Crazy for Crab: Everything You Need to Know to Enjoy Fabulous Crab at Home, (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Crabmeat got me into trouble as a child..." (more)
Key Phrases: chesapeake bay seasoning, old blue crab, jumbo lump backfin, North Carolina, East Coast, Eastern Shore (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Those looking for something more sophisticated than chicken may turn to Fred Thompson's Crazy for Crab. Thompson offers a complete guide to cooking, serving, and eating all manner of crab dishes. He includes both East and West Coast specimens. After an exhaustive treatise on the kinds of crabs available, their seasons, and how they are likely to show up in markets, the author presents appetizer dips, soups and chowders, salads, and variations on the ever-popular crab cakes. Main dishes include multicourse crab boils, deviled crab, and similarly rich dishes. To go with these, Thompson suggests slaws, vegetable dishes, and a few desserts, including the ubiquitous key lime pie. An appendix lists crab festivals nationwide. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

For seafood lovers, this little book is a treasure, and one of 2004’s best $20 investments. -- Ellen Sweet, Denver Post

This is a treasure chest of information as well as a guide to savoring crab—the king of crustaceans. -- The Happy Cook, Dolores Kostelni, The News-Gazette, Lexington, VA --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Common Press (March 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558322663
• ISBN-13: 978-1558322660
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #442,035 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous and Drool Inducing!, June 27, 2004

By	Marsha Wood Wirtel (Philly's Western 'Burbs) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Crazy for Crab: Everything You Need to Know to Enjoy Fabulous Crab at Home, (Hardcover)

In what can only be considered a "love note" to all things crab, Fred Thompson has created an absolutely definitive guide for crab lovers everywhere. Beginning with what he calls "The Crab Basics", a discussion of the types of crab available as well as the various methods for selecting and storing crab products, and ending with a list of crab festivals around the country, "Crazy for Crab" offers something for even the most casual of crab fans.

With twelve recipes for crab cakes alone (ranging from the basic to the very fancy - tarragon aioli anyone?), Thompson has more than covered the territory. Included are soup and appetizer recipes, as well as many for salads and casseroles. The level of involvement and difficulty for the recipes ranges from the very simple to the relatively complex and for every recipe the likes of Crab Imperial (that is, well known and fairly easy to track down) he includes another for a dish altogether more exotic and modern tasting - Thai crab cakes with chili-garlic sauce, for example

From the everyday to the sublime, Thompson has covered it all. Augmented with discussions and recipes for bay seasoning and homemade tartar sauce, this comprehensive work is recommended for anyone who enjoys these sweet gifts from the sea.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The School of Crab Cooking, March 22, 2005

By	Biscuit Gal (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews

This book takes all of the fear out of cooking with crab. Fred explains step by step everything I needed to know to select crab, cook it, and use it in recipes.
I hosted a Crazy for Crab Dinner with every course a recipe from this book. The Crab Bisque is creamy heaven, the Crab Salad on spring greens is easy and delicious, and most of all the Pretty Darn Close to Perfect Crab Cakes is easier than I expected to make and everyone says they are the best they have ever tasted. The book even has a great Key Lime Pie for the grand finale. I will make all these recipes again and again.
You will be happy to have this book and will want to try all of the recipes!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crab Lovers UNITE !, May 20, 2004

By	Edward Saunders Jr. "hunnybeared" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an excellent cookbook on cooking crabs and things to go with them! If you ever traveled to Baltimore, MD... One of the things that usually got you was you could not find a DEFINITIVE cookbook on crabs... This book seems to be the ONE! Now if I could only just get a way to have more crabs coming to Nashville.... A wonderful cookbook! If you love crabs-why are you still reading this? Buy the Book, already!