Busters Recipes

Crab Leg Saute' in Cranberry Orange Beurre Blanc

1/2 cup beurre blanc (recipe below)
1 orange, juice and segments
2 cups cooked spaghetti squash
pinch salt
2 T butter
8 oz. Dungeness crab leg meat
12 whole hazelnuts, toasted and peeled
2 T avocado balls, scooped with a melon baller
3 T whole cranberries cooked in a little water until they pop

Preheat oven to 350°

Prepare beurre blanc and reserve.

Using a sharp paring knife, peel the orange making sure to remove all of
the white pith. Cut the orange segments from between the membranes and
reserve. Then squeeze what is left of the orange and its membranes to
extract the juice. Reserve the juice and segments.

To cook spaghetti squash: split 1 squash lengthwise and scrape out the
seeds. Place it in a baking dish, cut-side down, add 1 cup water and
bake for 1 hour or until soft. Remove and run slow running cold water
over the cooked squash to cool. Drain, cut side down on a towel.

When the squash has cooled and drained, use a dinner fork to scrape out
the pulp. It will string and look like golden strand of thin spaghetti.

Place 2 cups of the cooked squash in a baking dish, sprinkle with salt
and dot with 1 T butter. Put in oven to heat while you prepare the crab.

Melt 1 T butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add crab legs and
hazelnuts. Heat for 1 minute. Add avocado, orange segments, orange juice
and cranberries. Cook for 30 seconds and remove from heat.
Remove squash and create nests on two dinner plates. Spoon crab into the
center of each nest and arrange some of the cranberries and hazelnuts on
the squash as a garnish. Pour the sauce over all.

Approximate preparation time: 1 1/2 hours to cook and cool the squash.
20 minutes for the remainder of the preparation.

Beurre Blanc Sauce:

6 oz. white wine
3 oz. white wine vinegar
3 whole black peppercorns
1 shallot, cut into quarters
1 cup heavy cream
6 oz. cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 oz. cold butter, cut into pieces

Combine wine, vinegar, peppercorns and shallot in a non-corrosive
saucepan (stainless steel, Teflon, Calphalon).

Reduce until the mixture is just 1-2 tablespoons and has the consistency
of syrup.

Add the cream and reduce again until mixture is 3 to 4 tablespoons and
very syrupy. Remove pan from heat.

Add butters, about 2 ounces at a time, stirring constantly and allowing
each additional piece to melt in before adding more. (If mixture cools
too much, butter will not melt completely and you'll have to reheat
slightly.)

Strain and hold warm on a stove-top trivet or in a double-boiler over
very low heat until you are ready to use it.