Sriracha Crab Ravigote over Fried Green Tomatoes

In classical French cuisine, a sauce ravigote is a slightly acidic sauce served hot or cold, generally with delicate meats or fish. Not surprisingly, it's a rather different animal in traditional New Orleans cuisine, though it does retain the spirit of the original. Usually served cold with crab meat, typical ingredients of the NOLA version include lemon juice, capers, shallots, mayonnaise, and hot sauce.

The word ravigote comes from the French ravigoter, meaning to invigorate, and the sriracha, cayenne pepper, and paprika in my version of crab ravigote will certainly wake up the old tastebuds. The spicy sauce and sweet crab are just the thing to pair with the tart acidity of a crunchy fried green tomato - especially with a bit of Creole seasoning in the batter.

Subtly Spicy Crab Salad with Avocado and Finger Limes, Served Three Ways

As an elegant appetizer ...

An adorable amuse ...

Or homestyle, the way it's likely to be served Chez Trix

Don't you just love it when you're stuck in a dreary coking rut and then an inspiring food item appears in your greedy little hands, unbidden?  I can't think of a better surprise, and that's exactly what happened to me not once, but twice last week. I am not superstitious as a rule, but I think I had no choice but to take this as a sign from the culinary gods (or devils, as the case may be) to get cooking already. And so I did.

Crab Imperial on the Half Shell with a Blue Cheese & Bacon Wedge Salad for the International Incident Nostalgia Party

I am sure that many of my fellow International Incident Nostalgia Party attendees - hosted as ever by the lovely and talented Penny aka Jeroxie - will share with us their fond memories of family recipes and dishes their their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, or fathers made and lovingly shared with them,  forever imprinting their little kid brains with Important Culinary Associations and Warm Family Feelings. Alas, as I have documented here before, I have no such memories. I did not stand at my mother's knee and watch in awe while she made a special cake or pastry or pasta dish - other than beans and cornbread, no family recipes were passed down to me, if indeed any ever existed in the first place.

Creamy Creole Crab Pots: Anniversary Dinner, the Second Way

For those of you who were expecting me to cook up a Creole feast for my anniversary surprise for Poppa Trix, I apologize. I  have just one dish to share with you - but what a dish it is! This little pot of goodness is loaded with sweet (local and sustainably-caught) Maryland lump blue crab meat that's carried to your mouth in a creamy sauce of mushrooms, shallots, thyme, onion, Amontillado sherry and (please forgive me, seafood purists!) Parmesan cheese, topped off with a lid of crunchy phyllo pastry.