crab and spinach quesadillas

[nishi]

i love to cook, but rarely have a lot of time to do it in, so i try to have a bunch of "stuff in a bag" things around the house that keep well, and make what i can out of that. this was tonight's really yummy concoction.

yes. i said 'coc'.

saute in olive oil at high heat:
1 small chopped onion
1/2 chopped green pepper
1/2 chopped sweet red pepper
1 t. red pepper flakes
salt

when veggies soften a bit and the edges start to brown, lower the heat to medium and add
1 bag of fake crab pieces
the juice of one lime
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 bag baby spinach
1/3 of a beer (the rest should be drunk. incidentally, the only beer i had in my fridge tonight was non-alcoholic, and it worked just fine)

when spinach is wilted and beer is cooked down, remove from heat.

in a cast iron skillet, heat olive oil. when hot, place one flour tortilla in the pan; cover lightly with shredded 'mexican mix' cheese (as far as i can tell, that means 'white and orange together!') (whoever invented bags of shredded cheese should be knighted or something. this is also true for baby spinach).

add chopped cilantro if you're a cilantro kind of person.

removed tortilla to plate, cover with crab/veggie mixture. voila!!

this is actually both astonishingly good for you and super super tasty. plus, it makes more than enough for two tortillas. since it's only me, i'm saving the rest of the veggie/crab stuff for tomorrow morning's omelette.

[meredith]

i still haven't had crab yet.  what are "fake crab pieces"?

[nishi]

it's actually called 'imitation crab' and is a processed fish that includes (i think) mostly turbot, sometimes halibut, and some crab. it's - rather annoyingly - shaped into 'piecey' pieces, 'sticky' pieces, and 'some other shape i can't remember' pieces.

those are not official names.

it's cheap seafood, it keeps well, it freezes really well, and it's often on sale, 2 bags for the price of one. it's not nearly as good as crab, but it's pretty tasty.

[nishi]

i lied. it's not turbot. it's alaska pollack.

[ReBurn]

it's actually called 'imitation crab' and is a processed fish that includes (i think) mostly turbot, sometimes halibut, and some crab. it's - rather annoyingly - shaped into 'piecey' pieces, 'sticky' pieces, and 'some other shape i can't remember' pieces.

those are not official names.

it's cheap seafood, it keeps well, it freezes really well, and it's often on sale, 2 bags for the price of one. it's not nearly as good as crab, but it's pretty tasty.

A lot of the time the imitation stuff is whitefish.  I love to eat imitation crab meat right out of the package.  Real crab meat is awesome, though.  I love to go crabbing and catch a mess of them, boil them down, and just eat and eat and eat.  Good stuff.

[BigDun]

One time my wife and I went to a Korean restaurant where the staff spoke only pigeon English. We told them that my wife was a vegetarian and they brought her  a fish stew. When we complained that fish is a meat, they said that it was "fake fish" but couldn't tell us what it was made from. Needless to say, she didn't eat it.

For that matter, I didn't eat what was served to me either. I had no idea what it was and the tasted was not good.

We haven't been to a Korean restaurant since and probably won't ever again.

[Gamplayerx]

That sounds awesome, Nishi. 

[DownSouth]

Place I went to in the Outer Banks. http://www.dirtydickscrabs.com/

[Alice]

Can I come live with you?

[cnamon]

I haven't been to Dirty Dicks.  But the best crab in the world is in MD.  Hands down.  I think I will go get some crab meat from the wharf tonight. 

Damnit.  I want seafood and mac and cheese.

[Gamplayerx]

I haven't been to Dirty Dick's, either.  But we do have some mighty fine crabs in Maryland.  I got a bit burned out on crabs when Grumpus and I lived on the water.  We had crab traps so we ate crabs almost every night for 2 years.

[cnamon]

Living out here has made me a seafood snob.  I will not go to a chain around here to eat seafood, and I only buy seafood from the wharf.  I wonder how Red Lobster survives when we are so close to such great seafood. 

[Gamplayerx]

I've never been to Red Lobster.

[cnamon]

I've never been to Red Lobster.

I've been twice...once because I was with a family member that wanted familiar (read:  chains), and another time with some people who considered it to be high class (read:  they weren't food snobs like I am).

[DownSouth]

I've never been to Red Lobster.

I've been once.  It was ok.

[DownSouth]

Joe's crab shack is fun if you're with a lot of people.  I like the food too.

[Listener]

Joe's crab shack is fun if you're with a lot of people.  I like the food too.

There are two types of Joe's Crab Shack.  There's the one in Miami that's a one-of-a-kind great place to eat, and then there's the chain that's in every other city.  The latter, every hour, every single waiter and server has to participate in a dance number.  The one I went to, they all hated doing it.  You could see it in their faces.  You could drink their despair.

Otherwise, it was a good place to eat.

[DownSouth]

Joe's crab shack is fun if you're with a lot of people.  I like the food too.

There are two types of Joe's Crab Shack.  There's the one in Miami that's a one-of-a-kind great place to eat, and then there's the chain that's in every other city.  The latter, every hour, every single waiter and server has to participate in a dance number.  The one I went to, they all hated doing it.  You could see it in their faces.  You could drink their despair.

Otherwise, it was a good place to eat.

That's part of the fun.

[Beefy]

Joe's crab shack is fun if you're with a lot of people.  I like the food too.

There are two types of Joe's Crab Shack.  There's the one in Miami that's a one-of-a-kind great place to eat, and then there's the chain that's in every other city.  The latter, every hour, every single waiter and server has to participate in a dance number.  The one I went to, they all hated doing it.  You could see it in their faces.  You could drink their despair.

Otherwise, it was a good place to eat.

That's part of the fun.

It's way way way too noisy in those places.  I don't care if it's your birthday.  I want you to serve my food and then go away, not stand on my table and act like a dink.

[pumpkineye]

for the last month, I have been craving the crab cakes from that fancypants restaurant we went to in N.O.

they were the best thing ever

[cnamon]

for the last month, I have been craving the crab cakes from that fancypants restaurant we went to in N.O.

they were the best thing ever

They were pretty damn awesome.

I don't even remember what I had.  I wish I did.

[Jessie]

Joe's crab shack is fun if you're with a lot of people.  I like the food too.

There are two types of Joe's Crab Shack.  There's the one in Miami that's a one-of-a-kind great place to eat, and then there's the chain that's in every other city.  The latter, every hour, every single waiter and server has to participate in a dance number.  The one I went to, they all hated doing it.  You could see it in their faces.  You could drink their despair.

Otherwise, it was a good place to eat.

That's part of the fun.

It's way way way too noisy in those places.  I don't care if it's your birthday.  I want you to serve my food and then go away, not stand on my table and act like a dink.

I guess you wouldn't like Ed Debevic's then.  Too bad, because that place is teh awesomest place to eat ever ever ever.  So awesome.

[ReBurn]

I've never been to Red Lobster.

I've been once.  It was ok.

They have good fried shrimp and shrimp scampi.  And white cheddar mashed potatoes.  And biscuits.  The crab there is mediocre.

[swolt]

I've never been to Red Lobster.

I've been once.  It was ok.

They have good fried shrimp and shrimp scampi.  And white cheddar mashed potatoes.  And biscuits.  The crab there is mediocre.

They have the chedda biscuits!

[meredith]

They have the chedda biscuits!

Yeah I have to give them that.  Those biscuits are damn good.