Unique Recipes: Rummy Coconut Crab Cobbler and Crabby Appleton Salad

These are two recipes that are different from most seafood dishes that are popularly known.Not only are they delicious, but their titles are fun!

A cobbler made from crab meat and other good ingredients is as intriguing as it is delicious. The second recipe provided below is a type of crab meat coleslaw dish -- does anyone remember the cartoon character called Crabby Appleton? It was also the name of a 1970s-era rock band from LA, who released a 1971 album called Rotten to the Core. The recipe is a tribute to both of them.

Crabby Appleton the cartoon was a line drawing of a small angry man in a business suit whose tag line was "Rotten to the core!" He appeared as the arch villain in the Tom Terrific series about a little boy with a funnel fat who could change shapes. He worked to solve crimes with Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog.

The series was produced exclusively for early Captain Kangaroo episodes of the 1950s, continued into the 1960s, and was only recently released to VHS or DVD. Top Terrific is in the vein of Rocky the Squirrel and Bulwinkle Moose.

Crabby had a theme song with a couple of variations:

My name is Crabby Appleton,
I'm rotten to the core.
I do a bad deed every day,
and sometimes three or four.
I can't stand fun for anyone,
I think good deeds are sappy,
I laugh with glee, it pleases me,
when everyone's unhappy.

Despite all of this, the crabby salad you find below will definitely make you and your guests very happy.

Serves 4

Coconut Milk

• One whole freshly grated coconut
• 3 Cups boiling spring water

Cobbler Filling

• 8 Large stone crab claws
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 large green onions, white portion diced
• 4 Tomatillos, diced; or substitute 2 medium size green tomatoes
• 1 Cup fresh corn
• 1 Large Anaheim Chile, diced
• 1 Tbsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp chopped fresh ginger
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 3 Tbsp rum or rum flavoring
• 3/4 Cup coconut milk
• 1 tsp salt

Cobbler Dough

• 1 Cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp key lime zest
• 1/2 Cup coconut milk
  

INSTRUCTIONS

• Place a stainless steel mixing bowl in the refrigerator to chill for cobbler dough while you prepare the filling.

Fresh Coconut Milk:

Pour grated coconut and boiling water into a blender, cover, puree; and allow to stand 15 minutes. Strain through a colander lined with cheesecloth and then twist the cheesecloth to extract more coconut mixture.

Cobbler Filling:

• Crack the stone-crab claws and remove all the meat.
• In a saucepan over medium heat, warm olive oil and add onion; heat until they are translucent.
• Add tomatillos, corn, and Anaheim Chile and stir well.
• Add salt, coriander, ginger, curry, rum or flavoring, and 3/4 Cup coconut milk, and stir.
• Add crab meat, stir and simmer uncovered 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cobbler Topping

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• In your chilled stainless steel bowl, mix the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder.
• Stir in the softened butter until the mixture has a sandy consistency.
• Add the lime zest and coconut milk and stir until the batter holds in a loose ball.
• Pour the crab mixture into a baking dish and top with tablespoonfuls of cobbler topping.
• Bake 10 minutes or until brown.

Many chefs agree that Dungeness Crab, originally found in Dugeness, Washington is the top of the line in crab meat.

Serves 3 or 4 as a side salad

INGREDIENTS

• ½ Pound cooked crab meat.
• 1 Granny Smith apple, diced (leave the skin on).
• 2/3 Cup mayonnaise.
• 1 Tbsp sugar.
• 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar or dry white wine
• 2 Tbsp heavy cream
• ½ Head of green cabbage, thickly shredded or grated for slaw
• 1/3 Cup red bell pepper, sliced thin.
• 1/3 Cup of shredded carrots
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Juice of 1 lemon.

INSTRUCTIONS

• Using a large mixing bowl, mix the vinegar, cream, mayonnaise, sugar, salt, pepper and lemon juice; stir after the addition of each ingredient.
• Add carrots, cabbage, bell pepper, and apple dice and mix again.
• Using half of the crab meat, mix it in lightly to avoid crumbling the meat..
• Scoop a portion of the slaw onto each individual salad plate, and arrange the rest of the crab meat on top of each serving.