Belated Father's Day

I'm feeling a little guilty because Kate and I were in Philadelphia for Father's Day.  Before you go blaming me for being a bad wife, might I just point out that Ted spent the entire weekend in his office working to close a deal.  Had he not been doing that he would have been with us and we could have celebrated in the City of Brotherly Love.  Nonetheless, I'm feeling guilty because we haven't had a Father's Day dinner.

Today's as good a day as any to have our belated celebration so I got to work this morning putting together something special for dinner tonight.  I was aided in my project when I went to see Mark the Butcher.  I had planned to make chicken with homemade barbecue sauce until I saw that Mark had soft-shell crabs.  I love soft-shell crabs.

I dredged the crabs in a little seasoned flour and then sauteed them in olive oil.  They cook in a snap.  Then I made brown butter with capers and lemon and served that over the crabs.  Absolutely delicious.

The soft-shell crabs were special and so appropriate for our belated Father's Day dinner.  Let's face it.  We can have barbecued chicken anytime.

Recipe:  Sauteed Soft-Shell Crabs with Caper Brown Butter
(Tyler Florence)

Ingredients:


2 cups all-purpose flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 medium soft-shell crabs, cleaned and rinsed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons capers, drained
1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
1 lemon, juiced
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions:


To prepare the soft-shell crabs: Put the flour in a pie dish or plate and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper. Dredge the crabs in the seasoned flour to coat, shaking off the excess. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high flame. Lay the crabs in the hot oil in a single layer without crowding; you may have to fry them in batches. Be careful, the crabs have a tendency to pop and spatter. Cook the crabs for about 3 minutes on each side, turning once, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and cover to keep warm.

Lower the heat to medium and add the butter to the pan. Let the butter melt and cook until it just begins to brown. Add the capers and wine; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until almost dry. Add the lemon juice and parsley; season with salt and pepper. Pour the caper brown butter sauce over the crabs and serve with lemon wedges.