Born and raised outside of Philadelphia by two Philly natives, I cut my teeth (not long after the T-bone from my high chair days) on footlong sandwiches that are my hometown’s cultural icons. I’m talking about the cheese steak and the hoagie, possibly two of the greatest artery cloggers ever invented, a mound of meat and fixins tucked into a freshly baked Italian roll, always made to order with homegrown “atty-tude” in a neighborhood joint—a luncheonette, corner sandwich shop, or street cart.
Continue reading... →CHICKPEA “CRAB CAKES”
True story: Less than two weeks before the manuscript for my book, The Meatlover’s Meatless Cookbook was due, with most recipes edited and determined fit for public consumption, I pan-fried a batch of my falafel patties for me and my husband, Russ. He took one bite into his falafel-on-a-bun and looked at me with all seriousness. “This falafel looks and eats likes a crab cake.”
He was right. With thirty combined years of living in Washington, D.C.—crab cake central—we could both see that this chickpea patty had Chesapeake potential.
With the wild eyes of a mad scientist, I immediately went to work, replacing Middle Eastern falafel spices with Old Bay, the iconic Maryland seafood seasoning that’s had a cult following for three generations. Out with the tahini, in with a yogurt remoulade and horseradishy cocktail sauce that transport you from the Mid-East to the Mid-Atlantic.
The result: Downright crab-shacky.
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