Crab Cakes...Ina's Recipe

These Crab Cakes were very good. The recipe is easy to prepare but is a bit time consuming. The flavor is a lot like my  BANDMAN'S CRAB CAKES but that one is less time consuming. 

Crab Cakes

Show: Barefoot ContessaEpisode: Cooking with Tess

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 cup small diced red onion (1 small onion)
• 1 1/2 cups small diced celery (4 stalks)
• 1/2 cup small diced red bell pepper (1 small pepper)
• 1/2 cup small diced yellow bell pepper (1 small pepper)
• 1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon capers, drained
• 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crab boil seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound lump crabmeat, drained and picked to remove shells
• 1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup good mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
• For frying
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

Place the 2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons oil, onion, celery, red and yellow bell peppers, parsley, capers, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, crab boil seasoning, salt, and pepper in a large saute pan over medium-low heat and cook until the vegetables are soft, approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, break the lump crabmeat into small pieces and toss with the bread crumbs, mayonnaise, mustard, and eggs. Add the cooked mixture and mix well. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Shape into bite-sized crab cakes.

Heat the butter and olive oil for frying over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the crab cakes and fry for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until browned. Drain on paper towels; keep them warm in a 250 degree oven and serve hot.

These were on Diners, Drive In's and Dives a while back. They looked very interesting so we had to give it a whirl. I cooked the beets one day and refrigerated them until ready to use. The rest is less time consuming. I also made a Green Goddess Dressing from Allrecipes.com http://allrecipes.com/recipe/green-goddess-chive-dressing/detail.aspx because I didn't have all of the ingredients called for in this recipe. If you can find a bottle of it already made, I'm sure that's ok as well.

These were very good! I was actually surprised!!!

The full recipe is at the bottom. ENJOY!

Pan searing the beets in my very well seasoned cast iron pan.

toaster rolls, then beets, then red onion then the dressing

YUM!!!

Beet Sliders

Recipe courtesy Chuck Caplener and Jared Nuttall, co-owners of Gatsby's Diner, Sacramento, CA

Prep Time:

20 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

1 hr 5 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

16 to 18 sliders

Ingredients

• 5 quarts water
• 1/2 cup sea salt, plus a pinch
• 1 tablespoon dried dill
• 6 dried arbol chiles
• 1/4 cup coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
• 1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 4 tablespoons seasoning sauce (recommended: Maggi)
• 6 to 8 whole beets (depending on size)
• Olive oil
• Green Goddess Dressing, recipe follows
• Sliced red onions, for serving
• 16 to 18 slider buns, toasted

Directions

In a large stock pot, combine and the water, 1/2 cup sea salt, dill, chiles, coriander, caraway, carrots, celery, onions, seasoning sauce, and beets and bring to a boil. Boil on medium heat for about 1 hour.

Remove the beets and let cool, discarding the liquid. Once cooled, remove the skin from the beets with avegetable peeler. (Remember to wear gloves, as the beets will stain your hands as well as other surfaces.) Cut the beets into 1/4 to 3/8-inch slices. Place the beet slices, a drizzle of olive oil, and a pinch of sea salt into a skillet over high heat and saute until glossy and tender, about 2 1/2 minutes on each side.

Remove the beets from the skillet and serve with shaved red onion and Green Goddess Dressing on a toasted slider bun.

This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.

Green Goddess Dressing:

• 1 bunch fresh tarragon, stemmed, finely chopped
• 1/2 bunch fresh parsley, stemmed, finely chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cups mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper

Combine the herbs, green onions, buttermilk, lemon juice, and vinegar in a mixing bowl. Let macerate for 10 minutes. Add the sour cream and mayonnaise, and blend with an immersion blender until creamy. Season with salt and pepper.

Killer Baja Chili Rellenos Mariscos

I made this for dinner last night. It was DELICIOUS!!! It's a bit time consuming but if you have your ingredients on hand, it's a snap.

Roast the poblano peppers until blackened
Saute the onions, then add the rice and spices

Saute the shrimp and scallops

Combine the seafood and the juices with the rice mixture.

Stuff the peppers, top with cheese and bake. YUM!!!

Killer Baja Chili Rellenos Mariscos (Roasted Poblano Chiles Stuffed with Seafood and Rice)

Ingredients

• 6 large, fresh poblano chiles (sometimes called "pasilla" chiles)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup long-grain white rice
• 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 1 cup canned chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 pound fresh medium shrimp, shelled and deveined, tails removed
• 1/4 pound fresh scallops (if using large sea scallops, quarter them)
• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano, crumbled
• 2 teaspoons fresh grated lime zest
• 2 medium sized fresh, red, ripe tomatoes, chopped, with juices
• 4 ounces cotija cheese (Mexican aged cow's milk cheese), crumbled (I substituted fat free cream cheese)
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, tough stems removed, leaves chopped (reserve a few whole sprigs with leaves intact for garnish)
• Grated Monterey Jack cheese, to taste

Directions

Broil or roast the chiles over a flame until skins blister, wrap in a tea towel or put in a paper grocery bag for 10 to 15 minutes to sweat the skins loose. Remove skins and open pepper on 1 side. Remove seeds but do not remove stems. Arrange the prepared chiles in a lightly oiled 9 by 13-inch glass nonstick baking dish.

Heat oil in a 10 to 12-inch skillet until hot. Add the onion and saute until translucent (about 2 to 3 minutes). Add the rice and the cumin seeds. Toast the rice and cumin in the oil with the onions for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the chicken broth, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Bring the rice to a boil and cover tightly. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 18 minutes, or until rice is cooked, but still a little firm to the bite. Do not overcook the rice. When the rice is cooked, remove from the heat and let it cool slightly.

While the rice is cooking, melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter starts tofoam, add the shrimp and the scallops and stir or toss to coat them with the butter. Keep the heat at medium-high and saute the seafood for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until just cooked through. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the lime juice. Toss to coat. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

After the rice has cooled a bit, put it in a large mixing bowl and fluff it with a fork. Add the shrimp and scallops, with the accumulated juices. Add the ground cumin, coriander seed, oregano, lime zest, chopped tomato with their juices, cotija cheese and chopped cilantro. Toss the mixture until thoroughly combined. Gently stuff the peppers with the rice and seafood mixture. Stuff them good and full! If there is any extra, let it spill over into the baking dish. Top the chiles with the Monterey Jack cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the chiles are heated through and the cheese on top is melted. Garnish with cilantro sprigs.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Recipe courtesy Ree Drummond

Prep Time:

10 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

45 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

12 servings

Ingredients

• 5 pounds Yukon gold or russet potatoes
• 1 1/2 sticks softened butter, plus more for baking
• 1 1/2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 cup cream
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Milk, if needed, for thinning

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Peel the potatoes and rinse them in cold water. Chop the potatoes in fourths. Place the potatoes into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Drain the potatoes, and then return them to the pan. With the burner on low heat, mash the potatoes with a potato masher; the more steam that's released while you mash, the better. Mash for about 5 minutes. Turn off the burner.

Add the butter, cream cheese, half-and-half, and seasonings. Stir to combine, and if the mixture needs thinning, add milk. Check the seasonings, adding salt and pepper, to taste.

Pour the mashed potatoes into a large casserole pan. Dot the surface with butter. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for 10 more minutes. Serve immediately.

This was a delicious recipe for our Thanksgiving turkey. It was easy to prepare and so well worth it! It was from a Throwdown with Bobby Flay episode where Ree Drummond aka The Pioneer Woman challenged him to a Thanksgiving throwdown! She won! I also made her Mashed potatoes. Delish!

Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey

Recipe courtesy Ree Drummond

Prep Time:

10 min

Inactive Prep Time:

20 hr 0 min

Cook Time:

5 hr 0 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

18 servings

Ingredients

• 2 gallons water
• 2 cups apple juice
• 1 1/2 cups kosher salt
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 5 bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons black peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons dried rosemary
• 3 oranges, peeled, white pith removed, skin roughly chopped
• 1 (20-pound) fresh turkey
• 1 1/2 sticks softened butter
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 3 tablespoons chopped orange zest

Directions

Combine the water, apple juice, salt, sugar, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, dried rosemary, and orange peel in a large pot and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat immediately, cover, and allow mixture to come to room temperature. Cool mixture in the fridge until you're ready.

To brine the turkey, remove the turkey from wrapper, remove interior bags (set aside; refrigerate), and rinse turkey thoroughly under cool water.

Place the turkey into a plastic brining bag or a very large pot.

Pour the cooled brine mixture over the top, adding extra cold water if you need more to completely cover the turkey. Seal the bag or cover the pot and allow the turkey to brine in the refrigerator for 16 to 24 hours before roasting.

Before roasting, remove the turkey from brine and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Then soak in a sink full of fresh water for 15 to 20 minutes. Pat dry. Discard brine. (This soaking process will decrease the likelihood of too-salty gravy).

Preheat the oven 275 degrees F.

Truss the bird and place it breast side up on a rack in a large roasting pan. Cover the turkey tightly with heavy-duty foil. Make sure it's entirely covered (cover over the bottom edges of the pan). Place in the oven and roast for about 10 minutes per pound (a 20 pound turkey will roast for about 3 1/2 hours).

Remove the turkey from the oven and increase the temperature to 375 degrees F. Remove the aluminum foil and set aside. Mix the softened butter with the rosemary and orange peel and rub all over the skin of the turkey, covering every single inch of the skin. Insert a meat thermometer into the thigh, near the hip joint. Place the turkey, uncovered, back into the oven. Continue roasting the turkey, basting with butter every 30 minutes, until the thermometer registers 170 degrees F and until the juices are no longer pink.

Remove from the oven and cover with foil until you are ready to carve and serve. Reserve pan juices to make gravy.

Cook's Note: This is enough for a 20 pound fresh turkey. You can decrease the quantity for a smaller bird.

I saw an episode of Ultimate Tyler today. He's one of my favorite chefs from the Food Network and also the Cooking Channel. EVERYTHING that I've made of his has been delicious and this didn't fail. He made a Minestrone Soup that got great reviews. Being that Alyssa isn't feeling well, I figured that this would be good for her for dinner. It's actually an easy recipe but it works best of you get the ingredients out ahead of time. The full recipe will be at the bottom.
First you saute the Sage, Thyme and Rosemary in the oil to flavor the oil. Add the 'tube' of breakfast sausage and break apart the pieces. Next, you chop up the carrots, celery and onion in the food processor. Dump them into the pot and cook for a few minutes.

While that is cooking, heat up the chicken broth and garlic in a pot. I used homemade chicken stock. The garlic BULB can just be thrown in because you're only using it to flavor the broth.


add the crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, beans etc.
Take the garlic out of the chicken stock. Add the chicken stock to the sausage mixture.
Cook the macaroni, drain and keep separate. I don't add mine to the soup until I'm ready to serve it. Otherwise the macaroni will soak up all of the broth. I also used garlic toast that we had on hand. I guess you can tell that I like garlic! The soup doesn't taste garlicky at all.

Hunter's Minestrone

by Tyler Florence
Serves:

6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 1 head garlic, halved
• 1/2 pound small rigatoni
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 fresh sage leaves
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 tube of frozen breakfast sausage or Sage sausage that's used for making stuffing, thawed
  
• 2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 celery ribs, roughly chopped
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed plum tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 (28-ounce) cans cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 bunch fresh parsley leaves, finely minced
• Coarsely ground black pepper
• 12 slices baguette
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions

Combine the stock and halved garlic head in a big saucepan and simmer for about 15 minutes to give the stock a nice, garlicky taste; strain out the garlic. Keep warm.

Bring a pot of salted water to boil for the rigatoni.

Pour 1/4 cup olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the sage, rosemary and thyme and warm the oil over medium heat to infuse it with the flavor of the herbs, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up the sausage with the side of a big spoon until well browned. Chop the carrots, celery, and onion in a food processor. Add to the saucepan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned.

To the pan with the sausage stir in the crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, cannelloni beans, and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.

Cook the rigatoni in the boiling water for 6 minutes; it should be slightly underdone. Drain and stir into the simmering soup. Add the parsley, and salt and coarsely ground black pepper, to taste. Discard the bay leaf and herb sprigs.

To serve, preheat the broiler. Put the baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the Parmigiano and broil until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown, about 3 minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls and float a couple of the baguette slices on top.

Emeril's Homemade Sweet & Spicy Pickles

Yesterday Alyssa and I made Emeril's Sweet & Spicy Pickles. They are a favorite of Alyssa's. They remind her of 'Wickles', a very popular brand, but she thinks these are even better! The recipe calls for 3 lbs of Kirby Cukes and it serves 4 pints. We decided to triple it! (We did each batch separately though). *** NOTE: We don't use the 24 dried cayenne peppers for this. I've heard it's not that hot using them but I don't want to even go there. We put one teaspoon of red pepper flakes into each recipe instead.
It's an easy recipe, just a bit time consuming.

You start by washing and then slicing the cukes.
Add the sugar and water to the bowls
Add the onions and red peppers. The peppers aren't in the recipe but we think it makes the look pretty so we add them!
After soaking for 2 hours, run under water to get rid of the salt water mixture.
Mix up the rest of the ingredients in a pan, then add the cuke mixture. This was the most tedious part. It calls for 10 TABLESPOONS of chopped garlic for each recipe! So I had to peel and chop 30 TABLESPOONS worth. P - U !!!!
Fill the jars, seal and process in a water bath. DONE!!!! Now you have to wait 2 weeks for them to work their magic!

Emeril's Homemade Sweet and Spicy Pickles

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2005

NOTE: When selecting cucumbers for pickling, there are a few things to remember. For crisp pickles, choose ripe, pickling cucumbers, which are shorter and chunkier than regular eating cucumbers, which tend to be longer and smoother. Ripe pickling cucumbers are darker green, firm, and not "bloated." They should have plenty of spiny bumps on the outer surface. Overripe cucumbers make mushy pickles. They tend to have yellow or white streaks or spots and their surfaces are smoother. Choose pickles that have not been coated in wax, as the pickling brine cannot penetrate through the wax. The fresher the cucumbers, the crisper the pickles will be. For best results, try picking your own cucumbers from a local farm or farmers' market.

Prep Time:

40 min

Inactive Prep Time:

338 hr 0 min

Cook Time:

15 min

Level:

Intermediate

Serves:

4 pints

3 pounds pickling cucumbers, sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices

2 cups sliced onions

1/2 cup pickling salt

6 cups water

3 cups white vinegar

1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

3 1/2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

4 whole cloves

10 tablespoons roughly chopped garlic

24 dried cayenne peppers

2 teaspoons 100 percent Natural Pickle Crisp, optional

Place cucumbers, onions, pickling salt, and water in a large, non-reactive bowl. Cover and allow cucumbers to soak for 2 hours. Drain the water from the onions and cucumbers through a colander and rinse well for 5 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

Combine the vinegars, sugar, mustard seeds, turmeric, cloves, garlic, and peppers in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and add the cucumbers and onions. Bring to a simmer and remove the saucepan from the heat.

Fill each of the hot sterilized pint-size preserving jars with the pickle mixture, dividing them evenly, and enough of the liquid to come within 1/2-inch of the top. Add 1/2 teaspoon of Natural Pickle Crisp to each jar, if desired. With a clean damp towel, wipe the rim and fit with a hot lid. Screw on the metal ring just until the point of resistance is met. Process the jars in a hot-water bath for 15 minutes.

Using tongs, remove the jars, place on a towel, and let cool. Test the seals by allowing the jars to stand at room temperature overnight or until the lids pop. Tighten the rings and store in a cool dry place. Let the pickles age for at least 2 weeks before using.

This recipe is from the 2nd place winner of the Next Food Network Star, 2010. It looks long but is actually quick to throw together. I followed it exactly EXCEPT I added some white potatoes as well as the sweet potatoes because PJ doesn't like sweet ones, and after throwing everything in the pan, I drizzled the rest of the oil mixture from the mushrooms over the potatoes. This was the most flavorful, moist chicken we ever had. You can even throw it together the night before and plop it in the oven in the afternoon. Alyssa ended up not eating here last night. When she got home I started to tell her about it being that we watch the show together and she said PJ already told her how good it was. Now how's that for a compliment. Oh, I also used a 7.5 lb oven stuffer roaster, not a 3 lb one mentioned. I cooked it according to the chicken package time.

Marinated Portobello Stuffed Whole Chicken with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Red Onion

Recipe courtesy Tom Pizzica

Serves:

4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 (3-pound) whole fryer chicken
• 8 slices Marinated Portobello mushrooms (4 whole portobellos), recipe follows
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Dash smoked paprika
• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 medium red onion, cut into 8 wedges (from root to tip)
• Olive oil, for drizzling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Start at the cavity end of the chicken and work your finger underneath the skin. Using 2 fingers, gently separate the skin from the entire breast and then work your way to the thighs and legs.

Cook's Note: There is a little piece of skin underneath the main skin that separates the thigh meat from the breast meat, just break through this part and don't be afraid of tearing the main skin because you won't.

Take the portobello mushroom slices and lay them flat underneath the skin over the breast and thighs. Do this until all the slices of mushrooms are underneath the skin. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Place the chicken in a roasting pan.

Place the sweet potatoes and red onion in a bowl. Coat lightly with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and toss. Place the potatoes and onions around the chicken and cook for about 1 hour, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, not touching the bone, reads 165 degrees F. When the chicken is done, remove it from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes.

Slice and enjoy!

Marinated Portobello Mushrooms:

• 8 portobello mushroom caps
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large shallot, minced
• Zest and juice of 2 lemons
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Brush the mushrooms carefully with a paper towel to get rid of the excess dirt. Using a spoon, carefully scrape out the gills from the underside of the portobello cap.

Slice the mushroom in half along the perimeter (like you are butterflying it) so you have 2 thin rounds, and then place them in a large bowl.

In a saute pan add the oil and place over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the garlic and the shallot and cook for no more than 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, honey, salt, and pepper and whisk vigorously.

Pour the mixture over the mushrooms and with your hands toss gently to coat, making sure there is even coverage.

Let the mushrooms stand at room temperature for at least 45 minutes.