Callinectes Sapidus

about me

My Public Name: Callinectes Sapidus is the official name of the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus, from the Greek calli="beautiful", nectes="swimmer", and Latin sapidus="savory") It is the Maryland State Crustacean and the subject of an extensive local and national fishery. It is found at its best in the Chesapeake Bay, North America's largest estuary and the world's third largest.
I live in Baltimore, Maryland and have been a nurse for 36 years. I've worked in nearly every specialty there is, but spent the most time in the OR which I loved. My current field is a little less strenuous: Health Care Informatics (where old nurses go to die) and I enjoy it immensely. I have 2 children: an adult human son and an 4 year old Airedale Terrier named Jack who consumes most of my attention.
My passions are writing fiction which is what I do for fun, when Jack permits me, classical music and especially opera. I am a creature of habit so I guess my biggest pet peeve is people who don't put things back where and how they found them.

Favorite Foods:

My favorite foods are steamed crabs or fried soft shell crabs of course! In Maryland we serve these steamed and spicy or fry the entire unpeeled crab in its 'soft-shell' form (just after molting before the new shell has time to harden). Being from Baltimore (or a Balti-moron as we are sometimes called) I love all kinds of seafood except clams. Don’t ask me why I don’t like clams, I have no idea, I can eat oysters in any way shape or form but dislike clams.
I am also a carnivore and adore a good steak cooked very, very rare (just cut it from the steer and warm it through). My favorite vegetable is asparagus. My dream meal is a crab cocktail or salad (fresh lump blue crab meat on butter lettuce with lemon thyme, mayo and Old Bay seasoning. Roll the mixture up in the delicate lettuce leaves and eat with your fingers.), a rare filet mignon or good rib eye steak and asparagus.
What dish am I famous for? We are of German, Hungarian and Lithuanian extraction so probably the family tradionals: Sauerbraten, potato dumplings and apple struedel. All three are very time and energy consuming dishes to make and so they are made fairly infrequently. These three recipes have been handed down from my great grandmother, and excpet for the struedel aren't even written down anywhere. My other favorite is my Dad's chili. Posted here at Recipezaar as "Old John's Chili Con Carne (Old John's Chili Con Carne).
Locally, my favorite place to dine is a place called "The Crack Pot" where their Maryland Crab Dip is to die for and they also make the best crab cake I've ever tasted in a commercial establishment. Their cream of crab is also the best in the area.
Since joining Recipezaar, I have become more adventurous and frequently will plan meals according to random recipes found on site. I'm still trying to record the family recipes in my personal cookbooks and eventually share them so they aren't lost; but my spare time at this point is devoted entirely to writing. Fortunately, my son (the human one) shares my family's passion for cooking, so I hope to be able to hand the family specialities off to him one day.

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