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Friday, November 29, 2013

Day-After-Thanksgiving-Sandwich + Homemade Coleslaw


Call the police.  Because this sandwich is so good it should be illegal.

I hope all of you are still in your turkey comas.  And I also hope you have plenty of leftovers to whip up this little masterpiece.  This is the one day a year that you will most likely have all of the ingredients on hand and each bite is like an entire thanksgiving meal in your mouth!

I'm in a bit of a rush because tonight calls for a reunion of distant friends and family.  This coleslaw recipe is courtesy of my husband's family and it is classic and delicious.

Let the long weekend continue...

 Shred the carrots

 Then the cabbage

 Mix up the dressing

 Pour over slaw

 And stir... now it's time to assemble the sandwich.

 Cranberries and mayo

Now you have cranberry mayo

 Spread that and gravy on one side of the bread and the mayo on the other

 Top with stuffing.  I form it into a thin layer...

 Top with the coleslaw

 Then turkey

 Finally, grill it up

Homemade Coleslaw
1 large carrot, shredded
1 head of cabbage, shredded
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Shred carrot and cabbage.  To do this quickly, I use the grating attachment on my food processor.  If you don't have one, roll up your sleeves and use your good, old box grater.  Place slaw in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk the mayo, cream, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Pour over cabbage, stir and let sit for at least 10 minutes.

Day-After-Thanksgiving-Sandwich
Crusty Bread
Cranberry Mayo
Gravy
Stuffing
Coleslaw
Turkey

Assemble sandwich as shown above then grill it up in a saute pan.  Cut in half and enjoy every bite!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Thanksgiving Hostess Gift


Well, it is almost here.  The beginning of the most wonderful time of the year.  I wish I had more Thanksgiving recipes for you but we are guests this year at Matt's grandparent's house.  We leave bright and early tomorrow morning (weather permitting... it's a crazy snowstorm right now) for Pennsylvania.  When you are a guest in someone's house, I was always told you never show up empty handed.  So I decided to whip up some of my Pumpkin Coffee Cake to give to our family.

Everyday Occasions is one of my favorite blogs.  Jenny has perfected the art of easy and classic entertaining.  I was thrilled when she opened up an online store, offering her favorite packaging, cooking and entertaining items.  I ordered her kraft loaf pans, large cello bags and Thanksgiving tags to beautifully encapsulate my pumpkin coffee cake.  Then I simply wrapped the bags up with some linen ribbon, attached the tags with some twine and voila... the perfect hostess gift!

I am so thankful for each of you that take some time out of your day to stop by my little spot here on the net.  It has been so rewarding to interact with all of you.  Wishing you and your families a happy and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday.

Cheers and love!





Monday, November 25, 2013

Crab Cakes


Apparently, it is Dungeness crab season in San Francisco! Yippee!  Unfortunately, I do not live anywhere close to the west coast but my friend Michelle does.  So while everyone else is focusing on stuffing, mashers, turkey and cranberry recipes, I chose to make these at Michelle's request.

When I post my recipes, I am always terrified that I mistakenly left out an ingredient or listed an incorrect quantity.  Don't get me wrong... I try to double check everything and I'm 99% sure that all of my posts are accurate but sometimes I am enjoying a glass of wine (or two or three) or am dead tired while composing them.

Luckily, I have Michelle to cover my tracks.  She has been on a roll lately.  So far, she has made my Thai Coconut Curry SoupSesame Seared Ahi Tuna, and Beer Biscuits and Sausage Gravy and I'm thrilled to report back that each one was a success!  Sigh of relief over here.  So when she told me that San Francisco is just spilling over with Dungeness crab and that she needed a good crab cake recipe, I was more than happy to oblige.

Matt told me that these are the best crab cakes he has ever had.  We were headed over to my mother's last night and he refused to let me bring the leftovers to her house (for everyone to try) because he wanted them all for himself.  They are filled with lump crab meat but have just enough filler to hold together.  So Michelle, we dearly miss you here in the C-L-E but this one's for you.  Time to get crabby with your San Francisco self!

Just a rough chop is needed on everything that goes in the processor.  First the bread.

 Red pepper

 Onion

 Parsley

 Garlic

 Pulse until everything resembles fine bread crumbs

 Next, add the lemon zest

 Then the mayo, mustard and Old Bay

 And finally, the egg.  This is your base for the crab cakes.  Now it's time to get crabby :)

 I used two different types of crab; regular and jumbo lump

 First I add the regular crab so it is evenly dispersed through the mixture

 Just like that

 Gently fold the lump in.  This stuff is like gold and you don't want to over work it and break up the lumps.

 Now you are ready to form your patties

 Place in preheated pan and brown them up

 Flip and then place them on the sheet pan once done.  Work in small batches.  You will need room to flip these and you don't want them to break.  They are delicate little suckers. Place in oven to finish baking.

 Time to make the sauce.  To the mayo, add some lemon juice then some Sriracha, garlic and salt and pepper.


Crab Cakes
4 slices white bread
2 cheeks of a red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1/4 onion, roughly chopped
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 lemon, zested
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon old bay seasoning
6 1/2 ounces regular crab meat
10 ounces jumbo lump crab meat
pinch of each salt and pepper

1 tablespoon of each butter and olive oil to fry crab cakes.

Place the bread, red pepper, onion, parsley and garlic in a food processor.  Pulse until fine bread crumbs form.  Add mixture to a large mixing bowl.  Zest a lemon and add zest to crumbs.  Next, add mayo, mustard and Old Bay and mix until combined.  Add egg and do the same.  First add the regular meat and mix until evenly distributed through mixture.  Finally add lump crab, salt and pepper and then gently fold into bread crumb mixture, being extra careful not to break up the lumps of crab.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.  Put butter and oil in a large saute pan and place over medium high heat.  Form cakes to a size of your choice. Place in the pan, being sure not to crowd the pan and allowing yourself room to flip.  Brown on both sides then transfer to baking sheet.  Once all crab cakes are browned, place pan in oven and cook for at least 10 minutes.  Turn off oven and keep them in there to keep warm until ready to serve.

Lemon Sriracha Aioli 
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Sriracha
1 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of each salt and pepper

In a small bowl, mix together mayo, lemon juice, Sriracha, garlic and salt and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop on each crab cake and garnish with some fresh parsley and lemon wedges.



Friday, November 22, 2013

Shrimp and Grits



Want to know something crazy?  I had never tried grits until I lived in Florida.  One time, I was out to breakfast with some friends and someone ordered grits; with extra cheese and butter.  Seriously?  What had I been missing all of these years?!?! 

Grits (or polenta) are basically just stone ground coarse cornmeal that serves as a vehicle for, well...pretty much anything.  Cheese, garlic, sauteed mushrooms, truffles, steak and shrimp all effortlessly enhance the deliciousness of grits!

Well I hope this Friday flies by for y'all (my Southern twang for a Southern dish).  If you are looking for some new tunes, I've had Lorde's new CD on repeat in both my office and kitchen.  I am mildly obsessed with her enchanting voice. Check out Team and A World Alone... my favorite tracks.  

Cheers to a nice relaxing weekend and the upcoming shortened holiday week!    

Chop up the bacon

Cook it then remove from pan and drain on a paper towel

Start the grits by boiling the water and stock

Oh my... what lovely grits

Add the grits, reduce heat and keep whisking

To the bacon grease, add the pepper, onion, jalapeno and garlic.  Cook for a few minutes.

Add some chicken stock

The some tomatoes

Roughly chop some shrimp

Then add them to the pan

A little sriracha

And then some yummy goat cheese

Just a touch.  Below, finish off the grits with some butter and mascarpone cheese.


Shrimp and Grits
2 slices of bacon
1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon jalapeno, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup tomatoes, chopped
8 large shrimp, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 tablespoon goat cheese

1 cup water
1 cup low sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup corn grits/polenta
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese

Chop up bacon and brown in a large saute pan.  Keep fat in pan.  Over medium heat, add pepper, onion, jalapeno and garlic.  Cook for 5 minutes until soft and translucent.  Add stock and tomatoes.  Reduce for about 2 minutes, then add shrimp, sriracha and goat cheese.  Remove from heat or keep on low until ready to serve over grits.

While preparing the shrimp, get the grits going.  Bring water and stock to a boil.  Add grits and continuously stir until soft.  About 10 minutes.  If needed, add a little more water to make grits into a "mashed potato-like" consistency.  Prior to serving, stir in butter and mascarpone cheese.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon shrimp mixture over a big pile of grits then top with the reserved crumbled bacon.