Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Claws for Celebration! Crabby Patties

Claws for celebration! In addition to the 4th of July, you might be wondering what I am celebrating and not really crabby at all. Though this very hot & muggy weather is beginning to make us all wilt. I had my new refrigerator delivered today. Room! Space! And.. a large cheese drawer! Watch out Whole Foods now! :)

Our daughter came to visit over the holiday weekend and after another fabulous day on the beach along with a 3 mile walk, at the end of the day we had worked up our appetites, but no one wanted a large hot meal.. so we decided on lobsters and crabby cakes. I had never made crab cakes before, but just love them! With a little bit of prodding and some guidance from my very own sous chef, (daughter) Shawna….(who makes them all the time) I’m proud to report that these patties of succulent Maine lump crabmeat and scallops were a big hit at our dinner table! I’m not sure if I had more fun assembling them all or sampling them as I cooked them all! LOL Well.. I should add, we cancelled our order for lobsters at the pound as we were so full from nibbling along the way. We settled on sautéed spinach, jicama salad and delicious, Crabby Patties.




Crabby Patties with Roasted Red Pepper Remoulade
· 3 eggs
· 2 tsp mayonnaise
· 4 TBLS seeded Dijon mustard
· 1/2 lemon, juiced
· lemon zest of two lemons, 1/8 cup
· 2 scallions, chopped
· ¼ cup parsley, minced
· 4 T cilantro, minced
· 1 ½ lb. jumbo lump crab meat, picked through for shells
· ½ lb fresh scallops, diced
· ½ TBLS tobasco sauce
· ½ sweet red bell pepper, diced small
· 2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
· Salt and white pepper to taste
· Olive oil & Unsalted butter
This will yield approximately 30 Crabby cakes- 2 ½ oz or the recipe may be easily reduced in half. Or you may serve these as little 1 oz hor d’oeuvres. I think I’ll try this the next time our gang gets together.

Preparing the Crabby Patties
Lightly beat eggs . Whisk in mayo, mustard, tobasco and lemon juice. Using a wooden spoon, stir in scallions, parsley,red peppers and cilantro. Add crab, scallops, Panko, and salt and pepper and gently fold with spoon, being careful not to break the crab into smaller pieces. Gather crab mixture into small palm-sized balls and gently pat into a small rounded patty. Place on wax-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat butter and olive oil in large skillet. Cook 4-6 crab cakes at a time, depending on the size of your pan. You want to have room between each cake for even cooking. Cook 4 minutes each side, then drain on paper towels.

Serve with roasted red pepper remoulade

Roasted Red Pepper Remoulade

1 jar roasted red peppers, drained
½ cup mayonnaise
2 TBLS lemon juice
¼ cup sweet relish
1 TBLS worchestershire sauce
1 TBLS Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves
Toss it all into your food processor along with a bit of tobasco, fresh chopped parsley, a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar, sea salt & ground pepper. Enjoy!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Eggplant Lasagna



There is something about fresh eggplant that is so appealing to me. I'm not sure if it's all the colorful varieties and various shapes that draws me in, but I seldom won't pick up a few whenever I shop. The deep shiny plum hooks me every time! It's just a gorgeous vegetable.

I picked up this weeks eggplant with the intention of making eggplant haystacks, but once I returned home from the market realized I had forgotten to pick up a few more necessary ingredients, so instead I decided on eggplant lasagna instead. An easy dish to prepare, fewer carbs, omitting traditional lasagna noodles and just plain delicious!



2 eggplants
seasoned bread crumbs
flour
1 egg
milk
olive oil
30 oz ricotta cheese
3 tsp pecorino cheese
1 egg
1 cup fresh spinach
sea salt, pepper
1 tsp fresh parsley
marinara sauce
Italian sausage, cooked & sliced (opt)
mozzarella shreds



Frying the eggplant:
· Slice eggplant and dredge in seasoned flour.
· Dip into egg wash made of egg and a little milk
· Now dredge into seasoned bread crumbs
· Fry the crumbed eggplant slices in good olive oil until golden brown.. then drain on paper towels

As you are frying the eggplant, warm up the marinara sauce & prepare the ricotta filling

Ricotta filling:
· 30 oz Ricotta cheese
· 3 tsp grated pecorino cheese
· 1 egg
· 1 cup fresh spinach, torn
· salt, pepper, fresh parsley

Mix all together until creamed well. * Save any leftover cheese mixture and add it into your morning omelet.

To Assemble:
Pour a ladleful of sauce to the bottom of baking dish. Place fried eggplant slices, slightly overlapping one another to cover bottom of your dish. Add a layer of ricotta mixture and sliced sausage if desired. Spoon a bit of sauce over all and repeat the steps. When your layers are completed, top with a bit more sauce and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over all.
Pop the dish into a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes uncovered. Allow it to set 10 minutes before serving. Serve with a nice garden salad. Enjoy!