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.

Five-Spice Tilapia

This was such an easy recipe and is packed with flavor!

Five-Spice Tilapia
From Eating Well

1 pound Tilapia fillets
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder, or enough to cover fish
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon canola oil
3 scallions, thinly sliced

Sprinkle both sides of Tilapia fillets with five-spice powder. Combine soy sauce and brown sugar in a small bowl.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the Tilapia and cook until the outer edges are opaque, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, turn the fish over, stir the soy sauce mixture and pour over the fish and into the pan. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook until the fish is cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly (make sure to not caramelize sugar), about 2 minutes more. Add the scallions and remove from the heat.

Serve the fish drizzled with the pan sauce.

WHO DAT~ POBOY!

In honor of The New Orlean's Saints playing in last night's SuperBowl, we decided to support them by having Shrimp PoBoys for dinner. They were delicious! Alyssa even commented that "these taste better than the ones we had in New Orlean's"! I don't know about that but hey, i'll take the compliment! The recipe is from Tyler Florence. It calls for Shrimp AND oysters but we passed on the oysters. We also had the Sweet Potato Matchsticks on the side. That recipe is also below. I did all of the prep work before the game. At 1/2 time, I made the shrimp and matchsticks.

Shrimp and Oyster Po' Boys
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
Show: Tyler's UltimateEpisode: Ultimate Po Boys
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Yield:
4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
24 medium-sized oysters, shucked
1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons hot sauce, plus more for sandwich
2 cups fine ground cornmeal
1 1/2 tablespoons onion powder
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
Pinch cayenne
Peanut oil, for deep-frying
Kosher salt
2 soft sub or hoagie rolls
Creole Mayonnaise, recipe follows
Finely shredded iceberg lettuce
Tomato slices
Lemon wedges

Directions
In a large bowl, soak the oysters and shrimp in a mixture of buttermilk and hot sauce for 20 to 30 minutes. In a shallow dish, whisk, together the cornmeal, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and cayenne.
In a deep-fryer or heavy-bottomed pot, heat enough oil to come halfway up the sides of the pot, to 375 degrees F.
Drain the oysters and shrimp and toss them in the seasoned cornmeal. Working in batches, fry the oysters and shrimp until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Season with salt, to taste.
Split the rolls and smear with Creole mayonnaise. Line with plenty of shredded lettuce and tomato slices. Top with fried oysters and shrimp. Cut each roll into 2 to 3 pieces. Serve with hot sauce and a wedge of lemon.

Creole Mayonnaise (Remoulade): (I cut in half which was still too much!)
2 cups mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup roughly chopped cornichons
1 tablespoon creole mustard
2 tablespoons Louisiana hot sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 lemon, juiced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine all the ingredients well in a large mixing bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Yield: about 3 cups

Sweet Potato Matchsticks
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
Show: Tyler's UltimateEpisode: Ultimate Po Boys
Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (2)
RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(2)
Cook Time:
15 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
Peanut or vegetable oil, for deep-frying
3 to 4 sprigs rosemary
3 to 4 sprigs fresh sage
6 sprigs fresh thyme
4 to 6 cloves garlic, separated but unpeeled
2 to 3 large sweet potatoes
Cajun Seasoning, recipe follows

Directions
Begin by putting the oil, herbs and garlic in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Bring the oil up to 365 degrees F, then remove the herbs and garlic with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. They should be nice and crackly at this stage. Reserve for garnish.
Using a mandoline, cut the sweet potatoes into matchsticks. Put in a large bowl of ice water to remove any starch. Soak for a few minutes and rinse with fresh cold water until it runs clear. Drain the matchsticks and pat dry in a kitchen towel, to remove as much water as possible. Fry in 365 degree F oil, in small batches, until crispy and golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to paper cones, resting in cups, and season with Cajun spice mix. Peel the garlic cloves and sprinkle over the matchsticks along with the fried herbs before serving.
Cajun Seasoning:
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
Pinch cayenne
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl.

BANDMAN'S CRABCAKES

PJ and I went for a walk at the beach yesterday. It was late afternoon, the sun was starting to go down and what question comes to PJ's mind... What do you think we should have for dinner tonight? We tossed a few ideas around in our heads and came up with a good one... being that we were at the beach and seafood comes to mind.. what else is there but Bandman's Crabcakes. This isn't the real name but that's what we call it.
Way back in 1998, PJ was taking the family to Cancun for my 40th birthday. I found a great website that is all about Cancun. I still visit the site even though it's been about 5 years since we've been to Cancun. There are many regulars and one of them is known as BANDMAN. He's a band instructer in Louisana that has traveled to Cancun probably 20 times already. One day, about 6 years ago, he posted his recipe for Crab Cakes and also one that was given to him for Jack Daniel's Grill Glaze. (It's actually a clone from T.G.I. Fridays.) BOTH are excellant recipes. The J.D. Grill Glaze lasts for quite a while in the refrigerator and we put it on steak, chicken, a little with veggies etc. (That recipe can be found just by doing a 'search' for T.G.I.Friday Jack Daniel Grill Glaze. It's a clone so it's all over the internet. )

Bandman's Crab Cakes

1/2 c. finely chopped onion

1/2 c. finely chopped celery (we both substituted chopped red pepper)

3/4 stick (6 TBSP) unsalted butter

1 pound jumbo lump crab meat, picked over
* Sometimes I substitute 1 lb of chopped imitation crab meat or 2-3 cans of crab

1/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs (a chef recomended Luncheon Crackers which is what I now use

(They aren't salty)

1/2 cup mayonaise

1/2 ts. Old Bay Seasoning

1/2 ts. Worchestershire sauce

a few drops of Tabasco

2 TBSP minced fresh flat-leafed parsley leaves

salt and pepper to taste (I omit salt because the mayo is salty enough.)

In a skillet cook onion and celery (or red pepper) in 4 TBSP butter over moderately low heat, stirring until tender and transfer to a bowl. Stir in crab meat and bread crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk together mayonaise, Old Bay Seasoning, Worcestershire Sauce, Tabasco, Parsley, salt and pepper to taste and stir into crab mixture until combined well.
Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Form crab mixture into flattened rounds approx 3" in diameter and 3/4" thick. Transfer to the baking sheet. Chill crab cakes, covered with plastic wrap, at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.
In a heavy skillet, heat 1 TBSP butter over moderate heat until foam subsides and cook half of crab cakes until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Cook remaining cakes in remaining butter in the same manner. Serve crab cakes warm with lemon wedges.

LOBSTER ROLL

Last night I was looking through a binder of recipes that were made into scrapbook pages by the people from the web sites who sent them. (Don't ask!) There was one recipe that caught my eye and I decided to give it a try today. It was for a Lobster Roll that is from the Montauk restaurant called Lobster Roll. I made it today and Chris had 3 of the rolls for lunch!!! He really liked them. They are so easy also. I think these would be perfect for a simple dinner on a nice spring/summer night. I didn't use lobster though. I used imitation crab. I made a second batch but took the picture without the rolls! It's very pretty to use as a salad also!

Lobster Roll
1 lb. lobster meat, drained if using from a can (I used imitation crab)
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1/2 lemon, juiced
3/4 cup mayo NOT DRESSING like Miracle Whip!
1/2 ts white pepper (I used black)
4 hot dog rolls , lightly toasted
Toss all ingredients together except the buns. Divide between 4 buns
Enjoy!

CAJUN SHRIMP ETOUFFEE

Last night's dinner was delicious. In keeping with the Mardi Gras theme for this time of year, I decided to make a dish that I loved when we went to New Orleans. It was pretty easy and had just the right amount of heat. Enjoy!

Cajun Shrimp Etouffee
An authentic Louisiana recipe with a rich and spicy fresh tomato based roux with fresh garlic, bell peppers, celery and onions mixed with crawfish and shrimp. Serve over steamed rice.
PREP TIME
20 Min
COOK TIME
50 Min
READY IN
1 Hr 10 Min
INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 small green bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons Louisiana-style hot sauce
1/3 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional)
2 tablespoons seafood seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup fish stock
1 pound crawfish tails
1 pound medium shrimp - peeled and deveined
DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Gradually stir in flour, and stir constantly until the mixture turns 'peanut butter' brown or darker, at least 15 or 20 minutes. I use a large fork with the flat side to the bottom of the pan in a side to side motion. This is your base sauce or 'Roux'. It is very important to stir this constantly. If by chance the roux burns, discard and start over.
Once the roux is browned, add the onions, garlic, celery and bell pepper to the skillet, and saute for about 5 minutes to soften. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and fish stock, and season with the seafood seasoning. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Season the sauce with hot pepper sauce and cayenne pepper (if using), and add the crawfish and shrimp. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the shrimp are opaque.