Shell Game

Fresh soft-shell crabs have an irresistibly sweet-salty flavor, and when they're nestled in a hot skillet of nutty brown butter and served very crisp with a squeeze of lemon juice and a little mayonnaise, they're simply luxurious. It's actually a good thing that this Maryland specialty has such a brief season. The fish is expensive and the dish so buttery, if they were around any longer, we'd either break the bank or have to move the notch on our belts. When the season closes at the end of July, we turn to Maine crabmeat. It is just as costly, but completely no-fuss, because it's already out of the hard shells. We present it in a salad with only enough mayonnaise to hold it together and onion and celery for crunch. Heap the crabmeat onto ripe avocado halves. Just add crackers and a view of the sea.

SAUTEED SOFT-SHELL CRABS WITH PARSLEY MAYONNAISE
SERVES 4

To make a snappier red mayonnaise, omit the parsley and add one-half of a pureed roasted red pepper and a generous pinch of crushed red pepper. If you like, serve these soft-shell crabs as a first course to eight people.

MAYONNAISE
1 clove garlic
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, stems removed
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste

Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Drain the garlic.

In a food processor, with the machine running, drop the garlic through the feed tube and leave the motor on to chop the garlic finely. Remove the lid, add the parsley, and pulse until the leaves are coarsely chopped.

Add the mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pulse again once, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and pulse once more, just until the parsley and mayonnaise are well mixed.

Transfer the parsley mayonnaise to a small serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

CRABS

1/2 cup flour
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and black pepper, to taste
8 soft-shell crabs
4 tablespoons butter
1 lemon, cut into wedges (for serving)

Set the oven at 300 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

On a large plate, place the flour, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Stir with a fork. Dip the crabs into the flour mixture, coating both sides and tapping off the excess.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of butter. When it melts, cook 4 soft-shell crabs over medium-high heat about 2 minutes on a side. Transfer the crabs to the baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Fry the rest of the crabs in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the same way.

Place 2 soft-shell crabs on each of 4 plates. Add a spoonful of the mayonnaise and garnish with lemon. Serve at once.

SOFT-SHELL PO' BOYS
SERVES 4

A New Orleans specialty, po' boys were once filled with the cheapest ingredients (po' is short for poor). Now the sandwiches hold sausages or deep-fried seafood. Here, sauteed soft-shell crabs, ham, and sliced tomatoes fill French bread rolls. You'll need 4 crabs and the full amount of parsley mayonnaise.

4 large crusty rolls, split but not all the way through
1 recipe parsley mayonnaise (see left)
4 thin slices well-flavored ham
1/2 recipe sauteed soft-shell crabs (see left)
2 large ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste

Spread the rolls with the parsley mayonnaise. Spread the ham across the rolls and add a softshell crab to one side of each roll. Top with sliced tomatoes, salt, and pepper.

Close the sandwiches and serve at once.

CRABMEAT SALAD IN AVOCADO HALVES
SERVES 4

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 sweet onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, very finely chopped
1 pound lump crabmeat
2 ripe avocados
1 lemon, halved
8 sprigs fresh watercress, stems removed

In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir well.

Add the onion, celery, and crabmeat. Stir well. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if you like.

Halve and pit the avocados. Squeeze the lemon all over them so the cut sides do not brown. Spoon the crab mixture onto the avocados, garnish with watercress, and serve at once.

Ask the Cook: Hard Lesson

When I grind chicken breasts in a food processor, the chicken leaves a residue that hardens like cement and will not come off even in a dishwasher. Even if I rinse out the plastic work bowl immediately, the residue hardens. Soaking the bowl before putting it in the dishwasher has no effect. The only solution is to clean the bowl laboriously by hand. Is there a better way?
ANNEMARIE ROM-WEISENBACH /// Needham

I worked in a small Italian restaurant for a time. One day, I helped make chicken sausage and had water running on the meat grinder to start the cleaning process. Mama Antoinette turned off the water, lightly smacked me with the back of her hand, and said, "Acqua nessun dente," that is, "Water don't have teeth." In short, I should stop wasting water and scrub with my hands. You should, too. Right after you empty the bowl, wipe it out with cold water and paper towels. Removing as much of the raw meat as possible will help prevent that cementlike layer from forming. Using hot water or the dishwasher right away will "cook" the ground meat to the plastic, making it more difficult to clean later. Try pre-treating the processor bowl with nonstick spray or wiping it lightly with vegetable oil before you grind. Most recipes will also advise that you chill the bowl first to help keep the meat from sticking. It sounds as though you are capable of some pretty complicated cooking if you grind your own chicken. So, unless your water has teeth, I'd avoid hot water and stick to elbow grease.

By Peter J. Kelly, a chef-instructor at Johnson & Wales University.