Dan's Crab Cakes with Spicy Remoulade Sauce

This is a favorite of Lynne and I  - always good.  Serve it with boiled baby reds ( or tri colors in this case) and home made slaw.... yum

Dans Crab Cakes with Remoulade Sauce: (Serves 6 dinner portions)

In a large stainless bowl:

·          

·         1lb fresh crab meat ( I use claw - it's fine, and it's not worth spending 10 bucks more for lump - really doesn't make that much of a difference)

·         4 cloves garlic minced

·         1 shallot minced

·         3/4 cup frozen tri color pepper strips, minced when frozen

·         2 tbs butter

·         (combine last 4 ingredients in a fry pan, and saute till translucent,  then add to bowl with crab meat)

·         1/4 cup mayo

·         1 egg, beaten in a cup

·         2 tsp dill

·         3/4 cup parm cheese

·         3/4 cup bread crumbs

·         3 tbs old bay seasoning

·         1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

·         1/4 tsp ( to taste ) cayenne

·         3/4 tsp garlic powder

·         3/4 tsp celery salt

·         1 cup panko bread crumbs

Mix mixture in bowl until will mixed.  Let stand for an hour or so to let flavors blend.  When ready to cook, use 6 or 7 tbs of lite olive oil, and heat in fry pan till simmering.  While heating, form cakes into 3inch wide, by about 3/4 inch high patties.  Put panko crumbs on a plate, and coat each patty with the panko crumbs.  Fry for about 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown and crispy.  I often mix black pepper, garlic powder and parmesan cheese in with the crumbs.  Serve hot with Remoulade or Tartar sauce.  Serves 4.

Dan's Remoulade Sauce:

In a medium mixing bowl, combine:

·         3/4 cup mayo

·         2 tbs dijon mustard

·         1 tsp paprika

·         2 tsp horse radish

·         2 tbs chopped bread and butter pickles

·         1.5 tsp tobasco

·         1 tsp garlic powder

·         1.5 tbs capers, minced

·         2 shakes Worcestershire

·         2 tbs lemon juice

Whisk all ingredients together, and let sit in the fridge for at least one hour to blend flavors.

Poached Coconut Curry Mahi Mahi with Mango Pineapple Salsa and Coconut Rice

Made this last night - super simple, and really tasty.  The salsa was a little sweet, a little spicy - and a fantastic compliment to the fish.  The fish is simply poached in a foil pouch on the grill, in coconut milk, with a little red curry paste in it, and a few extra pieces of fruit in there.  I just bought the pre peeled fruit in the produce section of my market. The coconut rice simply replaces half the water with coconut milk - perfect with Jasmine rice.


Ingredients:

1 can coconut milk, stirred, and divided in half.
4 small Mahi Mahi fillets
2 cups mango chunks
2 cups pineapple chunks
1/2 sweet red pepper, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs brown sugar
3 tbs white wine
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes ( to taste)
1 tsp red curry paste
1tsp fish sauce
1/4 cup sliced green onions, divided.

Directions:

For the fish:

Lay two pieces of foil, about 18" long on the counter.  Lay fish fillets in center, season with salt and pepper.  Fold edges of the foil op to make a "boat".  Add 1/2 can coconut milk, red curry paste, fish sauce and a few mango/pineapple chunks.  Carefully fold edges of the foil over the fish, to make an tight seal.  Wrap another piece of foil around it if you have to, but this is an important step.  Place on pre heated grill on med high heat, and cook for about 12 minutes.


While fish is cooking, start the salsa and the rice.

For the Salsa:
In a small sautee pan, heat olive oil.  Add onions, and cook till they start to get translucent - about 3 minutes.  Add diced red peppers and cook for another couple of minutes till tender.  Add fruit, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes, the white wine, and some of the green onion slices.  Stir until heated through, but not boiling hot.

Prepare the Jasmine Rice as directed on package, but substitute 1/2 of the water for coconut milk.  You can add a little sugar to it to sweeten it up, but I didn't and it was fine.

CAREFULLY open foil packet with fish - it will be steaming hot, and very easy to get burned, so go slowly.  Place fish over rice, spoon some sauce from the packet  over fish and rice.  Top with salsa, and garnish with green onion slices.  I added some sauteed green beans to mine for a pop of color, and a veggie.

Enjoy!

Poached Sea Scallops, with Burnt Butter, Bacon, Wine and Veggies

This is totally NOT the way I would cook sea scallops, but had  a work friend recommend this recipe with HUGE props.  I complicated it a bit, but it really WAS good.  I downloaded the pics, but lost them somewhere in the morass of my laptop..... so this is an artless post....lol.  This dish is cooked on the grill in foil - kind of like the old Boy Scout recipe for cooking on an open fire.    So, here it is:

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic - minced
2 small summer squash - I spiailized mine - but sliced THIN will work
One lemon - zested, ( and put aside) and the juice separated
3 pc of bacon, cooked, and diced
3 slices of tomato - cubed to about 1/2 inch

Garlic and onions in burnt butter

1 tbs onion - minced
2 tbs butter
5 tbs white wine

Heat butter in sautee pan, Add onions, and garlic, and sautee till the butter turns slightly brown.  Remove from heat, and set aside.

Make tin foil tray, and add burnt butter, garlic and onion mix.  Add 5 tbs of wine - or more if you want - , scallops, then tomatoes, squash, salt and pepper to taste, and a couple tbs of butter  Wrap all in tin foil, so it is air tight, and put on grill on med high - about 350 degrees.  Steam for about 13 minutes, serve over rice, ladling sauce over rice.  Killer dish - easy and good.....

Fully Cooked

Finally found the pics!

Make sure pouch is well sealed

Pan Seared Scallops with Asian Chile Lime Sauce, and Roasted Baby Bok Choy

This is one of my favorite recipes - very easy to make, and really tasty!  Make the sauce the day before so it has a chance for the flavors to blend.  If you don't have a red chile pepper, use about 1/4 - 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes  - to your taste.  I added some roasted sweet peppers too.

Sauce:

1 small clove garlic, minced
1 small fresh hot chile, chopped, including seeds ( careful here - if you don't like heat, leave the seeds out)
2 1/4 tsp sugar
2 tbs rice vinegar
2 tbs fish sauce
1 1/2 tbs water
1 tbs fresh lime juice ( about the juice from one lime.  zest it first, and reserve for garnish)

about 1/1 - 1 lb fresh sea scallops - 12 or so
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs butter
1 tsp sesame oil

3 Baby Bok Choy, washed, sliced in half,  and tossed in olive oil and garlic powder.  Roast at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes until starting to brown.

Preparation:For the sauce - pound garlic, chile and sugar to a fine paste with a mortar and pestle. ( use the back of a spoon if you don't have one)  Stir paste together with fish sauce, vinegar, water and lime juice.  You also can puree them in a food processor.  Let sit for at least an hour - preferably over night

Pat dry the scallops, season with salt and pepper.  Heat oils, butter in a 12" skillet, over med high heat till hot.  Carefully place scallops in pan, separated.  Cook about three minutes, then with tongs, turn each scallop over and cook another 3 minutes till golden brown and translucent.

Serve over rice, with warmed sauce spooned over the top, garnish with lime zest.

Egg Plant Rolotini - super easy, super tasty

Made this tonight after trying for about three weeks.  Events kept coming up, didn't have the time,,,, yada yada yada.  This is my favorite dish at a local restaurant, and I wanted to try and reproduce it.  It is very simple in theory, but a little more complicated in practice.  I don't often fry things, so I am not so good at oil temps and breading per se.  That said, this is pretty much a fool proof recipe.  I used a mandolin to slice the egg plant, though I suppose it is possible to do with a good knife and a steady hand ( I have plenty of the first, and none of the second....lol)  So, here it goes:  (Please keep in mind ALL measurements are approximate - season to taste)

Pre heat oven to 375

Combine 2/3 cup seasoned panko bread crumbs with:

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp each salt pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne

1/4 cup parm cheese

beat 2 eggs, put on a flat plate

put about 1/3 cup flour on a flat plate.

One eggplant

Slice eggplant on mandolin to about a little less than 1/4 inch thick, lengthwise down eggplant.

Dredge in egg, then coat both sides evenly in bread crumbs.  ( I would try coating the veggie in corn starch first, then egg, then crumbs to make them stick a little better next time....and use a combo of regular and panko crumbs... but that is just me)

Stack on plate.

In large skillet, heat about 1/4 cup light olive oil, and 2 tbs butter over medium high heat, till oil is hot.  Make sure oil is hot - if it doesn't sizzle when you put the ep in, then it is not hot enough, and the oil will soak in.

Rolls before baking

Carefully fry slices till golden brown.  I stacked them between paper towels to absorb extra oil.

Combine 2 cups Ricotta Cheese, 1 cup shredded Mozzarella, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 tbs finely chopped fresh basil, 1 tbs finely chopped fresh ( or 1 tsp dried) oregano till evenly mixed.  

Grease 9x12 or so baking pan.  Take about a fist full of cheese mixture ( about a half cup), and roll into the eggplant.  Line baking dish with finished rolls.  Top with more mozzarella cheese, and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, or until cheese on top is brown.

After baking

Meanwhile, cook enough fettuccine for two, and heat up some pasta sauce.  I always add one of my famous "cubes" to the sauce - I roast, then boil down 20lbs of tomatoes into two ice cube trays of paste, then freeze.  Adds incredible flavor to any store bought sauce in an instant.

Plate rolls, add pasta, top with sauce - and enjoy! ( I also chiffoned some basil - tightly rolled leaves cut into about 1/8 wide slices for the top)

Thai Beef and Basil

Thai Beef and Basil - a recipe given to me by Victoria, that I .... tweaked.... a little.  Really yummy.  Plus, I got to use my new fancy cutter - essentially a cutter that spiral slices, or cuts long noodle cuts - paid $40 for it - and it's gonna be worth it!  Here is the recipe:

1 lb ground beef
3/4 cup loose chopped basil
1/2 cup beef broth
1 cup frozen tri color peppers
2 tbs lime, 2 tbs soy, 2 tbs fish sauce

Carrot Basil Slaw:
4 carrots, spiral sliced - or julienned
1/4 cup basil, chiffonaded - ( rolled like a cigar and sliced thin)
zest from 2 limes

Dressing 3 tbs lime juice ( from 2 fresh limes) 2 tbs soy sauce, 2 tbs fish sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar

Instructions:

Press beef down into a thin pancake, and cook till crispy on one side, then flip.  Cook till crispy on second side, drain fat.  Chop up into pieces, add basil, broth and lime juice, soy, and fish sauce.  Simmer for about 5 minutes.  Add peppers, and simmer till warm - and sauce is reduced.

Mix carrots and basil for slaw, and coat with dressing.

Serve beef over jasmine rice, top with slaw, and enjoy!  Very tasty!!