Guest Post ~ Crab Cakes and Baby Greens with Lemon Vinaigrette

I Want To Be Barbie, That Bitch Has Everything!!

My dear friend Barbie (a real friend, not a Barbie Doll) is a treasured friend.  What makes her such a good friend?  Well lots and lots of things.  She's fun, she's smart, she listens to my crap and makes me laugh about it, she's well grounded, she's sure of who she is and what she wants, she adores her husband and she makes me feel better about myself after I have spent time with her.  And.....she's a fantastic cook! 

While we were running errands one day she suggested we stop by our favorite place to buy fresh seafood, Groomer Seafood.  We love this place and I promise to share more about it in a later post (It's worth one all by itself).  Well, Barb went home and created this beautiful dish.  I know you will enjoy it!

Hi! I'm Guest Chef Barbie and I want to share a fabulous recipe!

Last week, Leslie and I went to one of our favorite culinary secrets - Groomers Fish Market in San Antonio. I was hungry for crab cakes so, like any normal person, I bought a pound of lump crab with no recipe in hand. That day, my crew and I set out to find a recipe. Little did we know, the Culinary Gods (yes, I believe in them) would smile on us and give me the best and easiest crab cake recipe ever! These crab cakes have very little breading so the rich flavor of the crab really comes through. And the vinaigrette adds just the right about of citrus.


Yield: Serves 10 as first-course, but I was able to make 8 nice sized cakes. The salad and 2 cakes makes a yummy, filling meal.

Crab Cakes and Baby Greens with Lemon Vinaigrette


3/4 cup Panko
1 pound fresh crabmeat, drained well, picked over
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 large egg, beaten to blend
1/4 cup vegetable oil
12 cups mixed baby greens
Additional chopped fresh chives


Line baking sheet with waxed paper. Place 1/2 cup Panko in a shallow dish. Mix crabmeat, mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons chives, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, hot pepper sauce and remaining 1/4 cup breadcrumbs in medium bowl to blend. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in egg. Using 2 tablespoons for each, form crab mixture into twenty 1 1/2-inch-diameter cakes. Coat crab cakes with Panko in dish, pressing Panko to adhere. Transfer crab cakes to prepared baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours.


Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, add crab cakes to skillet and cook until golden brown and heated through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer crab cakes to paper towel-lined plate.


Place mixed greens in large bowl. Toss with enough Lemon Vinaigrette to coat. Divide greens among 10 plates. Place 2 crab cakes alongside greens on each plate. Drizzle 1 teaspoon vinaigrette over each crab cake. Sprinkle with additional chives and serve.


Lemon Vinaigrette


1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon sugar


Whisk all ingredients in bowl to blend. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Bring to room temperature before using.)


I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my husband and I did. Though they didn't actually get to eat the crab cakes, my kitchen crew gave this recipe 14 paws way up!


Barbie

Molly, a face only a mother could love.

The Crew!

Did I say they were animal lovers??? 14 paws!!  See for yourself.  Barbie and her husband Ray are both very special people with tremendous hearts.  The German Shephards are Ray's babies, the little guys are Barbie's babies.  The white one is Roger (I think he might be my favorite).  Barbie and Ray take in hospice dogs, which is one of the most loving things about them.  God only knows what kind of vet bills they actually have on an annual basis but I have never heard them complain about it.  I know there are many sleepless nights for them with dogs with seizures and various ailments and again, no complaints.  Barbie and Ray are exceptional people with exceptional hearts and I love them both.  Our lives are better with them in it.

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We Rolled Away From The Table

I'm not eating again for at least a week.  So good and deliciously rich.

 Blackened Mahi mahi with fresh Crab, Shrimp and Bay Scollops with Bearanaise Sauce

4 Mahi mahi steaks about 1/2 pound each

1/4 C butter + 2-3 Tbl for coating fish

approx 3 Tbl Tony Chachere's seasoning, or your favoite cajun seasoning

1/4 C dry white wine

Juice of one lemon + 1 tsp grated lemon rind

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch chives, finely minced

1 Tbl fresh tarragon, roughly chopped

1/4 tsp cayenne

3/4 pound medium shrimp, peeled and devined

3/4 pound bay scallops

8 oz lump crab meat

1 recipe basic Bearnaise Sauce (you can use a package in a pinch)

Rinse and dry Mahi mahi steaks.  Spread 2-3 Tbl butter on steaks to coat both sides, season liberally with Tony's seasoning on both sides.  Heat dry/clean large cast iron skillet frying pan on high until smoking hot.  Once pan is very hot, lay filets down carefully and cook for approx 4 minutes on each side until cooked through, do not overcook, you want the fish to stay moist.  Set aside and keep warm.



Please note:  This will smoke ALOT, you need good ventilation.  If your skillet is seasoned well and hot enough your filets should not stick. 

To prepare sauce, in a separate large skillet melt butter on med-high heat, add tarragon and saute garlic until soft, do not brown.  Add lemon juice, white wine and cayenne. Cook until reduced by half to concentrate flavors.  Add shrimp and scallops, saute until just cooked through, do not overcook.  Add crab, 1/2 of chives and lemon rind, heat until warmed through.  Combine with prepared Bearnaise Sauce.

To serve, transfer filets to warm plates.  Ladle sauce over each filet, garnish with chives and serve.

I served this with Wild Rice/Wild Mushroom Pilaf and Steamed broccoli with lemon and butter.

Wild Rice/Wild Mushroom Pilaf

1 C. wild rice prepared to package directions

1 C dried wild mushrooms, hydrated

1/2 C celery, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 lg clove garlic, minced

2 Tbl butter

3 Tbl Teriyaki Sauce

Just before rice is ready, melt butter and saute, mushrooms, celery, onion and garlic until softened.  Add Teriyaki sauce and continue to saute until almost all of liquid is absorbed.  Add mushroom saute mixture to wild rice and toss together lightly and serve.  Serves 4

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