As the leaves fall off the trees and Target starts sending Holiday Music over the airwaves, I start to get a little sad over the end of the warm weather and all the great things that  make up Summer.  Probably my most favorite summertime activity, besides lounging on the beach, is sitting on my dock, with my crab traps...loaded with stinky moss bunker to bait the blue claw beauties...then waiting, in my special summer beach chair, iPod in the ears...and pulling a trap up with hopefully a bounty of keepers....This could go on indefintely if I were allowed such a luxury.   My daughters and wife are crab fanatics, so there is never any waste, or extra crabs to give to the neighbors. (Let them catch their own, these are mine...)  Depending on my state of laziness, I then decide how we will be eating these gifts of the sea....crabbing attaches me to a deeper place...it was a great pleasure of my youth to crab with my Dad...(except when he started crabbing in the toxic runoffs of Travis, Staten Island....he ate those alone...) Sitting on the dock with the sun dancing on the surface of the lagoon, seagulls circling, and an occasional Jet-Ski to ruin the Zen of the moment, I feel like Dad is helping pull the traps up with me.  I look around and there are my two girls, fighting over who gets to pull the next net up, and I feel like I'm doing a good job....  ok...enough of the teary eyed picture I'm painting....For a real Barrier Island at the Jersey Shore (that strip of sand that runs from Point Pleasant Beach down to Island Beach State Park, we live in the middle of it) delicacy, Seaside Heights style Garlic Crabs are the recipe of the day.  Mom used to make these, and we also used to go to Joe's Garlic Crab in Seaside (now long gone) for these garlicky, cheesy treats. 


This part could not be easier.  In a large pot, bring 3 cups of water to a boil, adding some cayenne, old bay, bay leaf, 1/2 a lemon, 2 smashed cloves of garlic.  Bring it down to a simmer.  Add the crabs, at least a dozen for 4 people...add more accordingly.  Cover the pot and let them steam for a good 20 minutes.  Then take them off the flame.  Let them sit for another 10 minutes. 
While they are sitting, in a medium bowl combine 1.2 cup Locatelli Pecorino Romano, 2 finely minced cloves of garlic ( let me stop the reader here...under no circumstance, should you ever,,ever use pre-chopped bottled garlic.  It is pasturized, sits in some funky oil, and turns into a substance that doesn't cook, or have any real garlic flavor.. DON'T USE IT), a handful of fresh chopped flat leaf parsley, a good sprinkle of red pepper flakes, a squeeze of lemon juice, some cracked black pepper, and go to the Italian deli or Salumeria in your area, and by their bread crumbs, or I like to use the Cento brand, seems fresher and has more texture than 4C, Progresso , or Ronzoni brands...add about 1/2 cup of these crumbs to the bowl. mix well. Then slowly blend in olive oil so the dry mixture can hold its shape, don't over do it or the crumbs will be oily.  Set aside.
The crabs now have to be cleaned for stuffing.  Pull off the apron on the bottom of the crab, rip of the nice red top shell.  Run them under warm water and get rid of all that stuff, the mustard, or whatever you like to call it.  Remove the gills and all of the mouth pieces.  Stack the cleaned crabs onto a platter.  In a large baking dish.  drizzle the bottom with olive oil.  Place the stuffing into the center of the crab and begin placing them into the baking pan.  When done, sprinkle any leftover crumb mixture over the whole pan.  chop two more cloves of garlic and place throughout the pan. and sprinkle some vermouth over the crabs. Cover with aluminum foil and Place into a hot oven, around 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  Before serving, squeeze each crab with some fresh lemon.  NOT REAL LEMON RECONSTITUTED LEMON JUICE...that is a product which should only be used if you are in a survival bunker...Serve the crabs with a lemon, garlic, and oil pasta...and a nice arugula and cherry tomato salad. Simple, crisp, elegant, and perfect.





Ok, now go outside, (or in, weather permitting) and put out some iced tea, beer, a crisp white Italian or California wine, and enjoy yourself....i'll be counting the days till the spring.......