A few months ago, someone at our church gave us some fresh crab. Like, a lot of fresh crab. About four pounds. (His brother is a fisherman.) We were, of course, very grateful for the gift and made a batch of crab cakes within the next few days. Then the rest of the crab was packed away in our freezer and has been sitting there ever since.
So a couple of days ago, I decided to defrost the rest of it and make a double batch of crab cakes. It's my favorite way to eat crab. Okay, it's the only way I've ever eaten crab. But if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? This is the recipe from Joy of Cooking.
Important note: make sure you leave time to refrigerate the cakes for 1-2 hours, otherwise they'll fall apart.
Crab Cakes
8 small or 4 large crab cakes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup minced scallions (I used onion)
Optional: 1 tablespoon minced red bell pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon crab boil seasoning
1/4 cup minced parsley, cilantro, and dill (I used a teaspoon of dried parsley)
2 tablespoons fresh bread crumbs
1-2 cups fresh bread crumbs, toasted
1. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. When the butter foam has subsided or the oil is hot, add the scallions, red bell pepper if using, and garlic. Cook, stirring, until the scallions are tender but not browned, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
2. Gently mix the crabmeat, egg, mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper, crab boil seasoning, parsley, and 2 Tbsp. bread crumbs in a large bowl. Add the sauteed vegetables and mix well.
3. Place 1-2 cups bread crumbs on a plate. Shape the crab mixture into large or small cakes. One at a time, coat each cake in the bread crumbs, pressing lightly to make sure the crumbs adhere. Place the cakes on a rack or on a plate lined with wax paper. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
4. Heat 1/4 cup butter or vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the fat is hot, add the cakes without crowding - cook them in 2 batches if necessary. Adjust the heat so that the fat is sizzling but not burning the bread crumbs, and cook, turning the cakes until both sides are nicely browned. Smaller cakes need a total of 8-10 minutes, larger ones 12-15 minutes. If cooking in batches, keep the finished cakes warm in a 300 Fahrenheit oven while you complete the cooking. Serve immediately.
9.24.2011
9.12.2011
Banana Streusel Muffins
So, tonight my mom walked up to me and said, "Emily, I'm craving something sweet. Would you bake something? I'll buy you a Mini Cooper and a Steinway piano and quadruple your allowance." Okay, so it didn't go exactly like that, but you get the general idea.
My usual go to time-for-something-sweet recipe is oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but unfortunately we were out of chocolate chips. Luckily, I'd just checked The Sono Baking Company Cookbook out of the library and was able to find a recipe: Banana Streusel Muffins. We had all the ingredients so I set off on my mission to Fulfill Mom's Sweet Tooth.
The muffins were really good! They had a nice texture and the streusel topping added just the right amount of sweetness. So, without further ado, here's the recipe:
Banana Streusel Muffins
Ingredients:
Streusel Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
Muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter*, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk, sour cream, or whole-milk-yogurt **
1 1/2 cups walnuts, chopped (optional)
To make the streusel topping:
1. In a medium bowl, use a fork to stir together the flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add the cubes of butter, and using your fingertips, work it into the dry ingredients until pea-size crumbs form; set aside in the refrigerator.
2. Set the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray two standard 6-cup muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray, or generously butter with softened butter; set aside.
To make the muffins:
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.
4. In the bowl of a standard mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a handheld mixer and large bowl), beat the butter, sugar, and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Then add in and beat the vanilla and the bananas.
5. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, beating until the flour is absorbed. Beat in the buttermilk. Fold in the walnuts, if using.
6. Use a 2-inch (1/4 cup) ice cream scoop to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. (I just used a wooden spoon.) Sprinkle the streusel topping over the muffins, pressing some of the mixture into pea-size clumps with your fingertips, for added texture. (Quick note: Do not use too much topping. I made this mistake on a couple of the muffins and it fell out of the pan and burned. The fire alarm sent our dog spiraling into panicked circles.)
7. Bake until the tops of the muffins spring back when touched and a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes.
8. Run a butter knife carefully along the outside of the muffin cups and tip muffins out onto wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
* I just use salted butter because that's what we have in the house.
** An easy substitute for buttermilk: Put 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in the bottom of a liquid measuring cup and add enough milk to make 1 cup. Tada, buttermilk!
My usual go to time-for-something-sweet recipe is oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but unfortunately we were out of chocolate chips. Luckily, I'd just checked The Sono Baking Company Cookbook out of the library and was able to find a recipe: Banana Streusel Muffins. We had all the ingredients so I set off on my mission to Fulfill Mom's Sweet Tooth.
The muffins were really good! They had a nice texture and the streusel topping added just the right amount of sweetness. So, without further ado, here's the recipe:
Banana Streusel Muffins
Ingredients:
Streusel Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
Muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter*, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk, sour cream, or whole-milk-yogurt **
1 1/2 cups walnuts, chopped (optional)
To make the streusel topping:
1. In a medium bowl, use a fork to stir together the flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add the cubes of butter, and using your fingertips, work it into the dry ingredients until pea-size crumbs form; set aside in the refrigerator.
2. Set the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray two standard 6-cup muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray, or generously butter with softened butter; set aside.
To make the muffins:
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.
4. In the bowl of a standard mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a handheld mixer and large bowl), beat the butter, sugar, and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Then add in and beat the vanilla and the bananas.
5. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, beating until the flour is absorbed. Beat in the buttermilk. Fold in the walnuts, if using.
6. Use a 2-inch (1/4 cup) ice cream scoop to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. (I just used a wooden spoon.) Sprinkle the streusel topping over the muffins, pressing some of the mixture into pea-size clumps with your fingertips, for added texture. (Quick note: Do not use too much topping. I made this mistake on a couple of the muffins and it fell out of the pan and burned. The fire alarm sent our dog spiraling into panicked circles.)
7. Bake until the tops of the muffins spring back when touched and a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes.
8. Run a butter knife carefully along the outside of the muffin cups and tip muffins out onto wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
* I just use salted butter because that's what we have in the house.
** An easy substitute for buttermilk: Put 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in the bottom of a liquid measuring cup and add enough milk to make 1 cup. Tada, buttermilk!
Hi
Hey there, internet world! My name's Emily. This is my first venture into the world of blogging. I've been thinking about starting a blog for a while, but today is the day I finally hunkered down to do it.
So here it goes: This is a blog about food. And not just any food: Good food. (At least I sure hope so.) None of that silly dieting stuff here. Just home-cooked meals that people enjoy eating. (There's nothing wrong with indulging in some yummy desserts once in a while, either. All right - maybe a bit more often than once in a while.)
This is basically going to be a place for me to share recipes I've tried lately. Just a warning: Posting might be a bit irregular since my school year is just starting, but I'll try to update as often as I can.
Good bye and good eating!
-Emily
So here it goes: This is a blog about food. And not just any food: Good food. (At least I sure hope so.) None of that silly dieting stuff here. Just home-cooked meals that people enjoy eating. (There's nothing wrong with indulging in some yummy desserts once in a while, either. All right - maybe a bit more often than once in a while.)
This is basically going to be a place for me to share recipes I've tried lately. Just a warning: Posting might be a bit irregular since my school year is just starting, but I'll try to update as often as I can.
Good bye and good eating!
-Emily
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