Dungeness Crab Cakes and Spicy Chipotle Mayonnaise

Recently at our Elks Lodge, we had our annual crab feed.  I purchased about 1.5 pounds of crab and made crab cakes the next day.  The basic recipe for these cakes and the mayonnaise is from Tom Douglas's great crab cake book entitled "I Love Crab Cakes!".  Enjoy.

Ingredients
Crab Cakes

• 1 large edd yolk
• 2 teas. fresh lemon juice
• 2 teas. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 teas. Tabasco
• 2 TB plus 1 teas. Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 teas. paprika
• 1/2 teas. chopped fresh or dried thyme
• 1/2 teas. celery seeds
• 1/4 teas. freshy ground black pepper
• 5 TB extra virgin olive oil
• 5 cups Panko bread crumbs - mushed to make sure they are fine and not course
• 3/4 cup chopped parsely
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1 pound Dungeness crabmeat, drained, picked clean of shells, and lightly squeesed if wet.
• 5 TB unsalted butter
• Optional Ingredients include:
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1.4 chopped red bell pepper

Chipotle Mayonnaise

• 1 cup Mayonnaise
• 2 TB fresh lemon juice
• 2 TB Extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 1-1/2 TB pureed canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce ( I normally use one whole pepper and one-half of a second from the can).
• 2 teas. minced garlic 
• 1 teas. kosher salt

Procedures

Crab Cakes

• In a food preocessor or a blender, combine the egg yolk, lemon juice, Worcestershire, Tabasco, mustard, paprika, thyme, celery seeds, and black pepper.  Pulse to combine.  With the motor running, slowly add the oil through the feed tube until the mixture emulsifies and forms a mayonnaisre.  Set aside.  If you are worried about making the mayonnaise, try this.
• Add the lemon juice, Worcestershire, Tabasco, mustard, paprika, thyme, celery seeds and black pepper to 1/3 cup of prepared mayonnaise and mix throughly and set aside.
• Put the Panko bread crumbs in a shallow container and mix in 1/2 cup of chopped Parsley (reserve the remaining 1/4 cup chopped Parsley for the crab cake mixure). See aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the onion and remaining 1/4 cup Parsley and bell peppers if used.
• Add the reserved mayonnaise and the crabmeat amd mix lightly to combine.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in 1 cup of the bread crumb-parsley mixture.  Do not overwork the mixture or the crab cakes may get gummy.  Gently form 8 patties and dredge the patties lightly in the remaining bread-crumb parsley mixture.  
• Cover the crab cakes with plastic wrap and chill for an hour or longer.
• Place 1 or 2 nonstick skillets (depends upon the size of the skillets and the size of the crab cakes to cook) over medium heat and add about 2-1/2 TB butter to each plan.  As soon as the butter is melted, add 4 cakes to each pan (or the correct number of cakes so long as the cakes do not touch each other in the pan).  Gently fry the crab cakes until they are hot through and golden brown on both sides, turning once with a spatula about 4 minutes per side.

 Chipotle Mayonnaise

• Put the mayonnaise in a small bowl
• Use a whisk to stir in the lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil
• Add in the cilantro, chipotle, garlic and salt and stir to combine
• Add more lemon juice, garlic or salt to taste
• Store in refrigerator until ready to serve

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich with Blue Cheese Slaw

Aaron McCargo Jr. of "Foodnetwork" fame, has published the following sandwich. Try it and let me know what you think.

Ingredients

Blue Cheese Slaw:

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 (10-ounce) package cole slaw mix
• Kosher salt
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• Canola oil, to fry

Buffalo Chicken:

• 1/2 cup buffalo hot sauce, store-bought
• 4 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken cutlets
• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika, plus more for seasoning
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper, plus more for seasoning
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce
• 4 soft club rolls, split and toasted

Procedure

• In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, crumbled blue cheese, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice until well incorporated. Add cole slaw mix and toss well. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• In a deep-fryer or heavy-bottomed pot, heat enough canola oil to come halfway up the sides of the pot, to 350 degrees F.
• Put buffalo sauce in a shallow dish and set aside. Season thechicken with smoked paprika, and salt and pepper, to taste. Put the flour, 2 tablespoons of paprika, 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of pepper in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish add the egg, buttermilk, and hot sauce and whisk together. Dredge each piece of chicken in the buttermilk mixture and shake off any excess, then dredge into flour mixture. Fry until the chicken is cooked through, about 4 to 6 minutes and the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F on an-instant read thermometer. Dip the finished chicken in the buffalo sauce and put them on the club rolls. Top the chicken with a liberal amount of slaw and form a sandwich.

Turkey Tetrazzini

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it is time for leftovers.  And, for me, the best of the best is Mary Ann's Turkey Tetrazzini.  I am not a lover of casseroles, but I could consume a full dish is this stuff at any time of year.  This recipe serves 6 people unless I am invited at which point it serves me and a friend.  Enjoy.

Ingredients

1. 1/4 cup butter
2. 1/4 cup Gold Metal Flour
3. 1/2 teas. salt
4. 1/4 teas. pepper
5. 1 cup chicken broth
6. 1 cup whipping cream
7. 2 TB Sherry
8. 1 package (7 oz.) Angel Hair Pasta cooked and drained
9. 2 cups cubed, cooked turkey (you can substitute chicken for Chicken Tetrazzini)
10. 1 pound of fresh sliced mushrooms
11. 1/2 cup fresh graded Parmesan cheese

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat
3. Blend in flour and seasonings
4. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly
5. Remove from heat
6. Stir in broth and cream
7. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly
8. Boil and stir for 1 minute
9. Stir in wine, pasta, turkey and mushrooms
10. Pour mixture into ungreased 2-quart casserole
11. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese
12. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, or until bubbly
13. To brown, place briefly under broiler

Dungeness Crab and Corn Chowder - Blue Mermaid Restaurant

John and Mary invited Mary Ann and I to join them at the Argonaut Hotel in San Francisco for the final post season Giants game with the Phillies.  Downstairs is the Blue Mermaid Restaurant.  We were hungry and decided to visit the place and eat.  What we found was really really great.  Enjoy.


Nick Smith and chef Steve Connolly of The Blue Mermaid in San Francisco share the recipe for an amazing award winning California Dungeness Crab and Corn Chowder recipe live from San Francisco's premier food and wine event, "SF Chefs. Food. Wine."

Award Winning California Dungeness Crab and Corn Chowder
Awarded Three Times By The Schweppes Great Chowder Cook Off in the Creative Category
(Makes about 12 cups for a first course or 6-8 for a main course)

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces Applewood Smoked Bacon
• 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 1 cup corn
• 2 yellow onions, diced
• 1 Pasilla Chili, diced
• 1 Jalapeño Pepper, split in half, seeds removed
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
• ½ tsp. Chipotle powder
• 4 sprigs thyme, stem removed, leaves chopped
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 1 Quart Crab Stock
• 2 lbs. Kennebec potatoes, ½" diced
• 1 ½ cups heavy cream
• 2 oz. cream cheese
• ½ teaspoon fresh ground white pepper
• Kosher salt to taste
• 1 lb. fresh Dungeness crab meat
• 1 bunch cilantro, diced and chopped
• ½ cup olive oil

Procedure: Chowder

1. Over low heat, add smoked bacon to a 4 to 6 quart heavy pot. Slowly render the fat and then increase the heat to medium to make the bacon crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside. Leave about half the bacon fat in the pan.
2. Add the butter, and sauté the corn. After 4-6 minutes, remove the corn from the pan. Add the onions, sauté until translucent. Be careful not to brown, about 4-6 minutes. Add pasilla and sauté an additional 4-minutes, remove from the pan. Add celery, sauté 2-3 minutes. Then add garlic and continue to sauté for an additional 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the onion, corn, pasilla and bacon to the celery. Add Old Bay, Chipotle powder, split Jalapeño pepper, thyme and bay leaf. Just barely cover the vegetables with crab stock and then add the diced Kennebec potatoes. Increase the heat to high and boil the potatoes vigorously for about 4 minutes. The goal is to soften the outside of the potato to help thicken the chowder, while keeping the potato al dente.
4. Add the heavy cream and cream cheese. Stir for two minutes and then remove from the heat. If you need to thicken the chowder a little more smash a few of the potatoes against the side of the pot.
5. Adjust the seasoning with salt and fresh white pepper. Remove the Jalapeño pepper before serving.

Mary Ann's Famous and Truly Delicious Flank Steak Marinade

My sweet girl, Mary Ann, has developed the best Flank Steak Marinade ever. People have been asking, so, here it is.  The recipe is for ONE steak.  So, if you plan on cooking two steaks, you should double the recipe.  For three, triple and so on and so on.  Enjoy.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup of Vegetable Oil
• 1/3 cup of Soy Sauce (can use regular or lite soy sauce)
• 1/3 cup of Sherry
• 1 clove finely minced Garlic
• 1/4 Teas. ground (found in jar at market) Ginger

Procedure (Recipe for one steak.  If you do more than one steak increase marinade according to the number of steaks)

• Score each steak crosscross on both sides.
• Combine all ingredients.   
• Put steaks in covered container and pour marinade over steaks.
• Refriderate at least two hours.  But, it is better if you marinade for a longer period including overnight.  The more you marinade, the more tender the meat.  Finally, turn steaks in container occassionally to work marinade into all surfaces of the meat.
• BBQ on high heat as follows: 4 minutes per side for rare, 5 minutes for medium and 6 minutes for well done.  Once cooked, let rest for 10 minutes before carving.  Please note, that beef cooks very, very fast once it hits temperature.  So, I normally cut into the steak (center of steak and across the grain) with a short paring knife at 8 total minutes of cooking.  If the steak looks cooked on the surface but good and rare in the middle, you are done.  As the meat rests, it is will continue to cook and the juices will also redistribute in the meat.    
• Finally, cut the steak across the grain in 1/4 inch and at a 45 degree angle to the cutting board.