Eat This: Crabcakes

I grew up on the North coast of Florida.  We had such wonderful, fresh and seemingly unlimited seafood to eat.  I reminisced with my mom recently that I thought we were poor because we consumed so much seafood!  I mean, it came from the end of the street, right out of the Intracoastal Waterway or a block up the street to the Atlantic Ocean.  You can still, in our old neighborhood in North Beach, St. Augustine, wade out in the water with a screwdriver, break off a fresh oyster and eat that bad boy right where it came from. That fresh.

I know better now. I know we were blessed.  We particularly loved blue crab.  Usually just boiled and picked, and now, in all their glory, crabcakes.  This is a new recipe I put together as I am limiting my carb intake so this really cuts it to the bone.  Enjoy! 

Delicious Food: Boiled Shrimp & Datil Pepper Cocktail Sauce

Tonight I wanted just an easy meal: boiled shrimp and a salad with a crisp white wine, or maybe an ice cold beer.  I love this. The Old Girl loves this. So its one of our easy "go to" dinners.  Shrimp can be tricky.  Overcooked shrimp is NARSTY and inedible.  So I try to always use fresh, not frozen shrimp and cook them like we always have: in the shell, and with reverence.

GENTLY Boil These Puppies!

I boil together 4 quarts of water,  a quarter cup of Old Bay Seasoning, a lemon cut in quarters, a bay leaf and a few peppercorns. When they get to a rolling boil, drop in the shrimp (I used a little over a pound) and boil for 4 minutes.  NO LONGER.  Remove them to a container filled with ice and let them cool.

BRRR!  Ice them down immediately!

While the shrimp cool, I make a cocktail sauce that is a little different.  First off, I hate bottled cocktail sauce. Please, PLEASE don't do it to yourself.  Make a quick sauce with your own twist. Here's mine:

Great Ingredients Make Great Sauce

I use a good quality catsup, a very good quality grated horseradish (only because I couldn't find fresh today), some of my favorite hot sauce (this one made in my old home town of St. Augustine), some very finely mined green onions for texture, a bit of Old Bay to taste, a squeeze of lemon and VOILA!  Its delicious.  I have also substituted a Chipotle Tabasco for the Datil Pepper sauce - whatever you like makes it your own.

Enjoy!