I’m always on the lookout for clever music. Something a bit different that makes you think a little while listening.

Trips and Falls do clever extremely well.

Simple and edgy. Erratic and a little tense. Lyrics that leave you wanting more information. That is what you get.

Clever.

Trips And Falls, which I wrote about here, have their second album coming out the end of this month.

When wondering what to cook up for the band, Matthew, at Song, By Toad Records, recommended something fiddly to eat, like the legs of langoustine, which take so much effort for so little actual reward.

Ha! I loved that idea for a hard working band.

It is hard to get langoustine where I live. Second choice was giant prawns. Nope, none around. Crayfish. Nil.

So roasted crab legs it is.

To glam up the meal I made some chicken confit, which also followed the much effort/ little reward idea. The effort there was only in the time allocation, though. The recipe itself couldn’t be easier. It is not like duck confit where you are rendering all of that fat. Here you just open a jug of olive oil and pour.

Finally, a side of roasted asparagus with cashew butter. No effort there. Just reward.

Roasted Crab

Ingredients:

24 oz Dungeness crab claws and legs (I used the already cooked frozen kind)
1 lemon
Olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

2. Place the frozen crab legs onto an aluminium foil covered baking sheet. Drizzle with oil, squeeze over some lemon juice. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until completely heated through.

Roasted Asparagus With Cashew Butter

Ingredients:

1 lb asparagus
Olive oil
50g/2oz unsalted butter
50g/2oz cashew nuts, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges to serve

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

2. For the asparagus, place in a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes until tender.

3. To make the cashew butter sauce, melt the butter in a frying pan, add the cashew nuts and cook until golden-brown.

Chicken Confit

Ingredients:

4 chicken leg portions with thighs attached (about 2 pounds total)
1 tablespoon plus 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 garlic cloves
4 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
4 cups olive oil
Mixed greens and mustard vinaigrette, to serve

Directions:

1. Lay the legs in a 13×9 inch baking dish, skin side down. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the kosher salt and black pepper. Place the garlic cloves, bay leaves, and sprigs of thyme on each of the leg portions. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

3. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator. Add the olive oil. Cover and bake for 12 to 14 hours, or until the meat pulls away from the bone.

4. Remove the cooked chicken from the oil. Strain the fat and reserve. Pick the meat from the bones and place it in a stoneware or plastic container. Cover the meat with some of the strained fat so that there is a 1/4-inch layer of fat on top. The chicken confit can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

5. Reheat chicken briefly before serving, if desired.

To serve the meal:

1. Place mixed greens in center of plate. Drizzle with vinaigrette and a few pieces of heated chicken confit.

2. Arrange a crab claw and a wedge of lemon alongside the greens.

3. On the other side of the greens, place a few stalks of asparagus and spoon over some of the cashew butter sauce.

Asparagus recipe from BBC food

Chicken confit recipe adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Marginally More Than Mildly Annoying is the first single out from Trips And Fall’s new album.

I love the he/she vocals and the stop/start music action. What a great song title, too.

Trips And Falls-Marginally More Than Mildly Annoying

You can check out Trips And Falls on Facebook and Myspace.

The new album ‘People Have To Be Told’ is due out later this month on Song, By Toad Records. You can buy it there. Pick up Trips And Fall’s first album, ‘He Was Such A Quiet Boy’, too. You won’t be sorry.

Cheers!