Crab: 50 Recipes with the Fresh Taste of the Sea from the Pacific, Atlantic, & Gulf Coasts

by Cynthia C. Nims

A collection of 50 tasty recipes that make the best use of East and West Coast crabs—from Dungeness and Alaskan king to blue crab and stone crab
 
If you dream about perfectly prepared crab cakes, steamed Dungeness straight from the shell, or lightly coated soft-shell blue crabs, this is your cookbook. Culinary expert Cynthia Nims offers 50 delicious ways to love crab—whether it’s Dungeness, Alaskan king, and snow crab from the West Coast or blue and stone crab from the East. Pulled from your own crab pot or sourced at the local fishmonger, crab is always wild and brings a sweet taste of the sea to every bite.
 
Beyond the recipes, Nims offers background on crab species, information about seasonal harvest and sport crabbing, and plenty of kitchen tips to make the most out of crab. Pass the crab crackers!

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Cooking

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 2, 2014

About the author

Cynthia Nims is a lifelong Northwesterner who grew up surrounded by some of the best food in the country. She has authored and co-authored over 20 books; the most recent is Oysters, released in January 2016 (Sasquatch Books). Cynthia holds the Grand Diplôme d’Etudes Culinaires from La Varenne cooking school in France, where she worked on numerous cookbooks with owner Anne Willan. Previously editor of Simply Seafood magazine and food editor of Seattle Magazine, Cynthia is now a contributor to Cooking Light, Alaska Airlines Magazine, Sunset, and other magazines. Among previous book projects is Salty Snacks, Gourmet Game Night and Rover's: Recipes from Seattle's Chef in the Hat. She also contributed content on Northwest cuisine to Williams-Sonoma’s Savoring America and to Culinaria: The United States. Cynthia is an active member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (currently Immediate Past President of the board of directors) and Les Dames d’Escoffier. Her blog, Mon Appétit, can be found at www.monappetit.com.

Reviews

[False · Rating 1 out of 5]

A disappointment. She does cover the variations in crabs across the country, their habits and their harvesting. The recipes did nothing for me. I grew up crabbing and she doesn't even mention bull tongue as bait for the Maryland blue crab. Chicken and turkey necks are for amateurs. I didn't find one recipe I even wanted to attempt. When you put three cups of bread crumbs into a crabcake, you've lost me.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this cookbook on crabs from goodreads.

I entered the contest for this book because I thought it might be something that I would try for my husband who loves crab. The process is a little more than I would care to do and I have no experience in the crab department. My husband has also looked at the book and is very interested in trying some of the recipes.

The book is in sections of basic knowledge of cooking crab and recipes which include breakfast and brunch, appetizers, soups and sandwiches, salads, and main courses. Beautiful photographs illustrate the cookbook through out; however, very few recipes are represented with the photographs. This is a personal preference of mine when I look to purchase a cookbook...I like to see what my final product should look like.

The basic section of the book covers the various crabs - west coast, east coast, seasonal crab harvest, and sport crabbing. The author also takes you through how to purchase the best crab and how to store it once you get it home. While prepping, they take you through the live cleaning as well as the boiling and steaming of the crabs.

The book is informative and this is why I gave it three stars but just isn't for me.

[Danielle Booey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid cookbook about one of my all time favorite foods, crab! The only bummer was the lack of pictures. If there had been a picture for every recipe it definitely would have been a 5 star book.

This book contains lots of delicious and mouth watering recipes that I’m excited to try from crab and goat cheese bruschetta to lemon grass broth and crab wontons and finally some delightful looking crab and watercress tea sandwiches!

[Sherry Hunter]

I LOVE THE ILLUSTRATION

[Vi Becker]

Will never finish reading a recipe book. There are great recipes here, complete, tasty & easy. Love the book!! Won't trade it - the recipes are wonderful.