I Love Crab Cakes

I do! I love crab cakes. So naturally, I try to make them as often as possible, and I play around with recipes I like to give them a special Lindsay twist. I really like the recipe from Cooking Light's April 2008 issue, but with some changes.

Crab Cakes with Roasted Vegetables and Tangy Butter Sauce

• Crab cakes:
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 3 tablespoons light mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 pound lump crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed
• 1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• Cooking spray
• 
  Vegetables:
• 21 baby carrots (about 12 ounces)
• 5 small red potatoes, quartered (about 8 ounces)
• 4 medium shallots, halved lengthwise
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces haricots verts, trimmed
• 
  Sauce:
• 2/3 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons chopped shallots
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons butter

Preparation

1. To prepare crab cakes, combine first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl. Gently fold in crabmeat. Gently stir in 3/4 cup panko. Cover and chill 30 minutes.

2. Divide crab mixture into 8 equal portions (about 1/2 cup each); shape each into a 3/4-inch-thick patty. Place remaining 3/4 cup panko in a shallow dish. Working with 1 patty at a time, dredge in panko. Repeat procedure with the remaining patties and panko.

3. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat both sides of crab cakes with cooking spray. Add 4 crab cakes to pan; cook 7 minutes. Carefully turn cakes over; cook 7 minutes or until golden. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, cooking spray, and remaining 4 crab cakes.

4. Preheat oven to 450°.

5. To prepare vegetables, leave root and 1-inch stem on carrots; scrub with a brush. Combine carrots, potatoes, and shallots in a small roasting pan. Coat vegetables with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Toss. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes, turning once. Coat haricots verts with cooking spray. Add haricots verts to vegetable mixture; toss. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

6. To prepare sauce, combine broth, shallots, and vinegar in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 4 minutes); remove from heat. Stir in butter. Serve with crab cakes and vegetables.

Notes:
I added more panko and mayo to beef up the dish, and I also added about 1/2 of a red bell pepper to add some more texture and flavor. I used all of the sauce on the vegetable mixture, and then used the red pepper dressing from my steak salad as a sauce for the crab cakes, which was DELICIOUS.

Ike Adventures

Unless you live under a rock, you know that Hurricane Ike hit Houston last weekend. Having grown up in Houston, I have lots of family and friends there. Even though the worst thing that Austin got from the storm was a little wind, I still felt the effects of Ike by taking in strays.

My friend Brittney came in town Thursday, who I housed. Since her favorite meal is Pineapple Polynesian Chicken, I had to make it for her (of course substituting cashews for almonds).

Next my mom and dog Snickers escaped the storm (good thing, since their part of town really felt it!) Since one roommate wanted salad, another wanted mandarin oranges, and I really wanted to chop things, it only made sense to make an Asian Chicken Salad.

Asian Chicken Salad
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
3/4 cup Asian Ginger dressing, divided
1 red bell pepper, halved, seeded and chopped
1 green pepper, halved, seeded and chopped
2 carrots, shredded
2 cans mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 cup crispy wontons
1/2 cup unsalted peanuts
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 large bag hearts of romaine lettuce
1 tomato, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In the meantime, marinade chicken in 1/4 cup dressing in a large ziploc bag for about 15 minutes. Put on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake about 40 minutes, or until juices run clear. Let cool 5 minutes, then shred into bite-sized pieces. While the chicken bakes, assemble the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken once complete and toss.









My mom enjoying the dinner

Steak Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Dressing

As my grilling/red meat fetish continues, I realized on Saturday that I had a great coupon to Central Market for $10 off steak that expired the next day. Naturally I went straight there and bought a fabulous sirloin steak and started plotting. While scanning a burger section on the Gourmet site, I came across this recipe for a buffalo burger with roasted red pepper dressing that sounded delicious, so I prepared the dressing and formed a salad around it. The result was a delicious medley of flavors that everyone enjoyed!

Steak Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Dressing

Dressing

1 red bell pepper

1 clove garlic

1/2 cup buttermilk dressing

1/4 teaspoon hot Spanish smoked paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

Salad

1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons steak seasoning

1 pound yukon gold potatoes

Olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

1 bag spring mix greens

2 whole carrots, sliced on diagonal

4 ounces onion and basil goat cheese

To make dressing, first roast red bell pepper in a broiler about 20 minutes, rotating occasionally. Place in a covered bowl or plastic bag abotu 10-20 minutes. Once cool enough, remove stem and seeds and place in food processor and pulse until smooth. Add remaining dressing ingredients and pulse until smooth.

Fire up the grill. Season steak with salt and pepper and steak seasoning, rubbing in on both sides. Grill until desired pinkness is reached (at my house we do half medium rare and half medium well to please everyone). Let steak rest a few minutes to let juices settle, then slice into strips.

In the meantime, preheat oven to 375 degrees and slice potatoes into bite-sized wedges. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake about 20 minutes. Once removed, add fresh chopped rosemary.

While potatoes are roasting, add spring mix, carrots and goat cheese to a bowl. Add in potatoes once done and toss. Divide onto 4 plates and top with steak strips. Then drizzle with salad dressing and enjoy!

I served this with sliced ciabatta bread drizzled with olive oil and a bit of fresh rosemary.

Chile Mac n Cheese

The Weight Watchers Cookbook my mom gave me several years ago really has gotten some use. In addition to the ever-popular Pineapple Polynesian Chicken, I also love making Chile Mac n Cheese, inspired by a recipe in that book as well. Of course, mine isn't as figure-friendly, but where's the fun in that?

Chile Mac n Cheese

1 pound large elbow macaroni
1 pound ground turkey breast (though i used ground beef this time)
1 red onion
4 cloves garlic
1 red bell pepper
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can green chiles
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon chile powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Place a large pot of water to boil, cook macaroni until done. In the meantime, heat a large skillet on medium high heat and cook turkey breast until done, about 6 minutes. Add onion, garlic and bell pepper and saute until onions are translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add tomatoes, chiles, paste and seasonings and combine. Add in 1/4 cup of water and cook mixture on high until it starts to bubble.

Turn down heat to low and cover and let mixture simmer about 10 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and stir in cheddar cheese.

What's your favorite way to cook ground meat?

Labor Day BBQ

There's nothing I love more than cooking out with friends, and what better excuse than Labor Day weekend? Also, we have yet to have a proper housewarming party, so the long weekend seemed like the perfect time to break in the grill and have our friends over for an afternoon of food and fun. The star of the BBQ was my knock-off of Central Market's Cowboy burgers, which I affectionately call Cowgirl Burgers. I love serving these with Chile Ketchup, inspired by a chipotle ketchup recipe I saw in Cooking Light this spring.

Cowgirl Burgers

4 slices bacon
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon creole seasoning
4 hamburger buns

Fire up the grill. Preheat a skillet on medium high heat. Slice bacon into bite-sized pieces. Cook bacon in skillet until almost crisp. Combine in a large mixing bowl with beef, cheese, parsley and seasoning and mix thoroughly. Shape into 4 patties. Cook burgers on grill until cooked through, about 5 minutes on each side. Serve on hamburger buns with chile ketchup (recipe to follow).


Chile Ketchup

1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
Juice from 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir. Serve on burgers or with fries.

We also treated our friends to homemade chocolate chip cookies. In high school, I went through a phase where I would bake several times a week, so I had time to search out the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. My favorite is from William's Sonoma.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In an electronic mixer, cream butter on high speed until fluffy and pale yellow. Add the sugars and continue beating until the mixture is no longer gritty. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on low speed until blended, occasionally stopping the mixer and scraping sides.

Add in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed until just blended. Add chocolate chips and walnuts.

Line a baking sheet with foil and drop on 1-inch size balls of dough. Bake until the cookies are golden brown around the edges, about 12 minutes. Cool briefly then put cookies on a wire rack to cool completely.


Some of the BBQ ladies.

North By Northwest

I attended this month's Appetizers with Addie at North By Northwest, a get together with The Austin American-Statesman's food writer Addie Broyles. She's fairly new to the publication, and I've already enjoyed a lot of her work, so I was excited to meet her. It turned out to be a really fun evening full of good food and talk about food. I can't wait to get more involved in the Austin food community and share what I learn with yall!

I went to NXNW once last summer and was intrigued by their beer sampler. I didn't get a chance to try it since I was there for lunch, so I made sure to give it a shot this time. There were 6 five-ounce beers, including:

• Northern Light
• Duckabish Amber
• Pyjingo Pale Ale
• Okanogan Black Ale
• Bavarian Hefeweizen
• Seasonal Ale

My favorite by far was the Hefeweisen. I haven't had much beer lately, so my palate for the darker beers has somewhat dimished, but the Hefe was delicious and light, and the hint of banana was relaly interesting. The Northern Light was passable, but not as flavorful as I would've hoped.

The Duckabish Amber and Pyjingo Pale Ale were less my style, but I appreciated their deeper flavor. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the black ale, as I usually don't like beers that dark. But I saved it for last and worked my way up so the flavor didn't knock me off my feet!

We accompanied the beer with a tasty appetizer of roasted garlic bulbs with goat cheese and black pepper crostinis. This was sweet and creamy, and since I didn't have a hot date afterwards, I had no qualms about having a few!

Mexican Zucchini Lasagna

I love following What's Cooking from my blogger friend Ben. Not only is he a fellow mango lover, but he's always using familiar ingredients in unfamiliar ways. I saw his recipe for Mexican Zucchini Lasagna and had to try it. I have to say, I wasn't disappointed!

Zucchini and Chicken Mexican Lasagna
Makes: 4-6 servings
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 40 minutes

For this recipe you will need:

For the “lasagna”:

2 large zucchinis
2 cups shredded chicken breasts
1/2 lb ricotta cheese2 eggs
1/2 cup Romano cheese, shredded
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

For the green creamy sauce:

2 poblano peppers
1/2 onion2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 - 2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream
salt to taste

Preparation:

Roast poblano peppers (click here to watch a video) and put them in a thick plastic bag for 10 minutes. Peel them, cut the ends and discard seeds and ribs. Rinse well.

In a blender mix poblano peppers, onion, garlic and chicken broth until smooth. Pour sauce into a large saucepan and cook over medium heat. Add cream, sour cream, salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin ribbons. Kat recommends using a peeler, a mandolin or a Y peeler. In a bowl mix together ricotta, Romano and mozzarella cheeses along with the 2 eggs, oregano, basil, parsley, salt and pepper.

Spoon some of the green sauce into a baking dish. Lay 1/3 of the zucchini slices, 1/2 of the cheese filling, 1 cup of the shredded chicken and some more of the sauce.

Repeat with another 1/3 of zucchini, the rest of the cheese and chicken. Finish with the last 1/3 of the zucchini and pour the remaining sauce into the dish. Bake for 40 minutes until the zucchini is cooked and the sauce is boiling.

This was an exciting change to typical lasagna, and even the boys liked it, which goes to show you don't need pasta to be happy! Though I couldn't serve the meal totally devoid of carbs, so I made my Honey Cilantro Lime Rice to accompany this dish.

Honey Cilantro Lime Rice

1 1/2 cups rice
3 cup chicken broth
1 lime
1 1/2 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare rice as instructed, substituting broth for water. In the meantime, combine lime zest and juice and honey in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. stir to combine. When rice is done, stir in honey mixture, cilantro and salt and pepper.

Not your average lasagna!