two-shots of rum
• juice from a lime
• handful of mint
• semi-frozen berries (4-5)
• brown sugar (~2 tbsp)
• Soda water
• Ice

To make the drink:

• Add the rum, mint, sugar, and lime to glass. Muddle ferociously.
• Add the berries to the glass. Muddle lightly to break them down, but preserve their shape.
• Add ice to fill the glass to 3/4 full
• Add soda water to top it off
• Stir
• Enjoy (multiple times)

To accompany the drinks, I brined a chicken which went into the smoker. I really need to get my act together and brine the chicken a day in advance. This way I can “dry” it in the fridge overnight. Brined chickens are yummy, but they tend to have a rubbery skin. Sides included:

• Mashed potatoes
• Roasted brussel sprout with panchetta
• Fennel, tomato, and cucumber salad with a blood orange vinaigrette

Mental note: I really need to start taking more pictures of my food pr0n.

I am gonna have to ask Watt, a true Coors fan, if this will make the brew better or worse.

My thyme plant kicked the bucket today. Well, it has actually been a slow death over the past few months as the pot was way to small, but it officially got whacked today. A replacement plant at Home Depot was a whopping $1.75 (including tax). At the grocery store today, I noticed thyme was $2.00!!! After once use, my new plant will be pure profit.

Update: So, I already have a lot of pot smokers hitting my blog due to my “smoking pot” post .  Now people are gonna show up here thinking they can learn how to make a profit off of pot!

The food menu looks interesting, the Jazz band is a nice touch, and I like the concept of a wine bar in San Mateo, but B Street and Vine misses the mark. During a recent visit I only came for the wine, but I left unsatisfied. I am tempted to go back and try the food, but if I want a good glass of wine, I’ll stick with one of the local restaurants. A few comments on the downers…

Stemware
The stemware is really bad. My red wine glass would have been better served as a water glass due to the thickness of the crystal. Also, it appears they only had one generic red and one white wine glass. They really need to match the glass to the varietal in addition to slimming the crystal.

Wine Menu
The wine menu was disappointing. At a wine bar, I want to experiment with great wine that is either hard to find or cost prohibitive at the bottle price. While I assume they have some hidden gems, nothing really jumped out at me, or maybe the menu just lacked inspiration. One critical faux paux was their Zinfandel selection, or lack there of. Considering this is one of the more popular grapes, if not “the grape” of California, you would expect a broad selection. Their selections–Ravenswood (yack!).

Temperature
My [red] wine was about 75 degrees. It should be served in the 60 degree range. It was hot that day, but that problem is easily solved with a wine cooler. No sense in drinking good wine if the subtle notes cannot make an appearance.

In short, there are not that many flaws, but the few flaws really are deal breakers if you are seeking a high quality wine experience. On the other hand, if you hate Merlot just because of the movie Sideways, B Street & Vine might be the place for you.

PS: Check out Pride Mountain Merlot if you think they all suck. You will change your opinion.