First Blue Crab of the Season...Crab Cakes!

Yesterday Joel and a friend hit the mother load and caught lots of blue crabs.  Joel's intent had been to catch fish, but his friend came armed with raw chicken necks...he definitely did not intent to catch fish.  Last night Joel and some friends steamed up some of these "beautiful swimmers" with Joel bringing me more than 2 dozen that they did not eat.  So today I cleaned the crabs (removed the shell and all the "stuff" between the shell and the body) and picked out the crabmeat out of the bodies.   Now, I have to say, this is not my favorite thing to do.  Picking out crabs is lots of fun at a picnic table with family and friends and a good cold beer...standing at my sink and pickin' is just not the same.  However, the resulting crab cakes made this miserable work well worth the effort.  When I make crab cakes I use lots of crab and very little filler...it really is a crab cake!  Freshly picked crab is available at fish markets and some grocery stores or catch your own in salty water with a chicken neck tied to a string!

Ingredients

1 1/2 # crab meat   (I use body meat and claw)
3/4 cup panko
2 eggs
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup mayonaise
3/4 tsp Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
panko for coating crabcakes (about 3/4 cup)
olive oil for cooking

Makes 8 Crab Cakes

1. Combine first six ingrendients well in a bowl. 
2. Form crab mixture into patties (cakes) using about 1/2 cup of  crab mixture. 
3. Dredge crab cakes one at a time in panko and place on plate.
4. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
5. Cook crabcakes about 4 minutes on each side, until golden.

Rosemary Lemon Chicken with Potatoes

After working in the yard all day I was too tired to venture to the grocery store, so I explored what I had in the frig and in my herb garden that might come together for a good dinner.  In the frig I had chicken leg quarter, some really juicy lemons, some amazing fingerling type red potatoes, brown tomatoes I found at Walmart of all places (delicious!), a mozzarella ball and some really good crisp romaine lettuce.  I'm never lacking for rosemary in my fresh herbs outside the kitchen door and now have fresh basil.  So dinner tonight was rosemary lemon chicken with fingerling potatoes and a caprese salad.  I didn't photograph our meal...but did find a dancing chicken...this was so good I know the chicken would be proud!!!

Rosemary Lemon Chicken

Ingredients

2 chicken leg quarters cut to make 2 thighs and 2 legs
2 tbs. rosemary leaves from fresh rosemary
1 large garlic clove, smashed
1 tsp red pepper flakes
3 tbs. olive oil
juice from one juicy lemon
2 tbs olive oil
6 fingerling potatoes, cut in half
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 lemon

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Finely chop rosemary leaves and garlic.
• Add red pepper flakes, juice from one lemon and olive oil
• Use a pestle to combine rosemary, garlic. pepper flakes, lemon juice and olive oil
• Roll chicken parts in the rosemary, lemon mixture
• Heat an oven proof (I use an iron skillet) with 2 tbs olive oil
• Brown chicken pieces and potatoes in skillet (it takes about 5 minutes per side)
• Squeeze a lemon over chicken and potatoes and put fresh rosemary sprigs on top
• Place in preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes
• Remove, serve chicken and potatoes on plate, pour pan drippings over all.

Caprese Salad

Layer tomatoes, sliced mozzarella, and fresh basil leaves on top of torn romaine lettuce.  Season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with really good olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

That's dinner!!!

Fresh Beets and Rutabega with a Prune Reduction

Wayne and I  went to Baltimore in March to "play" with Graham, Maren and Campbell while Blair was at a photography workshop and Tom was working.  While we were there Tom treated us to dinner at Woodberry Kitchen http://www.woodberrykitchen.com/ .  What a great restaurant!  It's got a really friendly, cozy, atmosphere with amazing service.  I had a very smooth grapefruit/pear martini...just yummy!  Most everything they prepare is made from local, in-season, produce with wonderful, fresh, seafood from nearby waters and locally raised poultry and beef.  We ordered several appetizers with one being roasted rutabega with a prune reduction.  I decided to try recreating this for a side dish with a combination of fresh beets and rutabega and we liked the result!

Ingredients:

2 Rutabega and 4 Beets

2 cups Bottled Prune Juice

1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
2. Wash beets and rutabega and wrap tightly in aluminum foil.
3. Bake beets for 50 minutes and rutabega for 1 hour 15 minutes and cool. (You can do this a day or two ahead and store in the refrigerator)
4. Reduce oven temp to 375 degrees.
5. Combine prune juice and vinegar in a small pan, bring to a boil and reduce to simmer.  Simmer until reduced by half and a syrupy consistency is reached.
6. Cut ends off vegetables and peel.
7. Cut beets and rutabega into wedges, place on cookie sheet,season with salt and pepper, and drizzle reduction over all.
8. Bake for 30 minutes (stirring after 15 minutes) and serve hot with "drippings" drizzled over vegetables.

Wasabi Panko Crusted Mahi Mahi

I really got lazy with this blog...I've still been cooking, but was distracted from posting recipes.  I'll try to make up for the days I've missed! 

We are so lucky here in Washington, NC to be close enough to the salty waters of the Pamlico Sound and Atlantic Ocean to have access to some really great seafood.  I love going to the seafood market and seeing all the varieties of fish and shellfish displayed.  Last week I bought a large portion of Mahi Mahi, prepared half of it and put the other half in the freezer.  Today I defrosted the frozen portion and cooked it for our dinner tonight.  I try to use fresh fish I've frozen as quickly as possible, after 3 months fish I've frozen seems to get a musky taste. Last week I used a Gordon Ramsey recipe for a panko crusted rack of lamb. http://gordonramsaysrecipes.com/11/gordon-ramsays-herb-crusted-rack-lamb-f-word/  When I decided to cook the Mahi tonight I thought I could used the same technique in this great recipe for cooking the mahi....it worked with a few changes to the Panko crust.

Ingredients:

•  One Mahi Filet, skin removed
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 lime
• 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 cup panko
• 2 tbsp. wasabi paste (Wayne and I like the taste and heat of wasabi, adjust to your taste)
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1. Preheat ove to 400 degrees
2. Remove skin from the Mahi and salt and pepper both sides.
3. Squeeze the lime over the fish.
4. Combine Panko, Wasabi and 2 Tbs. Olive Oil in a shallow container (pie plate is perfect) well (hands work great for this!)
5. Heat 3 Tbs. Olive Oil in oven-safe skillet.
6. Sear fish on both sides in the oil (about 2 minutes per side)
7. Remove fish from skillet and coat with panko mixture, making sure the "top" is well coated.
8. Return fish to the skillet and place in the oven for 5 minutes (our fillet was about 3/4 inch thick)
9. Change oven to broil and broil until top is nicely browned.

 



Steamer Clams with Linguine

Today I went to the fish market (yes, they know me well there!) to get something to prepare for our dinner tonight.  I was delighted to see steamer clams in the display, herring roe and large shrimp already peeled and deveined (yes!)...so I bought all three!  I decided that tonight I would make clams with linguine and save the roe and shrimp for tomorrow when we watch the final game of the ACC tournament.  Wayne and I both like clams with a white sauce, but tonight I gave it a little bit of red and it was delicious!

Ingredients:

1/2 # box Fettuccine 
3 dozen steamer clams (yes this is a lot for 2 people...probably can work for 4...but we "luv" clams!) the clams I bought were pretty clean, just needed a cold water rinse to get a little grit off the shells

1/4 cup olive oil
6 cloves of garlic
1/2 onion, chopped
1 bottle clam juice
2 cups white wine
1 can petite chopped tomatoes
1 cup parsley, chopped
1 tsp. sea salt
Red pepper flakes (I use about 1/2 tsp.)
Shredded Parmesan cheese



1. Start cooking the fettuccine, you want it to be al dente....drain when done.
2. Pour olive oil and heat in large skillet medium heat until hot...not smoking!
3.  Add garlic and onion and cook until onion is translucent.
4.  Add Clam juice and wine and cook until reduced by half.
5.  Add can of tomatoes with juice, parsley,red pepper flakes, salt and cook for 5 minutes.
6.  Add clams and cook until clams open (should take 8-10 minutes)
7.  Combine fettuccine and clam mixture.
8.  Serve in bowls topped with Parmesan with crispy bread and a salad.

Relax Your Kale...Give It a Massage!

In January I was in Seattle and, for the first time, had a fresh kale salad.  I came home and tried to replicate it for Wayne, it was OK, but the kale was not tender enough.  Off to Google I go and discover that kale needs a good massage to make it relax.  Now this is my favorite green to use in salads.  It's really good with fruit (I've used mango and oranges) and with the traditional salad vegetables.  Adding your favorite cheese topping only makes it better!  I like using blue cheese with the fruit version and freshly grated Parmesan with the vegetable.  Try this for a really healthy, delicious salad!

Ingredients

·         1 bunch kale, stalks removed and discarded, leaves thinly sliced

·         1 tbs. lemon juice

·         2 tbs. olive oil

·        

Drizzle olive oil and  lemon juice over kale and massage the kale until it starts to soften and wilt, 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside while you make a dressing.

Sweet Dressing (if adding fruit)

In a small bowl, whisk 1/4 cup lemon juice with 2 tbs. honey and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Slowly add ¼ cup of olive oil while whisking.

Pour the dressing over the kale, and add 1 cup of fruit.  Toss and serve.

Vinaigrette

·         ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

·         ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

·         2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano (or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano)

·         2 garlic cloves , minced

·         ½ teaspoon sugar

·         ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper (to taste)

·          Kosher salt (to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake until combined.  Add chopped tomatoes, green onions, and cucumber to kale.  Shake dressing again and pour over salad.  Toss and serve.

Delectable Shad Roe

Today I went to the fish market intending to get salmon to cook for our dinner tonight.  The salmon was there,  but as I explored the ice box filled with fish I saw one of Wayne's favorite delicacies, shad roe.  A shad  spends their lives in the Ocean from Georgia to Nova Scotia, but move into North Carolina freshwater rivers and streams to spawn in the spring. We've had such a warm winter, I think they've come a little early.  The American shad is a valuable commercial fish highly prized for the quality of its flesh (so some say) and roe (I would agree!). I doubt that I would ever cook a shad...it's loaded with small bones and if my memory serves me correctly, a real "fishy" fish.  I remember Grandmama  cooking a shad  covered with a cloth and baking it so long that the bones dissolved.  You can find recipes for cooking this fish dating from early colonial times.

Wayne and I are not shad fish eaters but really enjoy shad roe so I was delighted to find it already in the market.  Sometimes I precook bacon until it's just about to crisp, wrap the bacon around the roe and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.  Tonight I found a  great new recipe in the Washingtonian Magazine from the Blue Duck Tavern that made the roe a very special dish.   I served it with garlic mashed potatoes and a crispy romaine wedge salad.  Yum!!!


Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 slices smoked bacon, diced
1 medium vidalia (or other sweet) onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 slices bacon
2 "sets" shad roe (4 lobes)
2 tbs. butter
2 tbs. balsamic vinegar
4 tbs. chicken stock
1 tbs. stone ground mustard
2 tbs. butter
1 tbs. fresh squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1.  Using a cast our skillet over medium heat, saute bacon until crisp and fat is rendered.  Add onion and garlic.  When onions are caramelized (about 5 minutes) remove mixture from pan and set aside.
2.  Wipe pan and return to heat.  Pat the roe dry and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  Melt two tablespoons of butter in the pan, add the two whole slices of bacon and cook until close to crisp.  Add roe to the pan and cook on one side for 3 minutes, basting with the butter in the pan, then carefully flip.
3.  Place the pan in the oven a cook for 5 minutes (the time is very important, overcooked roe turns to mush!)  Remove the roe and bacon from the pan and place on a warm plate.
4.  Drain the fat from the pan and return to medium heat.  Deglaze the pan with the vinegar when it is reduced by 90% return the onion mixture to the pan, add the chicken stock and mustard.  When it starts to boil take it off the head and add butter and lemon juice.
5.  Serve roe over the onions with a strip of bacon and drizzle sauce over.