CEiMB - Fettucini with Crab and Asparagus Dinner

Craving Ellie in My Belly Thursday is Here!!!!!!

Dinner:
Ellie's Whole Wheat Fettuccine with Crab and Asparagus
(Hosted by Jessica of Johnstone's Vin Blanc; recipe posted on her blog.)
Roasted Beets
Applesauce Cookie Sandwiches with Dreyer's Sugar-Free Vanilla Ice Cream


Jessica, you did wonderfully picking this recipe but Ellie may have improved on the recipe by stating a REALLY important point: All Ingredients Need to be FRESH and this includes the crab meat. Canned crab meat will not give you a good flavor or texture.



Dungeness crab is not in season so I bought fresh picked crab meat in a container and was sorely disappointed but LOVED the fettuccine dish. I also used by homemade fish stock . . . an extremely easy task is making your own fish stock. Minutes to put together and slow cooks for a short period of time. You can keep fish stock in the freezer for months.


Confession time: I hide my boxes of whole wheat pasta, hoping I will forget where they are. Oh, I buy them myself because of the big ww pasta kick, thinking how great the IDEA sounds. My parents are health crazed; I need sympathy here. My whole childhood revolved around eating healthy. Protein drinks, etc. I swore Mom used to make ww pasta alone and I just found out TONIGHT by phone that Dad never liked ww pasta either and Mom had to do a 50/50 mix of ww and regular pasta for Dad to eat it. I used to think the flavor was disgusting.


(Dad, he will be 65 next month)

REVELATION: My VERY FIRST BITE of ww pasta since I left home some 20 years ago was OMG edible! I actually (hold my breath) liked it!



Fresh vegetables, fresh herbs, fish stock, lemon zest and juice and crab meat, what is not to like?


My next REVELATION: I have never eaten a beet that was not pickled. Grandpa used to grow the most beautiful beets in his garden and was always so proud of them and I never tried a one. My revelation is I roasted beets for the first time tonight and really loved them. Like nibblicious!

Now I wish I could go back and give Grandpa a hug and tell him how wonderful his beets were. Mixed sad and happy moment.

Tonight's dinner involved reminiscing with Dad, remembering childhood memories and bringing in a whole lot of love for my family. Isn't it amazing how important a role food plays in our lives?

To keep the whole meal on a low-calorie note, my dessert was the applesauce cookies, loaded with raisins and pecan chunks along with all the amazing flavor and aroma that is imprinted in our baking when we add cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Dreyer's Low-fat, sugar free vanilla ice cream is sandwiched between two golden, moist cookies. The recipe for the cookies is listed.


Applesauce Cookies

Recipe By : National Apple Harvest Festival, 1998

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup raisins

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg, well beaten

Dreyer's Low-Fat, Sugar Free vanilla ice cream for sandwiching

Directions:

Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.

Sift flour, measure; add salt and spices, sift again; add chopped nuts and raisins.

Cream shortening, add sugar and beat until light. Stir soda into applesauce; add beaten egg and combine with the cream mixture.

Add dry ingredients.

Drop by teaspoon, 2 or 3 inches apart onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes or until golden. Put on cooling rack to cool then sandwich the cookies with ice cream and freeze.

Comments

Hi Shandy! You are a machine in the kitchen! I didn't realize how many groups you were in. I'm so impressed with everything you post. I love Ellie Kreiger! I have both of her cookbooks and use them frequently. In fact they are sitting next to me right now because I had just been flipping through them when I saw your post. I had bookmarked the Crab and Avocado Duet with Cool Cucumber Soup from So Easy. I'm extra inspired now that I've seen your CEiMB crab dish. It looks wonderful. I too conveniently "forget" about the whole wheat pasta in my pantry. LOL. Your cookies look great too! Thanks for sharing all your yummy treats with us. :)
Joanne said…
I wish I had the time and motivation to use fresh crab. Crab-in-a-can is so much easier for the lazy cook. :)
Still, we like the dish and I even used the cheaper claw meat.

As for whole wheat pasta, I do prefer regular but eat it so rarely, it doesn't really bother me.
Bri said…
Your dinner (and your dessert) look so good! I didn't use canned crab or fresh crab; mine came in a vacuum-sealed container in the refrigerated section, and was half crab, half crab "substitute." I think this was my first time eating crab like this, and I did like it, but the dish as a whole was a bit boring. I'm glad you liked it! And is that a pink microplane grater I see in one of your pictures? I want one!
Beth said…
I can't make the crab dish because of my husband's allergies, but those applesauce cookies sound great!
Kayte said…
You are absolutely right about the canned crab, etc. I knew better than to try this with that b/c we do not like it at all, but we love fresh king crab legs...should have prepared those and used that meat instead. Now I know. Your dinner looks fabulous and I loved seeing all the photos of your place settings, etc. Fun. Great job on all of this, and thanks for the cookie recipe. Will try that for sure...now the beets...have to work up courage for that one.
Vicki said…
Hiding the box of ww pasta is so funny! I can't count the boxes of ww pasta I've bought then tossed or given away. This recipe makes me wish I was a vegetarian. I'm making the cookies though!
Monica said…
Shandy.. I have the same containers for my sugar and flour! I love crab in anything.. even the imitation crab (that is how bad I am)... Beets.. No.so.much.

Glad you had a chance to go back in time with your dad.
Shandy, you do not call this Pastry Heaven for beets, asparagus or fettucini, no less crab.

Those cookies overshadowed everything. With ice cream......oh so good. That is Pastry Heaven.
Peggy said…
shandy, your dad looks great for 65! Maybe all that healthy eating your family did does pay off. I am not a fan of WW pasta myself. If I mix it like you said, it is better. Your crab dish looks delicious.
Eliana said…
You are quite the talent in the kitchen girlfriend. Every last bit of this meal looks delicious. When am I going to be able to come over for dinner?
Hanaâ said…
Beautiful!! The food and the post. Enjoyed reading it :o) The pasta dish looks delish, and I too, happen to love beets. My mom makes the most awesome (and super simple) beet salad. I make it too now. One of these days, I'll post the recipe for it (I have the pictures ready to go). The applesauce cookies look wonderful. I love thick cookies. I just bought a giant jar of unsweetened applesauce (love that stuff) so who knows, I might have to whip up a batch of these... :o)


PS: congrats on winning the cookbook for The Gutsy Cook Club. What a great pick to buy Dorie's new book. I'm on the waiting list for it at the library. Yay!
Anonymous said…
Looks great, Shandy! I've never tried roasted beets before, but now I'm curious about it. Thanks for the idea.

As for whole wheat pasta, I actually prefer it to regular. Maybe it's because I've been eating it for so long now, but I enjoy the texture and flavor the wheat provides. Have you tried different brands? I usually just get whatever is on sale, but maybe you would have more luck with a certain brand over another? Good idea about mixing it with half regular though if that makes it more tolerable for you. Glad this one was a hit!

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