Re-Eating Vacation: Crabby Dinner

Tonight’s dinner is focused on crab.  We so enjoyed our meals in North East, MD, that we decided to do a Chesapeake Bay Crab Soup and a Chesapeake Bay Crab Cake dinner.

Chesapeake Bay Crab Soup

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups beef (vegetable) broth
• 3 cups diced potatoes (I used snow peas)
• 3 cups diced tomatoes
• 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
• 1 lb Crab Meat
• 2 TBS chopped parsley

Saute carrot and onion in the oil in a large stock pot.  Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the broth, potatoes (or snow peas), tomatoes, and seasoning.  Simmer about 15 – 20 minutes. Add the crabmeat and parsley and heat through.

Chesapeake Crab Cakes

• 1 lb crab meat
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1/4 cup diced red pepper
• 3 cups fresh bread crumbs (I used panko)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used yogurt)
• 1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
• 1 TBS dijon mustard
• 1 egg slightly beaten
• 1/2 cup tarragon
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 TBS olive oil

Drain crab meat if it isn’t fresh.  Combine crab, onion, pepper and 1/2 cup of bread crumbs in bowl. 

Beat mayonnaise (yogurt), cream cheese, mustard, egg, tarragon, pepper, salt together.  Combine the cream cheese mix with the crab meat and chill for 30 minutes.

Place remaining crumbs in a bowl.  Drop spoonfuls of the chilled crab meat mix into the crumbs to coat.  Form loose patties or balls.  Either preheat oven to 400, coat a baking pan with oil and put crab patties on pan, drizzle with oil and bake 20 minutes OR… preheat a skillet with oil and carefully add crab cakes. Cook to golden.  Serves 6.

Dessert:

Lemon Curd Pastry with Berries

• 1 sheet puff pastry (1/2 package)
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 tsp water
• granulated sugar
• 5 oz lemon curd
• 5 oz plain, greek style yogurt
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 2 to 3  cups berries
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1 TBS honey

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Unroll pastry and roll to a 15 x 10 approx. sheet (roll between floured wax paper).  Cut the edges off, about 3/4 inch from each side.  Place the rectangle on an ungreased baking sheet.  Mix the egg with the water and brush the rectangle.  Place the cut strips along each outer side of the rectangle to form an edge. Brush with egg-water mixture.  Sprinkle sugar in the middle. Poke holes in the middle of the rectangle with a fork.  Bake 20 minutes.  Remove and let cool.

Mix the lemon curd, yogurt, ginger and almond extract.  Spread on top of the cooled pastry.  Chill.

When ready to serve, top with the berries and almonds and drizzle on the honey.

 

Enjoy your dinner!

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Easy One Dish Cookie Bars

These bars have been around for years.  You vary the ingredients according to likes and dislikes but the best feature about this recipe is the lack of clean up.  You put all your ingredients together in your baking pan and only worry about the washing up after removing the bars from the pan. 

Sweet and yummy….

Easy One Dish Cookie Bars

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk * Don’t mix this up with EVAPORATED…that won’t work
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 12  to 16 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  

While it is heating, slice the butter into 1 TBS segments and scatter about a 13 x 9 x 2 baking pan.

 Put the sliced butter in the oven while it preheats. Check on it in 3 to 4 minutes because you only want the butter to melt – not bubble.

Melted butter from the oven

Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs on top of the melted butter.

Pour the sweetened condensed milk on top of the crumbs

Sprinkle the coconut on top of the sweetened condensed milk

Sprinkle the semi sweet chips on top of the coconut

Now press down all the ingredients in the pan. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes. Allow to cool.  Cut into 36 squares.

The only direction left is to eat and enjoy!

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