Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes

I love crab cakes, but I never order them at a restaurant because it's all filler and they use cheap canned crab meat, yuck! I always use jumbo lump crab meat from my local fish market, it's always fresh and delicious. Yes it's expensive at $45 a pound, but well worth the splurge every once in a while when I have some extra money. I keep it real simple so the flavor of the crab meat shines. In a large bowl I mix 3/4 cup of Hellmann's mayonnaise, juice of 1/2 a lemon, a couple of shakes of Worcestershire sauce, a teaspoon of Old bay seasoning, salt and pepper to taste and whisk it together well. Next I add 12 saltine crackers crushed up well and the crab meat, mix it together very gently so you don't break up the nice lumps of crab meat too much. Form them into any size cakes you like and chill them in the fridge for about an hour. Next I sauteed them off in plenty of butter until golden on both sides and finish them in a 425 degree oven until heated through. I made a light lemon tarter sauce to serve with them, but sometimes I make a chipotle mayo or a roasted red pepper mayo. 

*sometimes I make them patty size and serve them on a bun like a burger

**make these once and I promise you will never order one out again

***I served them last night on a bed of baby arugula dressed simply with olive oil, salt and pepper, two of us ate the entire platter

****please try this recipe it's easy and you will love it

Roasted Cod With Summer Veggies

I was looking to make a light summer dish on a very humid evening and I came up with this from some veggies I got from my local farm. I made a one bowl salsa with tomatoes, black olives, capers, red onion, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, fresh parsley, salt and pepper. I placed the cod loins on a parchment lined sheet pan, seasoned them with salt and pepper, topped with the salsa and roasted it in the oven at 375 for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile I made a simple salad with baby spinach, sliced raw zucchini and grated carrot. I tossed the salad with olive oil, salt and pepper and arranged it on a platter. After the cod was cooked I placed it on the salad and dinner was served in less than an hour. 

I didn't really measure anything, I just winged it for the 2 pounds of cod I got at the fish market. It was so light, refreshing and delicious enough to serve to company. I looked beautiful too!!
*garlic bread and a nice white wine makes a perfect summer deck meal
**don't forget a nice fruit salad for dessert

Naranjini... Mexican Style Rice Balls

I had some leftover yellow cilantro rice in the fridge so I decided to put a "MexItalian" spin on arancini. It was a nice change of pace and now everyone wants the recipe so here it is.

For the rice:
1 cup of jasmine rice
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon of Goya Adobo
1 teaspoon of Goya Sazon
3 tablespoons of butter
salt and pepper 
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
3 green onions sliced
I added the adobo, sazon, salt, pepper and butter to the water and brought it to a boil. I added the rice and simmered it until it was soft and all the liquid was absorbed. Off the heat I added the cilantro and green onion and fluffed it with a fork.

For the Naranjini:

3 eggs

1-2 tablespoons of maseca (what you use to make corn tortillas).

a pinch of cayanne pepper 

chunks of american cheese, or a melting cheese of your choice

Mix well, roll into balls while tucking a chunk if cheese in the middle.

With wet hand moisten the balls and coat them with panko bread crumbs.

Set them in the fridge to set, about 1/2 hour. Fry on medium heat until golden brown.

*These are a delicious starter, side dish or snack

*Be careful when adding the salt because there is already salt in the adobo and sazon

Shrimp and Bacon Paella with Peas and Carrots

Today I decided to put together a paella from what I had in my pantry and freezer and it turned out really good! I learned that making a paella is very forgiving because I didn't measure the rice and liquid to the 2 to 1 normal rice cooking method. I just kept tasting the rice and I added more liquid until the rice was tender and the liquid was absorbed. These are the approximate measure of ingredients I used:
4 slices of bacon cut up
3 tablespoons of butter
1 large shallot diced
1 large carrot peeled and diced
2-3 cups of Jasmine rice
1 teaspoon of Sazon with saffron
1/4 cup of champagne (it's what I had opened but you can use white wine)
a little chili paste (optional)
1 32oz box of chicken stock
3/4 cup of frozen peas
1 pound of shrimp 
sliced scallions
chopped flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper to taste

I crisped the bacon right in the paella pan and removed it. Next I added the butter to the pan and sauteed the shallots and carrots until soft, then I added the rice, salt, pepper, chili paste and sazon and coated the rice with the butter and slightly toasted. Now I added the champagne and cooked it off, added the whole box of chicken stock and a pinch of the parsley and I simmered it until the rice was tender and all the liquid was absorbed, make sure you taste and re season if needed,you might need to add more liquid. Next I sprinkle the peas over the top and arranged the shrimp in a pretty pattern, cover and steam until the shrimp turned pink and were cooked through. I garnished with the scallions, bacon and parsley. I hope you try this one it was de-lish!!
*a simple one pan dinner
**play around with the ingredients according to what you have on hand
***you can definitely serve this to company with a nice salad and a glass of wine

Chili Lime Chicken Thighs

I have been in a Mexican/Asian vibe this week. Stealing flavors on both sides. I had some chicken thighs in the fridge and this is what I came up with, pulling things willy nilly from my pantry and fridge. I love chili, I love lime, I love soy sauce, I love, love, love Tajin, I love ginger garlic sesame......
I made a marinade, let the chicken thighs bathe in it at room temp for a couple hours, and oven baked it at 350 for 1 1/2 hours, until shiny and golden red. Then I dressed it with sesame seeds, cilantro and lime wedges. See photo for full ingredients list. It was delicious!! I love cooking this way, with no particular recipe in mind, just pulling ingredients out of my kitchen as I go along. This is when the meal always comes out best!! Get into the kitchen and let your freak flag fly!!!

*make sure you let the marinade reduce to a syrup and baste as the chicken roasts
**I served it with an Asian slaw and rice

Baked Halibut With Jumbo Lump Crab And Gremolata

I was so full of turkey after Thanksgiving, I wanted something light for dinner, so off to the fish market I went. I was looking in the case and I spotted halibut, I never had it before so I asked if it was mild because my husband isn't crazy about fish and he said yes, so I went for it. Contemplating all day I came up with this, it took all of 5 minutes to put together and is absolutely delicious!! I simply placed the whole loin on top of pats of butter, then I seasoned it with salt and pepper, added more pats of butter and on top of that I topped the whole loin with 1/2 pound of jumbo lump crab meat. Next I made a simple gremolata by mixing about 2 cups of panko, 3 tablespoons of chopped parsley, the zest of 1 large lemon, salt and pepper and enough olive oil to make it moist enough to hold together 1/2-3/4 of a cup. I pressed that firmly on top of the fish, added some white wine into the bottom of the baking dish and baked it at 425 for about 30 minutes.

I served it on top of a bed of baby arugula simply dressed with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. What a simple and easy dish that will impress!!

*I think this would be good with just about any fish
**perfect for a dinner party without being stuck in the kitchen served with a side of rice

Bacon Meatballs Over Rigatoni

Today we had a little snow storm and I didn't feel like going out to the grocery store. I looked in my fridge and pantry and this is what I came up with from what I had on hand and it turned out amazing! 
For the meatballs:
5-6 slices of bacon
1/2 of a large shallot
1 large clove of garlic
1-2 tablespoons of parsley
I put all this in a chopper until finely diced then mixed it with:
1 1/2 pound of ground beef
1 large egg
1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs
1 cup diced italian bread moistened and squeezed dry
1/2 cup of grated cheese (I use a 50/50 blend of romano and parmesan)
salt and pepper to taste

I fried them up in a large skillet, removed them when golden and poured off all the the oil except 2 tablespoons. Next I added 4-5 cloves of fresh garlic, I just smash them a bit and add them whole so they can be removed if someone doesn't want to eat it. I deglazed the pan with 1/2 cup of red wine, cooked it down a bit and then added 2 cans of whole peeled tomatoes in juice that I pureed in the blender. I added some salt, pepper and fresh basil to the tomatoes, brought it to a boil, added the meatballs back to the pot and simmered it for an hour. I served it over rigatoni but I think it would be delicious over cheesy polenta too!! 

 This would work perfectly for company with a nice antipasto or salad and a nice crusty loaf of bread or garlic bread. A nice bottle of wine make the perfect meal!! I hope you try this, enjoy!