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! 

SHRIMP: Nothing Small About The Taste

Perfect Poached Shrimp from Southern Living Magazine

I struggle, as many of us do, with perfectly cooked shrimp. One minute too long and, well, it’s inedible really.  Too short and its sushi (or bait) and not the good kind. I can cook some sauteed shrimp like nobody’s business, but sometimes have a hard time judging how to boil or poach them.  I found this recipe in Southern Living’s online website and snagged it here for you.  This week, they will be used in Shrimp Salad. The old fashioned kind we used to have as a child.  I’ll post the recipe and photos later.

Ingredients

    •    Ice
    •    4 qt. water
    •    1 lemon, halved
    •    1 tablespoon black peppercorns
    •    2 bay leaves
    •    2 teaspoons salt
    •    2 pounds un-peeled, large raw shrimp (26/30 count)

Preparation

Fill a large bowl halfway with ice and water. Pour 4 qt. water into a Dutch oven; squeeze juice from lemon into Dutch oven. Stir in lemon halves, black peppercorns, bay leaves, and salt; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat; add shrimp. Cover and let stand 5 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink. Stir shrimp into ice water; let stand 10 minutes. Peel and devein shrimp. Store in a tightly covered container until ready to use. Keeps 1-2 days refrigerated.

Courtesy of: Southern Living 
MAY 2012

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!

Plate Full Of Delicious: Roasted Asparagus Salad with Poached Eggs and Romesco Sauce

This looks like what I think a Summer evening light dinner should be... I may have to do my own interpretation of this very soon!  This courtesy of FineCooking.Com:

Roasted Asparagus Salad with Poached Eggs and Romesco Sauce

 
Thin slices of Serrano ham and warm poached eggs turn this Spanish-inflected spring salad into dinner: the runny yolk becomes a rich dressing for the delicate frisée  greens, and the Romesco sauce adds a nutty, sweet, and slightly spicy element. Be sure to serve this salad with crusty bread, to mop up the delicious oil on the plate.

Serves 4 Yields about 1-1/4 cups of sauce:

For the Romesco sauce:
1 medium ancho chile, stem and seeds removed
1⁄2 cup peeled, seeded, and diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; more for drizzling
One 1⁄2-inch thick slice white country-style bread, cut crosswise into 3 pieces
1 piquillo pepper, or 1 medium red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, and seeded
1⁄2 cup blanched almonds or hazelnuts, or a combination, lightly toasted
2 cloves garlic, pounded to a smooth paste with a pinch of salt
1 tsp. Pimentón dulce, or sweet paprika; more as needed
1⁄2 tsp. hot Pimentón, or cayenne; more as needed
1 Tbs. red-wine vinegar; more as needed
1-1⁄2 tsp. sherry vinegar
Kosher salt

For the salad:
1⁄2 cup plus 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
2-1⁄2 tsp. red-wine vinegar; more as needed
24 medium to large asparagus spears
4 small handfuls frisée (pale center leaves), about 4 oz. total, washed and dried
4 eggs
4 to 8 thin slices Serrano ham or prosciutto, for serving (optional)

---

Make Romesco sauce: Heat the broiler and position a rack in the top of the oven.
Put the ancho chile in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak until plump, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Put the tomatoes in a small baking dish, drizzle with a little oil, and place under the broiler until slightly charred, about 3 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Warm a small (6-inch) sauté pan over medium heat, and add 1⁄2 cup of olive oil. When the oil is hot (the bread should just sizzle on contact), add the bread and reduce the heat to medium low. Gently fry the bread on both sides until crisp and golden. (You don’t want it too dark.) Remove the bread from the pan and drain on a paper towel.

In the work bowl of a food processor, put the chile, tomatoes, fried bread, piquillo pepper, nuts, and garlic. Pulse at first, then grind to a chunky paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the sweet and hot paprika, both vinegars, and the remaining 1⁄4 cup of olive oil, and season with salt. Process again and taste; the sauce should be sweet (not too spicy) and nutty, with a nice balance of acidity. Let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes to allow the flavors to come together, then taste again and add more salt, vinegar, and/or a touch more spice if necessary.

Make the salad: Put 1/2 cup of the Romesco sauce, 1/2 cup of the olive oil, and 1-1/2 tsp. of the vinegar in a small bowl and stir to combine (save the remaining Romesco sauce for another use; it keeps well in the refrigerator). Taste and add salt or vinegar if necessary. Set aside at room temperature.

Heat the oven to 450°F.

Grasp an asparagus spear with both hands and snap it in two; it will naturally separate at the point where the stalk becomes tender. Trim the remaining spears to the same length. Discard the tough bottom ends. If necessary, lightly peel about 2⁄3 of the spear with a vegetable peeler. (If the asparagus is very fresh and tender, this step is often unnecessary.)

Put the asparagus on a baking sheet, drizzle with the remaining 2 Tbs. of olive oil, and toss to lightly coat. Spread out the asparagus to single layer and season with salt. Roast until just tender—it should still have a little bite—about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the spears. Set aside at room temperature.
Shortly before you are ready to serve, fill a straight-sided, heavy sauté pan with about 3 inches of water and bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, scatter the frisée on a platter or individual plates, season lightly with salt, and arrange the asparagus spears on top.

Add the remaining 1 tsp. of vinegar to the simmering water. Crack the eggs, one at a time, into a teacup, and gently slide them into the water. Gently simmer the eggs until they are done to your liking, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the eggs from the water with a slotted spoon, and blot off any excess water with a clean, lint-free kitchen towel. (For a neater appearance, trim the eggs as well.) Prop the eggs on top of the asparagus and spoon the Romesco sauce on and around the salad. Drape the Serrano ham or proscuitto on the side, or arrange on a platter and pass at the table. Serve immediately.