Crab Imperial

I'm pretty sure that fresh lump crab meat is one of my favorite things in the world. If you haven't noticed a good percentage of the recipes on here revolve around this awesome ingredient, but I am always on the hunt for a new one to throw into the rotation. This crab imperial was absolutely fantastic! I had heard of crab imperial before, but I wasn't really sure what it was - it wasn't until my issue of Food & Wine came in the mail that I actually figured out what it is. It is basically a crab casserole which is usually served in scallop shells, topped with Parmesan and baked (basically like a stuffed clam, but with crab). The base of the casserole is typically mayonnaise, but this version from F&W caught my eye because the base is basically a hollandaise sauce thickened with a bechamel sauce - in other words... yummy! I also liked the addition of red bell pepper in this to add a little crunch and color, so I kept that in my version as well. Ok, this probably isn't the heathiest dish ever, but holy cow is it delicious! If you like crab, give this a try as a main dish or as an appetizer at your next gathering. Enjoy! :o)

Crab Imperial

Serves 2 (main dish) or 4 (appetizer)

Ingredients

4 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. flour

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp. olive oil

1/2 small onion, finely diced

1/4 red bell pepper, diced

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

zest of 1/2 of a lemon, finely grated

dash of hot sauce
salt and pepper

1/2 lb. lump crab meat, picked over for shells

toasted baguette slices, for serving

Directions

Make the bechamel: In a saucepan set over medium low heat, melt 1 tbsp. of the butter. Whisk in the flour until a paste forms. Add the milk and continue whisking until the bechamel thickens, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Set aside.

Cook the vegetables: Heat the oil in a small saute pan over medium low heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the bell peppers and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until the peppers are softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Make the hollandaise: Melt 3 tbsp. butter and set aside. Bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in a small sauce pan. In a medium glass or stainless steel bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and lemon juice. Place the bowl over the simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water) and whisk constantly until the egg mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Slowly drizzle in the melted butter and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and whisk in the lemon zest and the bechamel sauce until smooth.

Put it all together: Adjust your oven racks to be 6" and 10" away from the broiler, then preheat the broiler. Lightly oil an 8" round or square baking dish. In a large bowl, gently fold together the crab meat, onions and peppers, and bechamel/hollandaise mixture until well combined. Pour into the prepared baking dish and broil at 6" away from the broiler for about 3-6 minutes or until it is browned and bubbly. Move the dish to the rack that is 10" away from the broiler and continue to broil for about 4 minutes or until it is completely warmed through. Serve hot with toasted bread. Yum! :o)

Adapted from Food & Wine

Chicken in Mustard Cream Sauce

Mustard is one of those ingredients that I underestimate. As far as condiments go, I'm likely to reach for ketchup for my burger, or mayonnaise for my sandwiches, so mustard kind of takes a back seat. However, this meal is really all about the mustard. It's not overpowering, but it adds just enough tangy mustardy flavor to make boring-old-chicken into something much tastier. This will certainly be added to our rotation of chicken dishes as it was a huge hit! Enjoy :o)

Chicken in Mustard Cream Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, boneless/skinless, cut in half into two thin cutlets

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

salt and pepper

1/4 cup minced onion or shallot

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp. whole grain mustard

1 tbsp. smooth dijon mustard

Directions

Heat the butter and oil in a large sautee pan over medium high heat. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the sautee pan and cook until they are golden brown, about 2 minutes (resist the urge to move them as they will stick).  Turn the chicken over and cook on the second side for about 3 minutes longer, or until the juices run clear when poked with a knife. Remove the chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm.

In the same pan, make the mustard sauce. Keep the heat on medium high and add the onion. Cook for about 2 minutes until slightly softened, then add the wine. Scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pan, and raise the heat to high to bring the wine to a simmer. Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes or until there is about 2 tbsp. of liquid left in the pan. Add the chicken stock and simmer until reduced by half. Stir in the heavy cream, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp. of pepper,  and bring to a simmer. Let the sauce simmer until the sauce coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes. Shut off the heat and stir in the mustards. Return the chicken to the pan and allow them to heat through before serving. Be generous with the sauce when serving! Yum! :o)

Adapted from The Williams Sonoma Cookbook and Smitten Kitchen

Corned Beef Hash

Every St. Patrick's Day we always have a big batch of corned beef and cabbage. My mom always seemed to find the largest corned beef in the existence of man, despite the fact that there were only 4 mouths to feed. This left us with piles of leftover, delicious, salty corned beef to eat for the entire following week. I'm not complaining.  When I met Andy, he introduced me to the world of corned beef hash. I love corned beef, I love crispy hash browns ("home fries" as we call them back home), so naturally I love the combination of the two together. Andy is the self-proclaimed corned beef hash king, and he makes it for me every year after St. Patrick's Day (it works wonders). This is a simple, delicious, hearty breakfast and I hope you enjoy :o)

Corned Beef Hash

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients

1 tsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. butter

1 russet potato, peeled and diced into small cubes

1/2 small onion, diced

1 cup corned beef, diced into small cubes

salt and pepper to taste

2 sunny side up eggs*, for serving on top

Directions:

Heat the oil and butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the potatoes and onion and cook until the potatoes begin to turn light brown and soften a bit. Add the corned beef, salt and pepper. At this point you need a little patience. Spread out the hash as much as you can in the skillet and press it down using the back of a spatula. The goal is to increase surface area contact so the potatoes begin to crisp up, but don't push so hard that everything turns to mush. Allow the hash to sit and cook, untouched, for about 3 minutes, then flip parts of it over, press, and repeat. Continue flipping, pressing, and leaving alone for about 10-15 minutes or until the hash is brown and crispy, and the potatoes are cooked all the way through. Divide hash into two servings and top each with a sunny side up egg. Yum!

* I had a moment of enlightenment when watching the Food Network last week. Ree, the Pioneer Woman, made perfect sunny side up eggs for a breakfast, and they are so simple. When I say perfect, I mean that I swear these eggs were those plastic ones I used to have in my make-believe-kitchen as a kid. Perfect. These totally beat my always inevitably overcooked attempts at fried eggs. Try her recipe, it rocks!

Reuben Sandwiches

I always forget how much I enjoy Reubens until I have one after a long hiatus. When given sandwich options, I'm much more likely to go with a grilled chicken or deli turkey breast concoction, but when St. Patrick's Day rolls around, the Reuben is the only way to go.  Layers of corned beef, sauerkraut, Russian (or Thousand Island) dressing, and melted Swiss cheese get grilled together on some buttered Rye bread to make a perfectly balanced, albeit not-that-healthy, sandwich. I have eaten several versions of this sandwich over the years, but when I decided to make my own it only made sense to combine the parts that I like best to make my ideal Reuben. I am not claiming that this is authentic, however I am certain that these are delicious! When researching the dressing in this sandwich, most sources claimed that Russian was the way to go, however I prefer Thousand Island and I had the ingredients on hand for it so that's what I went with. The two dressings taste very similar to me, so use what you have. Enjoy! :o)

Reuben Sandwiches

Makes 2 Sandwiches

Ingredients

4 slices bread (Rye is traditional, but I'm not a fan so I used whole wheat)

2 Tbsp. butter, softened

Thousand Island dressing (see recipe below)

4 slices Swiss cheese

1 (8 oz.) can sauerkraut, drained

4 oz. corned beef (available at the deli), warmed slightly

Directions

In a small skillet over medium low heat, cook the sauerkraut until warmed through. Set aside.

Spread some butter on one side of each piece of bread. With the buttered sides down, assemble the sandwiches. Spread a tablespoon or so of Thousand Island dressing on each slice of bread. Start layering with half of the corned beef, then one slice of cheese, the warmed sauerkraut, then finally one more slice of cheese. Top with the other piece of bread, buttered side out, and press slightly. Heat a non-stick skillet (I used a panini press) and toast the sandwiches, pressing gently, until golden brown on each side. Slice and serve with extra dressing, if desired. Yum!

Thousand Island Dressing 

Makes about 1/2 cup

Ingredients

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp. ketchup

1 tbsp. white vinegar

2 tsp. sweet pickle relish (or chop pickles that you have on hand)

2 tsp. white onion, grated or minced

1/8 tsp. salt

black pepper to taste

Directions

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate until using.

source: adapted from Make it From Scratch

Sausage, Kale, and White Bean Soup

Wow, what an incredibly easy meal this is! I have seen similar soups to this one while out at restaurants and honestly, I never really paid much attention to them. They seem perfectly fine, but nothing too exciting. Well, I should have paid more attention to them! This soup is very versatile - just use whatever stock, green, sausage, and bean you have on hand. For the sausage use whatever kind you like best - next time I will try making this with hot Italian sausage for a little kick. You could use kale or any other green in this such as spinach, escarole, or beet greens, and for the beans use whatever you have in your pantry! The meaty sausage pairs so well with the creamy canellini beans and fresh kale to make a hearty soup that comes together in minutes, so give this soup a try! Enjoy :o)

Sausage, Kale, and White Bean Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 lb. sausage (casings removed)

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 quart low sodium chicken or beef stock

3 cups (packed) chopped kale

1 can of canellini beans, drained and rinsed

pinch of cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the sausage and use a wooden spoon to crumble it as it browns. Once the sausage is brown, add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the kale, beans, and stock and bring to a boil. Add the cayenne and season to taste with salt and pepper. Allow the soup to simmer for about 5-10 minutes to blend the flavors, then serve. Yum!

Roasted Lemon Herb Chicken

Growing up, my mother frequently made us rosemary chicken for dinner. That's all she called it... rosemary chicken. It was simple, yet oh-so-delicious and fall off the bone tender! She used chicken drumsticks and pan roasted them on the stovetop with oil, butter, and rosemary, and that was pretty much it. No fancy frills, no time-consuming preparation, and best of all it only made one pan dirty! I have been playing around with making roast chickens lately, but they always cost more than just buying one of those pre-roasted chickens at the grocery store so it was hard to justify all that effort for a more-costly end result that wasn't all that much better. I decided it was time to change my plan. Inspired by Mom's rosemary chicken, as well as the frequent sales and great bargains I see on chicken drumsticks and thighs, I decided to roast only dark meat pieces of chicken that would be flavored with rosemary. Feeling the need to put my own "twist" on it (you must be used to that by now, Mom! Nothing personal, it's just how I roll) I decided to add some of my other favorite chicken flavor combinations that I enjoy such as lemon and garlic. I also know that thyme pairs incredibly well with chicken, so I threw that in there too for good measure. To reduce my efforts in the cooking process itself, I decided that roasting the chicken in the oven instead of babysitting it on the stove would be the way for me to go. The end result is supremely flavored chicken that is juicy and tender. If you're looking for a new chicken recipe to add to the rotation, give this one a try. Enjoy! :o)

Roasted Lemon Herb Chicken

Makes 2-4 servings

Ingredients

2-3 pounds of chicken drumsticks or thighs (bone-in, skin on)

zest of 2 lemons

juice of 2 lemons (about 1/3 cup)

4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

3 sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped off (about 1 tbsp.)

1 sprig of rosemary, leaves stripped off (about 1 tbsp.)

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2 tbsp. butter, melted

Directions:

In a large resealable plastic bag, mix together the lemon zest, juice, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and seal the bag, then turn to coat everything in the marinade. Refrigerate and let marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a 13x9 baking pan with parchment paper (I found aluminum foil reacted with the lemon juice in an unpleasant way. If you don't have parchment, just spray the pan well and hope it doesn't stick!). Arrange the chicken in the pan, skin side up, with a little space between each piece if possible. Brush the chicken with the melted butter. Roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour the remaining marinade over the chicken to baste, then continue roasting for about 40 minutes or until the chicken is browned and cooked through.

Let rest for 10 minutes or so before serving. Yum!

Inspired by: Mom :o)