{alaskan goodness}

Crab. mmm. My husband and I have been talking about having a "crab feast" for weeks. Alaskan King Crab is amazing up here! We decided that due to the "shy" quantity restaurants offer at an extraordinary price, we should just purchase some at our favorite local market (New Sagaya) and prepare the feast right in the comfort of our home. I must admit I was quite timid about the idea at first. I have NO experience cooking crab (or should I say 'had' no experience). But, we heard of a great sale going on of King Crab Legs yesterday and so jumped at the chance - no going back now!

Let me tell you...there is nothing easier! My goodness, the meal was amazing! I wish I would have taken a picture of our whole plate - filled with a baked potato (and all the fixings), a red onion and tomato green salad, roasted zucchini w/ yellow and orange bell peppers and of course the crab. Yummy.

If you ever get the opportunity - try it! You (and your loved ones) won't regret it! I searched for a good recipe...and came across Emeril's Drunken Crab Legs . The recipe took me off guard at first, but I'd recommend it to anyone now! I've never cooked with beer in the past, but believe me the crab doesn't even touch it - it just gives a slight flavor and blends amazingly with the garlic and lemon. Kids would even love it! (If you can get them to eat seafood.) The recipe is above and literally it takes 5 minutes to cook.

Make sure you have a big pot with a steamer insert. We used a 12 gallon pot and just cut the legs so they would fit. We then cut down each leg before steaming...this really helped at eating time! Made life so much easier.

One other thing I did was serve clarified butter. You want to make sure to go the extra step and clarify the butter. It's super simple. Take a stick of butter and heat in a small saucepan on low. Stir as it's melting. Once the butter is completely liquified (but not 'cooking') remove the saucepan from the heat. Let it set up. As it does the white milk solids of the butter with sink to the bottom of the pan. Let it sit for long enough for there to be a good separation. Once good, cover a glass bowl with a piece of cheese cloth and poor in. You could even put the cheese cloth over a small strainer and then poor into the bowl like that (for extra protection). You just want to gather the butter oil in the bowl. Clarifying butter is essential in many sauces, including Hollandaise sauce, but is great for dipping lobster, artichoke and of course CRAB.

Have fun creating good food and most of all ENJOY!