Crab Cake Trio

                      If you are a frequent follower of my blog, which I hope you are, you know that a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be a judge at the Shore Chef Crab Cake Cook Off. Having eaten all that seafood, I was surprisingly not sick of it! In fact, I was inspired by it. The following recipes are a combination of inspiration, imagination, and basic bravery, haha. Now I have made crab cakes before, I call them OriGINAl Crab Cakes and I honestly love them for their simplicity and flavor. However, like almost everything I make, I try to “out-do” myself the next time I feel like having it. Which basically brings us to these crab cake recipes… Rather than going with traditional, I wanted to go with, well, experimental. I decided to coat them 3 ways- crushed up potato chips, French’s French Fried Onions, and Panko breadcrumbs. I tried to keep the size of the cakes small so I could indulge in all three in one sitting, I recommend you do the same because each one is distinctive and delicious. My favorite though was the fried onions, my goodness those cakes were superb! The sweet onion flavor survived the “fry” while the itsy pieces of crunchy onions crackled with every bite!  Also important to note is they all made great sliders the next day!Serving: 9 crab cakes



Pan-Fried Crab Cake Trio

OBJ: TCW be able to make some sort of restaurant quality crab cake appetizer

Ingredients:

1 C jumbo lump crab meat (1/2 of a 1 lb can), drained and picked through

½ Vidalia onion, minced

3 garlic cloves, minced

½ red bell pepper, chopped

¼  tsp crushed red pepper

1 TBS fresh flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1 C fresh spinach, stems removed and coarsely chopped

3 TBS mayonnaise

1 egg

1 TBS Dijon mustard

¼ C plus 2 TBS Panko breadcrumbs

½ C canola oil

S & P: salt and pepper

For breading purposes:

1 C Panko breadcrumbs

1 C French’s French Fried Onions, pounded in a baggie

2 C Potato Chips, pounded in a baggie (when pounded in should = 1 C)

2 eggs

Procedures:

1. In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium-low flame

2. Add onion, garlic, parsley, crushed red pepper flakes, and a pinch S & P, cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring often
 3. Add red bell pepper and another pinch S & P, cook for 10 minutes, or until pepper has softened

4. Add spinach, cover for 2 minutes, then turn off flame and mix well. Put aside and let cool completely or refrigerate

 

Saute mixture...

5. In a large mixing bowl, add crab meat, sauté mixture, mayo, mustard, egg, panko, and a pinch S & P. Mix well to incorporate   


Crab mixture...

6. Assemble the breading station: Place Panko, fried onions, and potato chips each in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish, beat 2 eggs

7. Optional: I sprinkle a pinch of pepper in my Panko, fried onions, and chips for extra spice and flavor
 

Assembly line.....

8. Using a ¼ C measuring cup, shape crab mixture into a plump patty, dip in egg, drain well (kind of go back and forth between your hands), then coat both sides and edges in Panko, shake off excess and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining crab mixture and other breading options. This recipe worked out great for 3 of each type of breading

 9. Once all the crab cakes have been breaded and placed on baking sheet, place in refrigerator for at least an hour for the cakes to set
10. Preheat oven to 450 degrees

11. Heat a large sauté pan (use same one as previously if you washed it) over medium-high heat, add about ½ C canola oil (depending on the sides of your pan, it should come up ¼ way) and allow oil to heat up, about 5 minutes (When oil is ready, it immediately bubbles when a small piece of breadcrumb immediately fries or the back of a wooden spoon when put to bottom of pan makes bubbles), place crab cakes in oil

*** If they don’t immediately start to fry when placed in oil, the oil isn’t hot enough, you have to wait longer!***



Potato Chip...



Fried Onion....



Panko...

12. Flip after about 4-5 minutes or until bottom is golden brown. Fry opposite side for 4-5 minutes, or until bottom is golden brown

13. When both sides are golden brown, place on baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and bake for 5 minutes. This ensures a hot crab cake all the way through

14. Serve with lemon slices





  

                  

Panko Parmesan String Beans

                   When I was reorganizing my blog recently, I noticed the lack of side dish recipes I have. Now let me explain- 1- It’s not that I don’t serve things along side my main dishes and 2- It’s not that I have anything against them. The truth is I usually throw stuff together so quickly that I don’t remember the exact steps and therefore couldn’t detail it in the blog. I actually love side dishes; it makes me really happy when I can go from a delicious main course selection to something just as good by simply moving my fork 3 inches over! I like to go back and forth and normally say something like, “Man, I don’t know what I like better….” I guess this even goes for bread alongside pasta for me because that, too, makes me quite content. Needless to say, I find a lot of satisfaction in side dishes. Here is a recipe that can be easily used on most veggies. And if you have green-free eaters in your house, as I do at times, this might work to get to the “other side”!

Panko & Parmesan Crusted String Beans

Serves: 2-4

OBJ: TCW be able to cook string beans so that her husband will like them

Ingredients:

4 Cups string beans, trimmed (basically 4 hefty handfuls from the market!)

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

¼ C Parmesan cheese

¼ C Panko breadcrumbs

S & P: salt and pepper

Procedures:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. In a large bowl toss string beans with oil, S & P

3. On a rimmed baking sheet, place string beans in a single layer

4. Generously sprinkle Panko and Parmesan all over beans

5. Roast for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned

Cinnamon and Honey-Glazed Sweet Potatoes

                     Have you ever eat something throughout your whole life pretty much the same exact way? Bread always toasted, steak always grilled, apples always sliced? Now honestly, this can be good and bad. For example, in a good way, French fries should always be fried and hot dogs be grilled, but in a bad way, corn shouldn’t always be boiled and sweet potatoes shouldn’t always be baked. Yeah yeah yeah, I know there are some rock star baked fries out there and some people, I would say pedestrians actually, who swear by their deep water dogs, but I’m just stating my opinion. Anyway, I’m sick of boiled corn and baked sweet potatoes! Sorry Mom, but there are options out there and I’m ready to experiment. Along with the Herbed Roasted Chicken I made the other night, I knew I wanted to serve the sweet potatoes I bought last week. But I stared them down and they just looked so gosh darn boring! HHhmmm, I could bake them or make sweet potato fries….meh….The thought made me consider an entire different starch for this evening, but I prevailed and found this great recipe on Epicurious. Bonus- I had everything minus the mango chutney, which didn’t thrill me anyway. The turnout was definitely a keeper recipe; I plan to toss pecans into the mix next time though. I think they would take this to a whole new level. Besides tasting great, this dish made my home smell wonderful too!

Cinnamon- and Honey-Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Serves: 4-6

Source:  Epicurious

OBJ: TCW be able to serve her sweet potatoes in a new way

Ingredients:

5 small-average sized sweet potatoes cut into 1/3 inch rounds

2 TBS (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

2 TBS honey

1 TBS fresh lime juice (about that from ½ lime)

½ tsp ground cinnamon

S & P: salt and pepper

Procedures:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray

3. Whisk butter, honey, lime juice, and cinnamon in a large bowl

4. Add potato rounds, toss well to coat

5. Arrange rounds in a single layer on prepared baking sheet

6. Sprinkle with a pinch S & P

7. Roast for 25 minutes or until tender and browned on bottoms

Fresh Herbed Roasted Chicken

                      I read a lot of items from the food genre, which is probably not a recognized genre, but to me it encompasses everything I enjoy reading: culinary magazines, cookbooks, reviews, recipes, food blogs, etc…In doing this the other afternoon, I came across a picture of a roasted chicken topped with a garden pesto. The picture was absolutely gorgeous; I would even frame it if Matt wouldn’t mind. But he would and I totally understand why. Well, the recipe was sort of intense and required tools and ingredients that I was unable to and am still unable to get my hands on. Therefore, I came up with my own rendition as below instructs. My picture looks nothing like the one in the magazine but I must say my photography skills are improving; they just aren’t, well, professional-quality yet.  Well I can’t attest to what the magazine’s chicken tasted like but I believe mine could give it a run for its money! The skin was seasoned and crisp, meat juicy and full of flavor, and the fennel, being baked last, maintained its delicious texture and aroma.

Fresh Herbed Roasted Chicken

Serves: 2-4

OBJ: TCW be able to take advantage of the local farmers’ market abundance of fresh herbs

Ingredients:

2 skin on, bone in, chicken breast

2 TBS fresh rosemary, finely chopped

¼ C fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

5 garlic cloves, grated

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil, plus extra 3 TBS for later

½ lemon, reserve juice and slice into rounds

½ tsp fresh ground pepper

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp red pepper flake

1 fennel bulb, roughly chopped into large 2 inch chunks

Procedures:

1. In a large sealable bag, place and combine all ingredients except chicken, fennel, and extra olive oil

2. Place chicken inside bag, seal and toss insides around quite generously to coat the chicken with marinade

3. Refrigerate for 3 hours, tossing every hour or so

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

5. Place entire contents of bag in a roasting pan, breast/skin side up

6.  Drizzle the additional 2 TBS olive oil and a pinch S & P over chicken breasts

7. Roast for 30 minutes, remove pan from oven

8. In a small bowl, toss fennel chunks with 1 TBS olive oil and a pinch S & P, add fennel to pan and finish roasting for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (meat thermometer should read 180 and juices will run clear when cut into)  total cooking time about 50 minutes

9. Remove from oven and let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing

Shore Chef Crab Cake Cook Off

 Shore Chef Crab Cake Cook Off

            This past weekend I was fortunate enough to be asked to be a guest judge at the Shore Chef Crab Cake Cook Off held at Monmouth Park, NJ. It was an opportunity not to be missed and one that will benefit you and me when scouring around attempting to find quality seafood. You would think living next to the ocean would help us Jerseyians find some decent deep-water delicacies, right? Eh, I’ve been let down in the past. But fret no more, the information below will enlighten and entice you, I promise!

                 Just to give you some background, our task, as judges, was to pick three winners- best crab cake, best of the rest, and best presentation.  Our judging team consisted of Deborah Smith, executive editor of jerbites.com, Tom Brennan, station manager of 90.5 The Night, Michele McBride, morning show host of 90.5 The Night, Peter Genovese of The Star-Ledger, and myself, A Hungry Teacher. The winners are revealed below as are my notes on the contenders. Enjoy!

Best Crab Cake:

Winner: Mud City Crab Cake Company, Forked River & Manahawkin

-                 Simple and impressively flavorful,  abundant lump crab meat dominated the cake, nice sear on edges, a no frills crab cake that leaves you wanting more

Mud City's Winning Crab Cake

Bahrs Landing, Highlands

-          Light and fresh, great flavors permeated through, admirable amount of lump crab meat, the presentation was absolutely beautiful, locally grown heirloom tomatoes and black bean and corn salsa adorned the plate, entire dish was enjoyable



Bahrs Landing

The American Hotel, Freehold

-                  Served as a sandwich, quite spicy, crab flavor somewhat hidden by all the spice, delicious slaw served with that added texture, buttered brioche bun also a pleaser 

The American Hotel

Ike’s Famous Crab Cakes II, Ocean City

-          Served as a sandwich- the Royale, flavor relied too heavily on sauces-creamy horseradish & sundried tomato, lack of lump crab meat, generously sized



Ike's Famous Crab Crabs II

Southern Smoke- Cajun & Caribbean BBQ, Wall

-          Too much seasoning and spice, heavy “southwestern” flair, arugula salad well-dressed on the side, smoked tomato jam was an interesting blend of marinara and BBQ sauce, the creamed cilantro cut the spice effect and improved the overall plate



Southern Smoke- Cajun & Caribbean BBQ

The Happy Clam, Highlands

-          Buttery yet dry consistency, remoulade sauce comprised of chipotle peppers, capers and spices was HOT

The Happy Clam



Best of the Rest:

Winner: Ike’s Famous Crab Cakes II: Cajun Grouper Royale Sandwich

-                    Wow, what a sandwich!, delicious tender pieces of fish, cooked with skill, a generous amount of fish for one sandwich, spicy and addicting



Ike's Famous Crab Cakes II, Royale Version on top, cross section of regular below

The American Hotel: Crab in a Bag

-          Filled with fresh corn and andouille sausage, worth the time and effort it takes to get to the meat, seasoned just the right amount



Crab in a Bag!

Bahrs Landing: Jersey Corn & Crab Chowder

-                      Sweet and creamy, very pleasing to the palate, nice blend of textures: lump crab, corn pieces, and a thick base, a scrumptious dish

Chowder.....

Mud City Crab Cake Company: Muddy Fries

-                    Garlicy and greasy, very addicting yet hard to pin-point what is pulling you back for more, sauce would have been better to dip into rather than to shake off

Muddy Fries....

Southern Smoke- Cajun & Caribbean BBQ: Cajun Catfish/Tilapia Sandwich with coleslaw, house pickles and remoulade

-          Ratio of fish to other additions off, fish was tasty yet undermined by all else

Cajun Catfish/Tilapia Sandwich....

Carmine in the Kitchen/ The Fritter Fella, Toms River:  Key West Conch Fritters with Key lime mustard dipping sauce

-          Excellent batter and deep fry, undercooked through center, dense and heavy as a whole

I love the umbrella over these Fritters!

Clam Hut, Highlands: Drunken Clams

-          Smelled wonderful, clams were chewy and rubbery though, broth was made to dip but sadly bread provided was stale



Drunken Clams....

Best Presentation:

Winner: Bahrs Landing Crab Cake
    -          Picture says it all, definitely frame-able

Oh how pretty!



And the final thought of the day.................

A not-so-hungry anymore teacher who needs a napkin!!
(This photo courtesy of P. Genovese)

 

Penne with Creamy Goat Cheese, Shrimp & Zucchini

Common occurrence: pasta craving. I’m sure most can relate. I don’t know how often most people get this craving, but I can identify it at least once every other week. So last week, I woke up thinking rigatoni, penne, fusilli, I would like some asap! Now, my cravings might sound a little odd compared to most, but then again, I don’t consider my relationship with food like others’ relationships with it. I say relationship in a good way though; me and the “edibles” are pretty much best buds. That being said, when my running sneaks take part of this trio, we are all one happy family. Okay, now this is getting more weird…….Back to the dish……So I had this craving and I had these ingredients: zucchini, bag o’ basil, part of a log of goat cheese, eggplant, and fresh mozzarella. I decided that I could use the mozz and eggplant later in the week and thought of this concoction…….what a winner!! The goat cheese and bacon flavors were absolutely delicious. I love fresh basil on pretty much anything but it lightened up this dish and made for a true summer delight! A must try if you ask me!

Penne with Creamy Goat Cheese, Shrimp and Zucchini

Serves: 2-4

OBJ: TCW be able to satisfy her craving for pasta and use up some of the lingering ingredients in the fridge

Ingredients:

½ lb penne pasta (or other tube-shaped pasta you like)

12 jumbo shrimp, cleaned and deveined, tails removed

½ tsp red pepper flakes

2 shallots, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

½ Can diced tomatoes (14.5 ounce can)

4 slices bacon, cut into ½ inch chunks

¼ C extra virgin olive oil, divided into 2 TBS each

12 leaves fresh basil, torn

3 Ounces goat cheese, crumbled

2 green zucchini, cut into ¼ inch slices, then quartered

½ C dry white wine (I use Pinot Grigio, but use what you booze!)

½ lemon

S & P (salt and pepper)

Parmesan cheese

Procedures:

1. Marinate shrimp: In a small bowl, combine shrimp, juice of lemon, 2 TBS olive oil, a pinch S & P, red pepper flakes, and basil. Cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes



Marinating shrimp before being covered and refrigerated...

2. Prepare pasta according to package directions, saving ½ C “pasta water”

3. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, cook bacon, garlic and shallots over medium flame. Remove bacon when edges are crisp, about 8-10 minutes

4. To pan add remaining 2 TBS olive oil and a decent pinch of S & P, lower heat to medium low and add shrimp with marinade to cook. Once shrimp are pink in color and cooked through, about 3-5 minutes, remove to a separate bowl

5. Add wine to pan and up the flame to medium high and let come to a boil, let boil for about 3 minutes to reduce

6. Add zucchini and diced tomatoes, stir, lower heat to medium low and cover for 12-15 minutes (FYI-This is when I would be placing pasta in boiling water)

7. Uncover pan, add bacon and shrimp, stir well and let simmer uncovered for 2 minutes

8. Add drained pasta and crumbled goat cheese to sauté pan, or large serving bowl if your pan isn’t large enough, and stir very well adding about 2-4 TBS of pasta water as you mix

9. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and freshly torn basil



Not the greatest picture, but this lets you see the creaminess....oh so delish!



Cappuccino Cupcakes

                 One thing you should know about me is that I HATE to waste food. It just kills me to throw things away. Honestly, I could even be called a “food pusher” at times to make Matt eat whatever I made that night. I confess to wrapping up things I know we will not eat, just in case, because you never know, we could be in the mood for it later. Sadly, this usually results in the fridge having old leftovers in the back corner and a take-the-garbage-out now situation. Well on the flip side, this, um, trait of mine sometimes, no usually, makes for a trip to see my parents, grandparents, or brother with plenty of containers filled with anything from pasta to banana bread. They accept with smiles.
                So to get to my point for today, the other night I was expecting company and decided to have a large pot of coffee ready to brew. This means, for those of you DD and Starbucks only people, you have to pour 12 cups of water into a coffee machine and fill a filter with coffee granules. Well getting ahead of the game here didn’t exactly work in my favor…..company didn’t come and I couldn’t possibly drink 12 cups of coffee by myself. I mean, I suppose I could, but then my eye would be twitching for the next 15 years! So since I couldn’t just pour the coffee down the drain like a semi-normal person, I poured it into a jar and refrigerated it for some sort of future use. The next day I googled and binged recipes with coffee, this resulted in a gazillion coffee cake recipes, a few marinades, and something called red-eye gravy that I plan to investigate at a later time. Anyway, I knew I had cake mix in the pantry and a BBQ to go to later in the week so I wanted to have something sweet to bring, besides myself, haha. Well Viola! I came across a recipe for cappuccino  cupcakes and had everything minus the coffee liqueur it called for. I altered it a tad by using devil’s food cake mix rather than dark chocolate cake mix and butter cream frosting mixed with coffee rather than vanilla mixed with the liqueur.
                 They came out delicious but, in my opinion and Matt’s, the coffee flavor got lost. Next time, I will brew stronger coffee and maybe use vanilla frosting since that lends itself to taking on other flavors, in this case coffee. Well, they say you live and you learn, I say you cook and you tweak!

Cappuccino Cupcakes

Serves: 18-22

Adapted from: GroupRecipes.com

OBJ: TCW be able to use up the leftover coffee she brewed

Ingredients:

1 package devil’s food cake mix

1 1/3 C strong brewed or instant coffee at room temperature

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 container (12 ounces buttercream frosting)

2 tbsp coffee liqueur (optional)

Grated chocolate, grate half of a 3 or 4 ounce milk, dark chocolate or espresso chocolate candy bar on the large holes of a standing grater

Additional coffee

Procedures:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line regular size muffin pans with paper muffin cup liners

2. Beat cake mix, coffee, oil and eggs with mixer at low speed for 30 seconds. Then, beat at medium speed for 2 minutes

 3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups filling 2/3 full

4. Bake 20-24 min or until toothpick comes out clean

5. Cool in pans for 10 minutes

6. Remove from pans and cool

7. Combine frosting and 2 tbsp cooled coffee

8. Before frosting, poke about 10 holes in cupcake with toothpick. Pour 1 to 2 tsp liqueur over top of each cupcake, if desired

9. Frost and sprinkle with chocolate

10. Place in refrigerator to set for at least 30-45 minutes before bringing to room temperature for serving


 

Infamous leftover coffee!