Callawassie Crab Cakes

 I posted another crab cake recipe quite a while back but have experimented with several variations since and I think I have landed on one I like even better. These have less mayo so I like the texture better and the crab becomes the featured taste as it should be. Give them a try. I think you will enjoy them.

Ingredients:

2 TBSP Butter

1/2 of a Small Onion - Minced

1/4 of a Red Bell Pepper - Diced

1 Small Stalk Celery - Diced

2 Egg Yolks

1 tsp Dry Mustard

4 Slices White Bead - Crusts Removed and Diced 

1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning

1/4 Cup Mayonnaise

1/4 tsp Tabasco Sauce

1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp Lemon Juice

1/4 tsp White Pepper

1 LB. Lump Crab

Prepared Bread Crumbs

3 TBSP Butter

1 TBSP Olive Oil

Preparation:

Melt butter in a sauté pan and sauté the onion, pepper and celery until crisp tender. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and combine with the egg yolks and dry mustard. Stir well. Stir in diced bread, Cayenne, Old Bay, mayonnaise, Tabasco, Worcestershire, lemon juice and the pepper. Gently fold in the crab, leaving the lumps in tact. Form into 3-4 oz. cakes. If the cakes don't want to stick together you may have to add some prepared bread crumbs, a little at a time until you get the cakes to form. Refrigerate the cakes for a half hour or so prior to cooking. This will help firm them up. To cook melt 3 TBSP butter with 1 TBSP olive oil in a large non-stick skillet. Sauté the crab cakes until nicely browned on one side and then turn, being careful not to break up the cakes. I use two spatulas for this. Serve immediately or alternatively place on a baking sheet and hold in a 200 degree oven. For appetizer sized crab cakes form into 1-2 oz. cakes. I like to serve with an aioli seasoned with horseradish, cayenne and capers or with Hollandaise. 

Elna's Rhubarb Sauce

It is that time of year when rhubarb begins to show up in stores or your garden if you are lucky enough to have one.  Rhubarb is a little like Scotch whiskey. You either like it or you don't. Or some would say "it's an acquired taste". I happen to be in the camp of rhubarb lovers. I love strawberry rhubarb pie, rhubarb pie, rhubarb crisp, sour cream rhubarb bars and on and on, but most of all I love rhubarb sauce.  It is very simple to make, keeps well in the refrigerator and is delicious. I love it with a little cream for dessert, on ice cream as a topping, or even as a side with roast pork instead of apple sauce. We use a recipe that came from my mother-in-law, Elna Jordahl. I hope you will give it a try.

Ingredients:

4 Cups Rhubarb, cut into 1/4" long pieces

2 Cups Water 

2 TBSP Tapioca

11/2 Cups Sugar

4-5 Drops Red Food Coloring(if desired)

Preparation:

Add rhubarb and water to a large sauce pan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Stir tapioca and sugar into rhubarb/water mixture. Add food coloring if desired. Let sit for 5 minutes. Return pan to heat and bring to a boil. Stir constantly and let boil for a minute or two. Let cool and transfer to a sealed container. Refrigerate. We serve with a little cream as dessert or as a side for roast pork. 

Bone in Crispy Pork Chops

 

I love pork chops and do them several ways. This is a method to cook them that will yield chops that are crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. 

Ingredients:

2   7-8 Oz. Bone in Rib Chops. I like the Duroc                      chops that they sell at Fareway.

Salt and Pepper

2 Eggs 

1 TBSP Water

1 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs

2 TBSP Butter

2 TBSP Vegetable Oil

2 Large Cloves Garlic - Lightly crushed to remove                                         the husks

4-5 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme

2 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary

Preparation:

Season chops on both sides with the salt and pepper. Press the seasoning into the the meat with the butt of your hand. Beat the eggs and water together until well blended to create an egg wash and place in a small flat pan. Place the panko into another flat pan. Dredge the chops in the egg wash and then the panko, making sure each chop is well coated on both sides with the bread crumbs. Melt the butter and oil together in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the whole garlic cloves, the thyme and the rosemary to the pan, being careful, as the herbs may splatter and pop when added to the hot oil. Increase heat to medium high and add chops to the pan. Cook for 6 minutes on the first side, basting with the pan juices several times while cooking. If chops are getting too brown reduce heat as required. Turn chops and cook for 6 minutes on the second side, again basting several times while cooking. Times may very depending on the thickness of your chops and the temperature of your stove. Chops should be 135 degrees when removed from the pan. Remove chops to a board and let rest for 7-8 minutes before serving. The resting part is important as the chops will continue to cook while they are resting. Resting also allows juices on the surface to reenter the meat. The chops should have risen to about 145 degrees while resting. Between the basting and resting the chops will be nice and juicy on the inside and very crispy on the outside. 

Mediterranean Grilled Vegetables

 

I am trying to cut back a little on the calories, so went with a Mediterranean meal tonight. Heavy on vegetables and a little roasted fish. The veggies turned out really well. I would normally grill them on the Weber, but we had a cold and snowy day, so I put the griddle on the top of the gas range and went from there. Here is what I did.

Ingredients:

For vegetables:

1 Zucchini, sliced end to end into 1/4" slices

1 Summer Squash, sliced end to end into 1/4" slices

4-5 Baby Bella Mushrooms, cut in half top to bottom

4-5 Mini Bell Peppers, cut in half length wise and seeded

1 Fennel Bulb, thinly sliced

1 Leek or 2-3 Scallions, sliced in half lengthwise.

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

For dressing:

2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 TBSP Good Balsamic Vinegar

5 Sage Leaves - finely chopped

Leaves from 1 Small Stem Rosemary - finely chopped

Leaves from 1 Small Stem Tarragon - finely chopped

1 Small Shallot - Finely Chopped

1 Clove Garlic - finely chopped

Preparation:

Clean all vegetables and slice as described above. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until tender or crispier if you like them that way. Arrange on a serving platter. While veggies are grilling prepare the dressing. Mix the Oil and Vinegar until emulsified. Sauté the shallot in a little olive oil until translucent and tender. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional 30 seconds to one minute, until fragrant. Add Sautéed shallot and garlic and chopped herbs to the dressing and whisk. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle over the grilled vegetables. This is a great side dish with fish or shrimp and makes a beautiful presentation as you can see in the photo above.

 

Butterflied and Stuffed Jumbo Shrimp

 

Last night I made some butterflied and stuffed shrimp. I think they turned out really well, so here is what I did:

Ingredients:

4 TBSP Butter Divided

1/4 of a Red Bell Pepper - Finely Chopped

1/4 of a Small Onion - Finely Chopped

1 Stalk Celery - finely Chopped

1 LB. Jumbo Shrimp (10-15 Count Per Pound) Peeled and deveined but leave the tails on.

2 Eggs - Beaten

2 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning

1 TBSP Stone Ground Mustard

2 TBSP Fresh Parsley - Finely Chopped and Divided

1 LB Jumbo and Lump Crab Meat

1/4 to 1/2 Cup Mayonnaise

Bread Crumbs or Crushed Saltine Crackers

1/2 Cup Coarse Bread Crumbs

Preparation:

Melt 1 TBSP of butter and sauté the bell pepper, onion and celery until crisp tender and set aside. 

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees. Using another TBSP of the butter, grease a baking dish. Butterfly 8 of the shrimp and arrange in the baking dish with the tails curled up. Remove tails from any remaining shrimp and chop the shrimp into bite sized pieces and set aside. 

In a large bowl mix the sauted vegetables, eggs, Old Bay, mustard and 1 TBSP chopped parsley. Fold the crab and the chopped shrimp into the mixture in the bowl. Add enough of the mayo to begin to bind the mixture together. Start adding bread crumbs or crushed crackers about 1/4 cup at a time until the mixture is dry enough to be able to form into cakes. The mix should hold together but still be pretty damp. Form 8 balls of the crab mixture and place one on each of the butterflied shrimp in the baking dish. Flatten out a little to cover the shrimp leaving the tail uncovered and pointing to the ceiling. You will not use all of the crab mixture. You can use what is left over the next day to make small crab cake appetizers. Melt the last 2 TBSP butter in a small skillet. Add the Coarse bread crumbs to the skillet and sauté until the butter is absorbed and the crumbs are golden. Mix in the last TBSP of chopped parsley and top the stuffed shrimp with the coarse bread crumb mixture. Bake in the 400 degree oven for 15 minutes and serve directly out of the oven.  Serve with a baked potato and green vegetable or a nice salad. Enjoy !!

Kalamata Olive Fish Breading

 Here is a unique recipe that I got years ago from my friend and Italian cooking teacher Mario Carrate. This is a breading for fish or shrimp that can be used for baking or frying. For a unique taste give it a try.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Bread Crumbs

1 TBSP Capers-Coarsely Chopped

1 TBSP Finely Chopped Kalamata Olives

2 Cloves Garlic-Finely Chopped

1/2 tsp Oregano-Finely Chopped

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Olive Oil

Preparation:

Combine bread crumbs, capers, olives, garlic and oregano and stir until well mixed. Season with salt and prepper. To use with fish, brush fish fillets with olive oil and press fillets into breading mix. Sauté or alternately lay in a shallow baking dish, cover with a layer of thinly sliced tomatoes and bake at 400 degrees until golden and tender. For use with shrimp, brush shrimp with oil and coat with the breading. Again either sauté or drizzle with a little melted butter and bake. 

Apple crumb crostata

 

A crostata is a rustic free form fruit or savory pie. It is not baked in a pie pan, but on a cookie sheet. Crostata is the Italian version while galette is French. The two words are interchangeable. For this recipe, I generally make a two crust pie pastry. I use one for the crostata and freeze the other for later use. The crumble topping on this crostata makes this version a little unique. This is the easiest way that I know of to make a "pie" from scratch. Give it a try. It is fun and quite easy. 

Ingredients:

For the Crust

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1 TBSP Sugar

6 Ounces(stick and a half) of chilled unsalted butter cut into pea size pieces

4 TBSP chilled shortening cut into small pieces

A scant half cup of iced water

1 Egg beaten with a TBSP of water

Turbinado Sugar

For the Filling:

5-6 Large Granny Smith Apples, Peeled and Cored and cut into thin slices. (about 5 cups)

1/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

1 tsp Cornstarch

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Zest of One Lemon

1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

For the Crumble:

1/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

11/2 Cups All Purpose Flour

1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon

4 TBSP Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled to room temperature.

 Preparation:

Combine the flour, sugar and salt for the crust in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse four or five times to sift together. Add the butter and shortening and pulse 10-12 times until the dough looks crumbly and the butter and shortening are small pea size and well combined into the dry ingredients. Turn the machine on and pour the iced water down the tube of the processor all at once. Turn machine off and then pulse a few times until dough starts to mass on the blade. If the dough looks too dry add water a few drops at a time and pulse again. Turn dough out onto a floured board. With the heel of your hand press the pastry out and away from you a few times. This will do the final blending of the butter and shortening into the flour. Gather the dough into a ball. Cut into two equal pieces. Form each piece into a disc. Wrap one piece in plastic wrap and freeze. Wrap the second piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. While pastry is in the fridge, make the filling by combining all of the filling ingredients in a bowl and folding together. Set aside. Make the crumble by combining the granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir together and then drizzle in the melted butter and stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly and all of the flour is incorporated. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove dough from fridge and let sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll dough out into an oval shape that is roughly 14" long and 12" wide. Transfer to parchment covered baking sheet. Arrange the filling in the center of the oval leaving a 2-3 inch border all around the outside of the oval. Brush the exposed border of the dough with the egg wash, and fold the border up and over the filling, pleating as you go. Now brush the outside of the folded edge with the egg wash and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar. Pour any juice left in the filling bowl over the exposed fruit filling. Cover the exposed fruit with the crumble topping.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until crust is golden brown.