Soft shell crab season is half way over and we can’t believe that we haven’t paid proper tribute to this much-anticipated D.C. delicacy. Now we love our deep-fried crustaceans just as much as the next person, but as with everything we had to put a little spin on the ordinary. We did stick to the sandwich concept, because not only have we not featured soft shell crabs but we’ve yet to do up a sandwich recipe. Instead of frying these delicate little critters, we gave them a nice little sauté and in lieu of lettuce, tomato, and some sort of aioli we did fresh spinach, peach slices and roasted peppers with balsamic.

Before getting started, here are just a few things to know about soft shell crabs. Fishermen harvest the crabs as they begin to molt and hold them in tanks to monitor them. As soon as they shed their shell they are ready for consumption. The crabs can be found live, fresh or frozen. Although frozen soft shells can be found year-round, we think it’s best to buy them live and keep them that way until right before cooking. The most commonly found type, especially in this area, is the Blue Crab. Their season runs, roughly, from May to July/August. Because the demand for this unique product has increased drastically, we are beginning to see the Asian Mangrove crab. This type of crab typically grows in tropical, muddy flats all year, which makes them a continual source. But for the sake of keeping it fresh and local we prefer our once a year blue crabs. The anticipation is what makes them that much more enticing!

We served our sandwich on Portuguese rolls, but your starch preference is your prerogative. On the side we just served up some grapes on the vine, as we did not want to take the attention away from the matter at hand. This recipe makes 2 sandwiches.

This week for Eating In we thought we’d venture a little out of the city, but not too far and still metro accessible, to the ever-expanding area of Chevy Chase. Right off Wisconsin Ave. is Lia's, the little sister to the Chef Geoff’s restaurants. Chef Geoff Tracy's inspiration for Lia’s came from an internship he completed at Galileo’s, combined with a trip to Italy — and decided to open a restaurant that is focused on Italian and Mediterranean ingredients, as opposed to the contemporary continental cuisine offered at Chef Geoff’s. Lia’s does, however, share a few similarities to its counterpart like Sunday brunch, great happy hour specials, and half price wine night (Geoff’s is Monday and Lia’s is Sunday).

We started everything off with a sampling of cured meats, Prosciutto Gnocchi with Spring Onions, and the special salad of the day, which was a combination of asparagus, tomato, olives, and prosciutto. For our main course we indulged in Natural Chicken with Peppers, Mushrooms, Artichokes, and Roasted Potatoes and Tuna Arborio with Rapini, Potato Crespelle and Shrimp-Crab Moscato Butter. Although we loved both items, we chose the Natural Chicken for our featured dish, not wanting to torture anyone (although Sous Chef Dan Farber tried to persuade us) by having you make Crespelles, Shrimp-Crab Moscato Butter, and never mind the crust of ground Arborio; not that we doubt your culinary proficiencies. The Natural Chicken sums up the Lia’s vibe pretty well -- simple and delicious.

*When ordered at the restaurant, the chicken breast comes skin-on with the bone. Of course, you can choose your preference of skin or no skin and with bone or with out. The dish was served with fingerling potatoes and these also can be substituted with a different kind (we used red Bliss), although cooking time will vary. For the mushrooms, we bought a mix pack of “exotic” mushrooms and creminis. The sauce was made with a beef demi, which can be quite laborious, so we simplified it for you. This recipe serves 2.