What was Allison Janney's character looking at in the sink?

It appeared to be soft-shelled crabs that were to be served at Clarissa's hyper-perfect party. There was some discussion bwtn the characters about the 'crab thing', e.g, one of Clarissa's dinner specialties that everyone knows her for.

They showed enough of 'what was in the sink' for everyone to get a good look at the crabs. Where were you during this crucial moment? Did you go out the kitchen to fix a snack or something? Next time you watch a movie, pay attention!

It was the crabs, but what no one mentions is that the reason she is probably disgusted with them is multi-fold.

1. They are still alive crawling in her sink.
2. She thinks everyone is going too "all out" for the party (like Mrs. Dalloway so this is brilliant).
3. She is just not that interested in what's going on as is seen in her pulling herself out of bed ticked off when she realized it was the party day.

There are surely a lot more reasons but these are the main ones. No one understood or agreed with the attachment to Richard. But he was there when she had her one true moment of happiness. To her, he was life, as she admits to her daughter.