My mom is here visiting for the next two weeks and I couldn't be more excited. My kids call her 'Lola' which is Tagalog (Philippine Language) for grandma. Before we picked her up from the airport, Abby made a sign just so Lola would know that we were there to pick her up and not some other lady.
Lola brought many surprises from Maryland, but the BEST surprise was steamed Maryland Blue Crabs. Y-U-M!!! The night before my mom left, my dad picked up half a bushel of steamed crabs, packed them in a cooler with frozen gel packs, and sent them on the airplane with my mom. YIPEE!!!!!
As soon as we got home I opened up the box and deeply inhaled their steamy Old Bay Seasoning yumminess. I know some of you are asking "What's the big deal??? Crabs are crabs." Ohhhh nooo. Once you have had a perfectly steamed Blue Crab from the Chesapeake Bay all other crabs become inferior. The meat is so sweet with ZERO fishy taste or odor.
Now let me educate you on the fine art of eating Blue Crabs. In the perfect crab feast you are with a ton of people you love, sitting on a dock on the Bay or the Severn or Magothy Rivers. Your table is lined with newspapers and stocked with crab mallets, extra Old Bay, vinegar, plenty of paper towels, steamed corn, and plenty of cold beer. Then you sit there all night, next to the water, eating crabs and drinking beer. This is making me so homesick for Maryland. Seriously, if you live near the water (like we did on Kent Island which is only 31 sq miles) in Maryland, crabs are not just food, they are a lifestyle and a social event.
There were lots of crabs leftover. My mom and I sat the rest of the night, picking crabs (that's what you call it when you take them out of their shell) until our fingers were like prunes. Now I have tons of leftover crabmeat. I am waiting until my next big craving and I will be churning out the crab cakes and Maryland Vegetable Crab soup....c'mon winter so I can make that soup...please hurry!Thanks Mom and Dad! That was the best gift I have gotten in a long time!
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