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Who would like a nice, steaming bowl of cobbler?

Crab cobbler, that is!

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I was actually excited to test this one out, because it had been a winner in the Pillsbury 5th Grand National. But Crab Cobbler sounded so strange to me. Not just the ingredients, but also the preparation, which called for making the entire filling over a double boiler.

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Crab Cobbler
Author: Mrs. G. Harold Kirk, 1956
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup sifted flour
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
  • 1/2 tsp Accent (I omitted this)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup shredded American cheese
  • 1 cup (6 1/2 oz can) crabmeat
  • 1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes, drained
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Cheese Biscuit Topping
  • 1 cup sifted flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup shredded American cheese
  • 2 Tbls shortening
  • 1/2 cup milk
Instructions
  1. Melt butter in top of double boilder. Add green pepper and onion. Cook over boiling water until tender, about 10 minutes.
  2. Blend in flour, mustard, milk and shredded cheese. Cook, stirring constantly, until cheese is melted and very thick.
  3. Add in crabmeat, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Blend thoroughly. Pour into two quart casserole.
  4. Sift together biscuit flour, baking powder and salt. Add in shredded cheese and cut in shortening. Add milk, and mix only until flour is moistened.
  5. Drop biscuits by rounded teaspoonfuls on top of hot crabmeat mixture.
  6. Bake in hot oven (450 degrees) for 20 to 25 minutes.

 

And now we get to the “good” part. This casserole contains TWO things that Tom absolutely hates: American cheese and hot tomatoes in a casserole. Pretty much as soon as I saw that, I knew this had to be on our “To Make” list.

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Cooking over the double boiler!

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Cooking was interesting and turned out pretty well. It was slow, but the sauce came together well. At this point, it was VERY thick but also smooth and creamy.

It also smelled terrible.

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I stirred in the tomatoes and the crab, but it really smelled bad.

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Then Tom walked in.

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“What is that HORRIBLE smell?”

“Lunch.”

“Great.”

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“Interesting.”

“What? Is it terrible?”

“Here, have some.”

“I don’t want to. It smells horrible.”

“It tastes better than it smells.”

“Really? Even with the American cheese?”

“Actually, you can’t taste the American cheese at all.”

The Verdict: Good

From The Tasting Notes:

Tastes like crab pot pie. Not bad, and not exactly what we were expecting. The biscuit topping was great. The biscuits were light and moist and went well with the thick filling. Overall, was a waste of crab because you really couldn’t taste the crab in it. The filling itself was just too thick, soft and full of strong flavors. It was VERY rich. The crab just got lost in it. Would be better if you used chicken, cheddar and mixed veggies instead of crab, American cheese and tomatoes. I can see this making an amazing chicken pot pie.

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