Summer

From The NY Times Magazine

William Brinson for the New York TimesThere are two ways to get crab this season. One is beautiful, hard work. It requires only a chicken neck, string, a net and access to coastal Atlantic waters. Tie the string to the neck and dangle it into the shallows where you can see the bait. Here comes Mr. Crab. Here comes Mr. Net. Repeat until you’ve got enough for dinner. Children can do this — and will — until you’ve got enough crabs for two dinners. Steam them and start picking.

The other method is easier and more realistic for the majority of us who don’t live near coastal Atlantic waters: Buy some. For this weekend’s cooking, get picked blue crab — pasteurized, refrigerated Callinectes sapidus, known as the savory beautiful swimmer — at the market, jumbo lump or backfin meat, from an American harvester. The most famous blue-crab fishery in the world is in the Chesapeake Bay, but the crabs are caught north of there and South to Florida waters.

A pound will do for dinner for four, though there are those who can eat a pound alone. These people can catch their own dinner. Crab is expensive. It is also rich.

You might make crab cakes, stretching the meat out with ground crackers or bread crumbs, binding everything with egg. But a higher, better summertime use of crabmeat is to dress it simply and pair the result with greens in a salad, or to warm it in butter and cream, scent it with sherry and serve it with toast.

In case you’re wondering who Mateo is, that’s me. That’s my name in Spanish, a title only used at home by my grandparents and when I did something terribly wrong as a child.

I’m sure you can hear it now: “MATEOOOOOOOOOO!”  For some reason it has more zing that just “oh Matt, quit falling out of 2 story windows and take off your sister’s dresses while you’re at it!”

With that out of the way I can proceed to this snappy little dressing and dip I have been calling Diosa Verde. Diosa Verde is nothing more than a literal translation of “Green Goddess”, that tangy creamy dip of yesterday that has been back in vogue for the past few years. But this isn’t just a literally translation of the recipe, no sirreee, but Green Goddess with a Mexican twist.

All summer long I love to make ice creams and sorbets. I use all types of fruit to create the most fantastic flavors. For ice creams, too, I enjoy creating unique flavors with herbs and spices. These frozen treats are sweet and dessert-like, but they also work to cleanse the palate after a meal. So before the warm weather ends this September, I'm using my ice cream maker one last time.

Typically ice creams are made with a custard base using sugar and egg yolks that are combined with hot milk. You get rich consistency and a luscious mouthfeel from ice cream created this way. But instead of a custard base, this recipe uses crème fraîche to create the rich texture. This French cream is cultured and has a sweet-tart flavor like a cross between cream cheese and sour cream. It makes an exceptional ice cream. But I take this dessert to the next level with the addition of lavender.

My mom has been pairing prosciutto with cantaloupe and melons from the time when cordless phones were first introduced (you had to pull out the long telescope antenna, and could hear yourself on your radio if you stood too close).

Lately, it seems everyone is touting melons and savory cured meats as the greatest thing since the iPhone 4G. But this combo is still old skool at our house. You really can't go wrong -- melon's inherent sweetness is always deliciously magnified by the salty, savory prosciutto, no matter how much technology has changed.

This simply chic salad is a send-up to my mom's appetizer: spicy wild arugula is paired with the season's juiciest cantaloupe and watermelon for a refreshingly tangy salad that pairs beautifully with grilled fish, meat, or pasta dishes.