Crab & Pasta!

This recipe also comes from the San Francisco Chronicle and is from chef Matthew Accarrino of SPQR. I apologize to my friends outside of the Bay Area because it contains 2 items indigenous to Northern CA, Dungeness crab and Meyer lemons. These are 2 of my favorite things.
http://www.sfgate.com/food/recipes/detail.html?p=detail&rid=18593&sorig=qs

Meyer lemons are kind of sweet and have a hint of orange. They're also very thin skinned. Most are grown in people's yards and are shared among friends. You could try substituting a different kind of crab and maybe a mix of lemon and orange juice.

Matthew Accarrino makes his own pasta but I bought fresh pasta made locally since I get home kind of late on Wednesdays. This is a very quick recipe when you buy the pasta and contains another of my favorite ingredients, poppy seeds. All in all a winner!

Lemony Pasta With Dungeness Crab and Poppy Seeds my way

10 ounces fresh tripoline pasta (medium width, flat with 1 ruffled edge)
Kosher salt as needed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Meyer lemon, finely zested and juiced
8 ounces Dungeness crab meat
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon chopped thyme, to taste *see note

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, according to directions on package.

Drain the pasta and reserve about one cup of the cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot it was cooked in to help keep the pasta hot.

Over medium heat, add the butter to the pasta and toss until melted. Pour a little of the reserved cooking water to the pasta and cook for a minute or two until a glaze forms on the pasta.

Add the lemon zest and lemon juice to taste, then the crab and poppy seeds. Toss pasta until thoroughly combined and crab is heated through. Finish with the chopped thyme. Season with additional salt and lemon juice if necessary.

This was special and we considered having champagne with it but decided against it since it was a school night. Enjoy!

*Note: The original recipe called for lemon thyme or regular thyme. I do not have a green thumb and so do not have my own herbs. The store did not have lemon thyme but I think the lemon thyme would have been delicious.