  |
|
|
|
Many years ago my mother acquired a new name. Her charming daughters started referring to her at The Fossil. At the time she was probably only in her 40s, though from our vantage point that no doubt seemed a pretty ripe old age.
Ben was visiting from Australia for a few days so it was a good chance for everyone to catch up and for us to share some crayfish a generous friend had brought back from one of his diving trips. It's amazing how everyone clusters around the plate of crayfish when it has been prepared, but how scarce they all were when it came to wresting the meat from the shell, cracking the claws and piercing one's fingers with rogue spines. However, unobserved, that is the time for me to claim cook's perks. I decided to make this a seafood meal so we also had freshly cooked prawns, made into a salad and served on a large platter, surrounding the crayfish. Lately I have been buying frozen raw prawns which have had the heads and shells removed. This is a really economical way to buy them as there is no wastage and, because they are cooked just prior to serving, they really taste a lot fresher than frozen cooked prawns. This also allows for them to be marinated in their raw state, letting the flavour penetrate rather than being added on to already cooked crustaceans. I also bought some smoked eel. I used to use a lot of it about 20 years back when I would make a smoked eel pate to serve with melba toast as an appetizer or to go with pre-dinner drinks. This time I served it simply cut into small serving pieces. The Fossil sometimes needs to be persuaded to sample some recipes. She was about to pass on the eel when I reminded her she used to be happy to eat it as a pate. Anyway, she was soon happily devouring it. I was also wondering about the cannelini beans which are in the salad, knowing she would never touch baked beans. However, having accompanied me on my Mediterranean Warehouse shopping expeditions, she was keen to try them. Go To Page: 1 2 |
|
|
|
