Crab Cakes

1 lb crab meat
1 large egg
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1-1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 

1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1-1/4 cups fresh breadcrumbs (about 3 slices of white bread)
Oil for frying


Drain crab meat. Put the crab in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg, mayonnaise, mustard, Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Pour the mixture over the crab and mix gently until combined. Gently break up the lumps with your fingers but do not overmix.

Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the mixture and mix gently. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours.

Shape the crab mixture into 8 cakes about 1 inch thick. In a cast iron skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the cakes to the pan. Cook until dark golden brown on the underside, about 4 minutes. Flip the cakes and continue cooking until the other side is well browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges, Mustard Sauce and Cocktail Sauce.

Seafood Lasagna

 

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb shrimp

1/2 lb crab

1/2 lb scallops

2 garlic clove, minced

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 T butter

2 cups béchamel *

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup dry white wine

1cup Swiss and Mozzarella cheese mix , shredded

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

8 lasagna sheets, cooked 'al dente'

salt and white pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

IN a saucepan, melt 1 T of the butter, sauté the garlic until transparent - do not brown or burn. Add the shrimp, scallops and crab. Toss over high heat for 1-2 minutes. Add onions, stir and continue cooking till shrimp lose their transparency.

Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare the béchamel.*

When béchamel is ready, stir in the cream, wine, and salt and pepper to taste, blend thoroughly and remove the sauce from the heat. Spread about a third of the sauce over the bottom of an 8 x 10 or round pie pan. Sprinkle 1/2 the cheese mixture over the sauce. Scatter about half the shellfish evenly over the cheese. Cover with half the lasagna sheets. Repeat the layers finishing with the last sheets of lasagna. Cover with the remaining sauce and Parmesan.

The layers, from the bottom:
Sauce
Cheese
Seafood
Lasagna
Sauce
Cheese
Seafood
Lasagna
Sauce
Parmesan

BAKE for 30-40 minutes or until the topping is golden brown (keep and eye on it, you don't want the top to burn).Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

*Bechamel Sauce

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 cups milk, heated**
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

** Use 1 cup milk for the sauce in the seafood lasagna because heavy cream and wine will thin the sauce. This will result in the sauce being thicker than usual, but that's ok!

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, but don't let it brown — about 2 minutes. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring it to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat, and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat. To cool this sauce for later use, cover it with wax paper or pour a film of milk over it to prevent a skin from forming.

Makes about 1 cup.

PS. I ALWAYS use more cheese than a recipe calls for. It's always your call to use more or less...

My Trip to get the crawfish... and a Crawfish Boil!

Yesterday I decided to go to Elliott's Landing and get some crawfish! I didn't figure that my son would eat much, so I just got 4 pounds. You might say, "Just 4 pounds???" Yes, that sounds like a lot, but if you are familiar with these little creatures, you know that's not really all that much. You buy crawfish whole and alive... The only other way to buy them is already cooked. Once a crawfish dies, it cannot be sold and is discarded. The meat is in the tail and the rest of the body, or head is dead weight... Yes, I know that you can suck the juice out of the head, but that is just that... juice! I did have quite a few that I cracked the claws and got a tiny bite out...

Old boat shed on the right behind the trees...

There is always something to see on the drive down...

The Landing is only about 4 miles away from my house!

Nice day... Dirt Road Anthem by Jason Aldean

on the radio!!! Windows rolled down, ponytail in the wind!
"It don't get no better than this!!!" Woo Hoo!!!

I'm here... Getting my 4 pounds of crawfish :-)

Got my bag in the cooler :-) 

As soon as I untied the bag, they tried to escape!

Crawfish Boil...

I added onions and sausage.

I didn't have any potatoes or corn-on-the-cob.

Dig in!!! This is round 1... about half (2 pounds)

I had to peel crawfish for my son who hurt his hand riding his

dirt bike this afternoon. He ate a lot! I didn't think he would!

I got awfully hungry feeding him...

He ate a lot faster than I could peel! LOL

Lemon & Salt and Homemade Cocktail Sauce... for me

Butter & Lemon for the guys

Crawfish Carnage... all 4 pounds eaten!

Cocktail Sauce

1 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 small lemon)
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
dash Worcestershire sauce
few drops hot sauce
salt to taste

Combine and blend all ingredients well.

Eggs Benedict

Traditional Eggs Benedict

4 slices Canadian bacon 

1 teaspoon white vinegar 

4 eggs 

1 cup butter 

3 egg yolks 

1 tablespoon heavy cream 

1 dash ground cayenne pepper 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 tablespoon lemon juice 

4 English muffins, split and toasted

In a skillet over medium-high heat, fry the Canadian bacon on each side until evenly browned. 

Fill a large saucepan with about 3 inches water, and bring to a simmer. Pour in the vinegar. Carefully break the 4 eggs into the water, and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until whites are set but yolks are still soft. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon. 

Meanwhile, melt the butter until bubbly in a small pan. Remove from heat before butter browns. 

In a blender or large food processor, blend the egg yolks, heavy cream, cayenne pepper, and salt until smooth. Add half of the hot butter in a thin steady stream, slow enough so that it blends in at least as fast as you are pouring it in. Blend in the lemon juice using the same method, then the remaining butter.

Place open English muffins onto serving plates. Top with 1 slice Canadian bacon and 1 poached egg. Drizzle with the cream sauce, and serve at once.

And of course, I had to add several twists...

Cajun-Style Eggs Benedict

with Andouille Sausage and Hollandaise Sauce with Crawfish Tails...

Cajun-Twisted Eggs Benedict

With a biscuit and Boudin Patty...

Eggs Benedict Pizza

with Prosciutto, Eggs and a side of Hollandaise Sauce for dipping...

Bacon Roll Ups

These are kind of like Rumaki, I guess. Mama always called them Bacon Roll Ups. I doubt she had ever heard of rumaki. Either way, I love bacon and these are delicious!

Rumaki

18 slices of bacon, cut in half
1 can sliced water chestnuts
5oz soy sauce
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 t black pepper
2 pkgs cocktail sausages
36 shrimp, peeled and de-veined

Using toothpicks, place a slice of water chestnut, sausage, shrimp and another slice of water chestnut on each toothpick, and wrap with bacon. Mix the brown sugar, pepper and soy sauce. Place the wraps and marinade in a plastic bag and marinate over night or 24 hrs. Cook at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until bacon is done.
* You can substitute teriyaki glaze for the marinade if you like.

Crab Pie

Here's another one of the recipe from my book, "Mama's Cookbook". As I wrote the other day, Mama loved seafood, but didn't have it very often growing up because of the cost. Unless you lived on the coast and caught your own, seafood was impractical and definitely a luxury item that struggling families could not afford. Mama made friends with a Catholic girl in school. The first Friday that she slept the night at her friends house, they had shrimp for supper. She was in love! I was named after her best friend Lynda! So the few recipes of Mama's that include seafood, I certainly do treasure! I hope you enjoy this one! Notice the note at the bottom. If you are not familiar with my cookbook, Mama jotted notes down for me on recipes before giving them to me. They are a treasure trove of memories!

Crab Pie

1 Pie Pastry, uncooked

1 cup Cheddar Cheese, grated

1 cup Crab Meat

3 Eggs, beaten

1 cup Cream

½ t salt

¼ t Pepper

½ t Lemon Zest

Arrange cheese evenly over bottom of pastry. Top with crab meat. Combine eggs, cream, salt, lemon peel and pour evenly over crab meat. Bake at 325 for about 40 minutes.

Notes: “Your Daddy likes this…Cool or the cheese will burn you!”

When I make it now, I add some Old Bay Seasoning and a mixture of cheeses that I have on hand. I use Swiss and Cheddar or Colby Jack. It just depends on my mood.

Mama's Shrimp Creole

Growing up, my Mama and her family didn't have a lot of money. Food like seafood was out of the question. They could go fishing and eat fish, but shrimp were not in the budget. When Mama was in middle school, she made a new friend and went to stay the weekend. She soon found out that the 'well to do' family was catholic and ate shrimp every Friday night. It was a sacrifice that she gladly made! Whenever she could Mama would buy shrimp for us and she loved to make Shrimp Creole. Shrimp was her favorite food!

Shrimp Creole

¼ cup Butter

1 cup Onion, chopped

1 cup Celery, diced

1 Garlic Clove, minced

2 T Flour

1 t Salt

1 t Sugar

Dash Cayenne

1 t Paprika

1 small Bay Leaf

4 drops Tabasco

½ cup Bell Pepper, diced

19 oz can Tomatoes

2 cups Shrimp, Peeled and deveined

     (1 pound fresh or 2 - 7 oz cans)

Melt butter in frying pan. Add onion, celery and garlic; cook slowly until tender but not brown. Add flour and seasoning; stir until blended. Stir in bell pepper and tomatoes. Cook 10 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp turns pink. Serve over rice.

Hot Crab Melt

Every time I post a recipe with Crab in it, I think about my Uncle Perry and our summer trips to Mitchum Creek!

Taken from my post on July 8th, 2010... "Soft Shelled Crabs from Mitchum Creek"

Uncle Perry... The Old Man of the Sea

"I always loved going to Uncle Perry's in the summertime. He lived in Topping, Virginia on Mitchum Creek. We would get up early in the morning, pack a lunch, and go fishing. I loved fishing with Uncle Perry. ( Helping gather bait... watching the crabs in the bucket blowing bubbles... watching Daddy on the front of the boat trying to scoop up the peelers on top of the water with the dip net... watching Uncle Perry cut up bait... Mama getting so tired from catching fish, but she wouldn’t quit. She’d just hook them then call Daddy to reel them in...) When we got in we would clean the fish and then get cleaned up ourselves. Usually, we kids could get in a good scavenger hunt before supper. Going through the crab boxes... pulling Periwinkles off the weeds by the water... playing on Uncle Perry’s boat... watching the hummingbirds from the porch... Grandmama having to walk so slow with the feeder because the hummingbirds would come to feed as soon as she opened the front door... Later that night we all came out on the porch to eat supper. In the usual family tradition, there was always mounds of food. Grandmama’s fried oyster fritters, fresh fried fish, fried chicken, Aunt Vashti’s pan fried squash, plates of tomatoes and cucumbers, biscuits and much, much more. And, of course, if Daddy had gotten a couple of peelers, we had soft shell crabs too! Uncle Perry was sitting at the head of the table, to my left. As usual we all over-ate. We sat for a rather long time talking about the day and the ones that got away. I noticed Uncle Perry push back his chair to stand. He leaned forward several times pushing his hands against the seat of the chair. But, he did not stand. After a moment, he smiled and looked over at me. He leaned over to me and said, “It’s awfully embarrassing after eating that much, trying and trying to get up, and you can't. And then you find out that your thumb’s in your hip pocket!”

Hot Crab Melt

6 oz Crab Meat
¼ cup Tartar Sauce
2 T Celery, finely chopped
2 T Bell Pepper, finely chopped
1 t Lemon Juice
2 English Muffins, Split and Toasted
4 slices American Cheese

Combine all ingredients except muffins and cheese. Mix well. Place spread on muffin halves. Bake at 350 for five minutes. Top with cheese and bake 5 minutes longer.

Notes: “Great with shrimp too!” (Mama's favorite :-)

Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad

1/2 cup Classic Caesar Dressing, divided

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 lb. uncooked, de-veined, peeled large shrimp

6 cups torn romaine lettuce

1 cup seasoned croutons

1/4 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese


Preheat grill to medium heat. Mix 2 tbsp of the dressing, lemon juice and pepper in large bowl. Add shrimp and toss to coat.

Grill shrimp 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until shrimp turn pink. You can cook them in a sauté pan over medium heat, if you don’t have a grill.

Toss lettuce, croutons and remaining dressing in large serving bowl. Top with shrimp and sprinkle with cheese. Serve immediately.


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Shrimp and Grits

*Notice in this picture that I used Italian sausage

in place of the bacon this time... it works either way!

This is wonderful basic Shrimp and Grits recipe. It is so easy and relatively quick to make. It's timed every well and by the time you finish with the gravy and shrimp, the grits are cooked well. You can add to it or change it around. I found that cooking the grits in Chicken Stock added a lot of flavor, but watch how much salt you add when using stocks.

•1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled
•1 1/2 cups stone-ground grits
•6 cups chicken stock
•1 teaspoons salt or more to taste
•1 pound Italian sausage, remove casings and crumble
•1 small onion, finely chopped
•1 garlic clove, minced
•2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
•1 cup chicken stock (more many be needed to get the consistancy you want)
•Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce

Make the grits in a large heavy saucepan, first bringing 6 cups of chicken stock, and salt to taste, to a boil. Whisk in the grits a few handfuls at a time. When you have added all the grits, reduce the heat to a very low simmer and cook over low heat for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally at first and more frequently toward the end.

While the grits simmer, get your gravy started. Fry the Italian Sausage in a medium skillet over medium heat until about done. Stir in the onion and garlic and continue cooking about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture, and continue sauteing for 5 minutes longer. Stir in the stock and cook for 5 minutes longer. Remove from the heat while you finish the grits.

When the grits are thick and creamy, stir in as much butter as you wish (optional). Add a splash of hot pepper sauce and additional salt if you like. Cover the grits while you finish the gravy.

Return the gravy to medium heat and stir in the shrimp. If your gravy has formed a skin over the top, (It happens. Don't worry!) add a splash of stock and whisk for a second, then stir in the shrimp. Cook until the shrimp are opaque throughout, about 5 minutes. (I used some boiled shrimp I had left over that were cooked in Old Bay Seasoning. I didn't have to add any additional salt or pepper. They were seasoned perfectly... good shortcut!) Serve immediately, mounding the grits in large shallow bowls or on plates and covering them with shrimp and gravy.

A pretty option for serving at a

special occasion!

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Frogmore or Beaufort Stew?

I was asked this week if I had any Gullah Recipes. If you don't know what Gullah is, it's an African-American culture that took root soon after the days of slavery. The Gullah settled mainly in the islands along the shores of South Carolina and Georgia, among them: Edisto Island, Coosaw Island, Daufuskie Island, and St. Helena Island. This gave them privacy to preserve their culture and customs; like basket weaving, cultivating rice, trapping and trading especially shrimp.

When I worked for a trucking company in the '90s, I had a driver that was from the islands around Edisto. His 'handle' on the radio was 'Geechee'.
This is a word to describe the Gullah dialect, also a word to descibe perfectly how he talked.

On the island of St. Helena, where my Mama began a yearly pilgrimage many years ago, you can find the  Gullah settlement of Frogmore. It is a simple crossroads with a two-story white country store on one side and a post office on the other. This is the birthplace of Frogmore stew, a boil of assorted seafood, pork sausage, and corn on the cob. My family in Rimini, SC, has always called this a Beaufort Stew. There is the Louisiana Crawfish Boil and the Lowcountry Boil. The names go on forever, and the fight for the origin of each name does also. I believe that when you get to the 'outer banks' or islands of any southern state, if you look hard and deep enough, you will find the deep hidden cultures of time gone past.

Here is my families way of doing this classic Gullah inspired dish!

•2 crab boil seasoning bags (or more to taste)
•several lemons, halved (optional)
•redskin potatoes (depending on size, 3 or more per person)
•spicy smoked sausage, cut into 1-inch slices (¼ pound per person)
•fresh corn, broken into halves (1 ½ ears per person)
•sweet onions, whole (depending on size, 1 or more per person)
•shrimp (½ pound per person)
•crawfish (½ pound per person) If Elliott's Landing has any left, they go fast!
 
This is usually done outside over an intense heat such as a propane burner. That's the only way to cook this much food all together! Fill a large steamer pot halfway with water. Add crab-boil seasoning. Add halved lemons may. When the seasoned water comes to a boil, add redskin potatoes and boil for 20 minutes; then add 2" slices of spicy smoked sausage and boil for 5-10 minutes. Add the corn and boil another 5 minutes. Then add the shrimp. Cook for 3 minutes. (Don't wait for it to boil again or you will overcook the shrimp.) Drain, and pile on a table.

Serve with lots of paper towels and icy beverages, plus melted butter for the corn, cocktail sauce for the shrimp, and sour cream for the potatoes. ALSO VERY IMPORTANT: Make sure to have a bottle of killer hot sauce for the cousin who's gonna say, "Aw that ain't nothin'!" Then pour it to 'em!!!

Soft Shell Crabs from Mitchum Creek

I always loved going to Uncle Perry's in the summertime. He lived in Topping, Virginia on Mitchum Creek. We would get up early in the morning, pack a lunch, and go fishing. I loved fishing with Uncle Perry. (Helping gather bait... watching the crabs in the bucket blowing bubbles... watching Daddy on the front of the boat trying to scoop up the peelers on top of the water with the dip net... watching Uncle Perry cut up bait... Mama getting so tired from catching fish, but she wouldn’t quit. She’d just hook them then call Daddy to reel them in...) When we got in we would clean the fish and then get cleaned up ourselves. Usually, we kids could get in a good scavenger hunt before supper. Going through the crab boxes... pulling Periwinkles off the weeds by the water... playing on Uncle Perry’s boat... watching the hummingbirds from the porch... Grandmama having to walk so slow with the feeder because the hummingbirds would come to feed as soon as she opened the front door... Later that night we all came out on the porch to eat supper. In the usual family tradition, there was always mounds of food. Grandmama’s fried oyster fritters, fresh fried fish, fried chicken, Aunt Vashti’s pan fried squash, plates of tomatoes and cucumbers, biscuits and much, much more. And, of course, if Daddy had gotten a couple of peelers, we had soft shell crabs too! Uncle Perry was sitting at the head of the table, to my left. As usual we all over-ate. We sat for a rather long time talking about the day and the ones that got away. I noticed Uncle Perry push back his chair to stand. He leaned forward several times pushing his hands against the seat of the chair. But, he did not stand. After a moment, he smiled and looked over at me. He leaned over to me and said, “It’s awfully embarrassing after eating that much, trying and trying to get up, and you can't. And then you find out that your thumb’s in your hip pocket!”

Soft Shell Crabs

4 soft-shell crabs

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

salt and pepper to taste

4 cups oil for frying, or as needed

Directions

If you buy the crabs frozen or pre-packaged, they will be cleaned. But if you get them fresh you may have to clean them.

To clean each crab: Lift one pointed side of top shell and remove the gills by pulling them out. Put top shell back down and repeat on other side. On the bottom side remove tail flap by twisting and pulling off. Using a pair of scissors, remove the face by cutting behind the eyes. Rinse the crabs thoroughly with cold water. Dry on paper towels.

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 365 degrees. In a shallow dish, whisk together the egg and milk using a fork. In a separate bowl, stir salt and pepper into the flour. Lightly salt the crab, then dip in the flour, dip in the egg, then in the flour again. Carefully place crabs into the deep-fryer. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown on one side. Carefully turn over, and cook until golden on the other side. Drain on paper towels. Serve as soon as they are cool enough to eat. You can eat the whole crab.

Seafood Salad Sammies

This is a very easy, but good base recipe for seafood salad. You can serve it in lettuce cups for a crisp, low-carb wrap, or on a sub roll with shredded cabbage and a little hot sauce for a Po Boy sandwich. However, try this recipe 'as is' first. The simplicity of a buttered, toasted hot dog bun is really a surprising treat!

1 (8oz) pkg imitation chunk Crab Classic or Crab & Shrimp Classic
2 Tbsp Mayo
2 Tbsp Sour Cream
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
Hot Dog Buns
Butter

In a medium bowl, break up the crab meat. Add mayo, sour cream, lemon and seasoning. Mix and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the flavors combine.

Butter the inside of the hot dog buns and toast to your liking. Fill buns with salad and serve.

Note: I make this for a crowd at Wednesday Night Suppers, so I don't use a lot of onion or celery. Feel free to add your favorites, such as 2 tsp of diced red onion, 2 tsp of diced celery or 2 tsp of chopped parsley...