Table Crumbs

Lobster Bibs! Grab yours and head to a Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill (rubios.com; locations in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado)

Lobster tacos and burritos are back! Since we dasn't step foot in Baja right now (great civil unrest) and we miss Lobster Village, a Rubio's was an acceptable substitute. I had the tacos which came on soft flour tortillas with chips (hit the salsa bar for a variety of flavors) and a little pot of beans. Richie had the burrito (and my beans.) Portions are generous and I like it that there's fresh cabbage slaw instead of lettuce, tomatoes and cheese on the tacos. I always feel quite virtuous after a meal at Rubio's -- they promote themselves as "healthful" and I see no reason to doubt them (even though an hour later I'm hungry again -- like Chinese food.)

Useful Citron Sauce This is good with seafood including crab cakes. You're going to be blending Lime Curd with Limoncello liqueur and a little fresh lemon juice. It's your choice as to how thin you want it. The lime curd is the base (very sweet) and the Limoncello gives it a little pep and then the lemon juice jumps in and cuts it nicely. Serve it cold or heat it up in the pan that you cooked shrimp or scallops in.

Oven-Roasted Hash Brown Cakes -- This was billed as a Christmas day breakfast dish, but given the amount of prep time and 45 minutes to bake, I don't see it as a real time saver. But it did sound good.

Set the oven at 425
1 1/2 cups paper-thin onion slices
1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, Peeled (or not) and coarsely grated - about 2 1/2 cups
pinch of salt
2 T melted sweet butter

Put the onions in a big bowl; put the potatoes in a smaller bowl with the pinch of salt let them sit for 5 minutes. Use your hands and squeeze out as much liquid as you can and put them in with the onions. Drizzle the butter on top and stir it in thoroughly. Divide into four mounds on a baking sheet, pressing them into cakes with a spatula. Roast 15 minutes at 425, then turn the oven down to 350, flip them over and let them bake until they're golden brown with lacy edges - about 45 minutes.

Easier: I had a pork loin roast in the oven and a leftover potato so I peeled it, sliced it into 1/4 in slices and put the potatoes in a shallow saute pan with olive oil, added chopped red onion (a couple of slices) and three garlic cloves, minced. I cooked it the first 45 minutes or so with a lid on (to thoroughly cook the potatoes) and the last hour with it off to crisp them up. The garlic carmelizes and is chewy...