Old Bay Crabs for Family Gathering 2006

Growing up in a mid-Atlantic seaboard state, Old Bay seasoning was a staple found in everyone’s cupboard, or so it seemed.  It was just natural to find it there (but then, so did was seeing a can for bacon drippings stored in the fridge, as well).  Surprisingly, I don’t have any in my New York kitchen.

 

 

 

I recently got back from spending time in Virginia with my family (always a source of inspiring, if unusual, thoughts), I was wondering if I should do something clever for this post like write an Ode to Old Bay^® Seasoning.  Then, I thought about it and decided that that might just be a little bit too weird so I’ve coming up with this haiku instead:

 

Container yellow, blue, and red

Hiding savory spice blend

To eat with sweet crabmeat

 

While this brief spurt of creative inspiration might seem odd, devotion to this spice mix is very great in some parts of the country.  My brother was even planning to pick up some of it to bring it back to London so that he’s not left empty-handed in case he or his wife gets a craving for a taste of home. 

Let’s Make S’mores!

In case you missed it, this past Thursday, August 10^th, was National S’mores Day. If you type this word string into Google™, you will come up with quite a few references to this tasty, gooey treat as well as some stories about its origins. I will leave all of that, and the link above, to those of you who may wish to explore the history of S’mores in more detail.

 

 The Classic S'more

 

For those of you not familiar with this item, it is a crunchy, gooey, crumbly confection made with graham crackers, chocolate (a Hershey_®’s plain milk chocolate candy bar, to be specific), and marshmallows (toasted, not singed in my book). Its construction is a careful process with the hot marshmallow melting the chocolate and the whole thing held together by the graham crackers on top and bottom.