Chunky Crab Cakes

Back in the day when Matthew was stationed on the USNS Arctic in New Jersey, I would make frequent trips from San Diego to visit him. The flight I took always had a layover in Atlanta before going onto Newark. I looked forward to arriving into the Atlanta airport because that was the only place that I was able to go to a pretty good restaurant with pretty good crab cakes: Phillips Seafood. And I always ordered the same order of crab cakes with the hush puppies and an iced tea. I know that there are probably better places in Maryland or Baltimore with incredible crab cakes, but the Phillips Seafood restaurant in ATL is the closes I've gotten to authentic style crab cakes. 

I have tried making crab cakes before but either there was too much of a mayonnaise flavor or too much of a fishy flavor because I wasn't using fresh crab meat. So after doing some experiments I've found that this recipe (which came by way of kevinsbrady.net) is probably my favorite. I did slightly alter it and I like to fry my crab cakes in ghee. I also I really like to serve them over a simple salad a little bit of a chipotle aioli on the side with them (I have to have a little bit of mayo somewhere, right?)

INGREDIENTS (makes 6 cakes)

• 1 lb. fresh lump crab meat, drained
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire
• 1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. dill weed
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs

DIRECTIONS
 
In a large bowl, combine the egg, onion powder, garlic powder, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay seasoning, dill weed, salt and black pepper and mix well. Mix in 1/4 cup of the panko breadcrumbs, saving the remainder of the crumbs on a plate for coating the crab cakes. Add in the crab meat, and gently mix it in using a fork or spatula -- or better yet, your hands, coating the lumps with the mixture. Be careful not to pulverize the lumps when mixing - the idea is to keep the mixture chunky.

Place the mixing bowl with crab cake mixture in the refrigerator for about 15-20 minutes to firm it up. After refrigeration, drain off any excess liquid.

Gently press mixture into thick patties (slightly smaller than hamburgers) and lightly coat them using the remaining panko breadcrumbs. Don't compact the cakes; keep them a bit loose. Use just enough pressure to make the mixture hold together. Fry the cakes in butter or ghee at low to medium-low heat in an uncovered fry pan or griddle, turning when the first side is brown, about 5 minutes per side.

Serve immediately with slices of lemon, chipotle aioli or good tartar sauce. Mmmm..

Crab-ology at Macy's School of Cooking

Last week I decided to attend Macy's School of Cooking here in San Diego. Since I can't afford going to a real culinary school, this is my way of learning new techniques. Although the class was interesting and cheap (it was $10 bucks), it actually felt more like an advertisement since one of the representatives from Phillips Crab was there promoting their canned crab product. I did learn about the different parts of a crab and the variety of crab meats as well as simple recipes using real crab meat, but I felt like I could just watch the same stuff on the Food Network. The chef leading the class was Alexandria Melchior of Bambu Bistro. I've never been to her restaurant which, unfortunately, hasn't had any good reviews, but she seemed very personable and did explain everything she was doing.

One of her recipes that I really enjoyed was the crab and gorgonzola cheese quesadilla. Basically you heat a flour tortilla on a skillet with a little olive oil. Add a handful gorgonzola cheese, a bit of jack cheese, lump crab meat, caramelized onions and cilantro. Then top it with another flour tortilla and cook on the other side until the cheese melts and it becomes toasty. The quesadilla was tangy and sweet at the same time and I just never would've thought of pairing crab meat with gorgonzola cheese. If you're not a fan of the blue cheeses, you can simply use a jack cheese or even gruyere cheese.

Lastly the chef didn't give out any recipes, but we all can make quesadillas, can't we? Chef Melchior also made crostini with a crab-cheese mixture on top, but it wasn't really a hit for me. If you're interested in Phillips Crab, you can check out, and even purchase, their crab meat here. All in all, the class was comme ci, comme ça, and I suppose I got my $10 worth of free food and crab meat tasting.

Crab and Shrimp Quiche

Sometimes on Sunday mornings my husband and I pay a visit to the Kensington Cafe and I always end up ordering the same thing: Quiche Lorraine. The cafe probably has one of the best quiche's I've had and I decided to give this wonderful dish a try.

Making a quiche from scratch is an art form: There are three parts to the recipe, all of which you have to make, prepare or pre-bake. Then there is the patience portion because baking a quiche takes almost an hour, not counting all the prep beforehand. But, just like an artist, the outcome is a beautiful (and tasty) piece of art.

Step 1: Make the pastry dough

• 2 cups flour
• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp Ice Water

1. Whisk the flour and salt in a glass bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the egg and butter to the well.
2. Knead the flour into the butter while slowly adding the water.
3. Form the pastry into a ball and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Cut dough in half. **You can freeze the other half for up to two weeks.
4. On a lightly floured surface roll out one piece of the dough to 10 to 11" diameter (or large enough to fit over your glass pie pan). Place the dough over a greased 9" glass pie plate. Cut any overhang.
5. Cover the pie shell with aluminum foil or wax paper and place some beans or rice on top to keep it from puffing up.
6. Partially bake it at 350F for 15 min. Remove the foil and bake for 5 to10 more minutes or until very light golden color.

Leave the oven on at 350F.

Step 2: The Seafood Filling

• 1 lb Crab (use Dungeness, if possible)
• 1/2 lb Shrimp
• 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 stalk Broccoli
• 6 Mushrooms
• 1 large Shallot
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 1/8 tsp. Pepper
• 1/4 tsp. Kosher salt

1. In a very large stock pot, cook the crab and shrimp in unsalted boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes or until cooked. Let it cool then peel. Set aside.
2. In a large non-stick skillet, sauté the garlic and shallots in olive oil for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and broccoli and sauté for 5 more minutes, adding a few tablespoons of water to steam up the broccoli.
3. Add the peeled crab and shrimp into the sautéed broccoli and mushroom mixture and toss to coat for 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside and let it cool slightly.

Step 3. The Egg Filling

• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 4 large Eggs
• 1/3 cup Monterey Jack Cheese
• 1/3 cup Swiss Cheese
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 1/8 tsp. Pepper
• 1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
• 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 green onion stalk, chopped

Whisk all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Set aside for a moment.

1. To assemble: Fill the pre-cooked pie shell with the Crab-Shrimp-Broccoli mixture.
2. Pour in the egg filling.
3. Bake in the oven at 350F for 50 to 60 minutes or until the center is done.
4. Let the quiche stand for 10 minutes before serving. Cut pie into wedges. Scrumptulescent!