Crabby Cake With Remoulade Sauce

Ingredients

Crab Cake:
1 pound fresh crab meat
¼ cup celery, finely diced
¼ cup green onion (white & light green part only), finely diced
1T parsley, finely chopped
1tsp. mustard, creole or whole grain
1tsp. lemon zest
2T lemon juice
1cup fresh breadcrumbs
Salt & pepper
2 eggs
½ cup olive oil

Remoulade:
1¼ cup mayonnaise (store bought or homemade see below)
¼ cup mustard, creole or whole grain
2T prepared horseradish
1T paprika
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cayenne
¼ tsp. black pepper
1tsp. lemon zest
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup green onions, (white & light green part only), finely chopped
¼ cup celery, finely chopped
¼ cup Cornichon pickles finely chopped
Salt & pepper

1. In a large bowl, add the crab, with your fingers break it up into pieces and check for any shells.

2. Add the celery, parsley, onions, mustard, lemon zest, juice and breadcrumbs. Carefully toss to keep the crab in nice-size pieces. Season with 1 tsp. salt and 4-5 grinds of pepper.

3. In a small bowl beat the eggs then add to crab and mix until well combined.

4. Place in refrigerator for 20 minutes, (no longer that 2hrs or it will get to soggy) Remove the crab mixture from the fridge. Place about a tablespoon of mixture in your hand and shape into ball. Place on tray, or mat. Repeat with remaining crab mixture.

5. In a medium sauté pan, over medium heat add half the oil, allow it to heat up then place several crab balls into the pan (don’t overcrowd) Pat them down slightly into cakes. Cook the crab cakes 2-3 minutes on each side, until lightly brown. Remove from pan and place on tray. If necessary add the remaining oil and sauté the remaining cakes. Set aside

6. Remoulade Sauce: In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix until combined, then season with salt and pepper.

7. Serve crab cakes warm or cold with sauce.

Mayonnaise

3 egg yolks
2tsp. Dijon mustard
1T vinegar
1 tsp. salt & pepper
1½-cup oil

1. In the bowl of food processor, combine the egg yolks, mustard, vinegar, salt & pepper. Pulse until combined. With motor running slowly, add a few drops of the oil then in a steady stream, add the remaining until the mixture becomes emulsified.

Tips & Tricks

• Crab cakes can be completely made and fried the day ahead. Allow to cool completely then cover and refrigerate. Right before serving, place the crab cakes on a rack on a baking sheet into a 425° oven for 5 minutes to reheat. Serve warm with sauce.

• These crab cakes are, of course, perfect as an appetizer with cocktails. Or as a first course, place 2-3 cakes on a plate or you can make 1 larger crab cake per person. Just increase the cooking time to 4-5 minutes a side.

• These cakes also make great picnic food or on top of a salad.

Shrimp & Okra Gumbo

Ingredients

3/4 cup oil, split into ¼ and ½ cup containers
1 pound okra, frozen, sliced or fresh
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 can 28oz. diced tomatoes
2 cups celery, medium diced
2 cups onion, medium diced
2 cups green pepper, medium diced
1 pound Andouille sausage, sliced or diced
½ tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. cayenne
2 bay leaves
8 cups water or vegetable stock
1 8oz. bottle clam juice
salt & pepper
2lbs. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups white rice, cooked
hot sauce and file powder

1. In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat ¼ cup of oil, and then add the okra. Cook the okra, stirring often, until most of the slime has disappeared, about 10-15 minutes. Set aside.

2. In a heavy soup pot on medium heat, add ½ cup oil, then add the flour and stir until combined, making a roux. Continue cooking and stirring until the roux turns the color of caramel/tan, about 10-15 minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes, celery, onions, pepper, sausage, thyme, cayenne, and bay leaves, and cook 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

4. Add the stock (or water), clam juice and okra. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Add the shrimp and cook 5 minutes more.

6. Serve over rice, with hot sauce and filé powder.

Tips & Tricks

• You can prepare the gumbo base up to step #4 two days and place in fridge. Then reheat and add shrimp before serving.

• The base can be frozen for 3 months. When ready to use defrost and bring to a boils then add shrimp right before serving.

• You can serve a small serving of gumbo as a starter or a big bowl as a main dish.

• As with all stews, it get better as it sits. It is great as left overs.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Ingredients

1 baguette
1T butter room temperature
4 cups milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
¾ cups granulated sugar
¼ tsp. salt
16 oz. dark chocolate, (60-70 % cacao) chopped
6 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
Powdered sugar for dusting

1. Cut the bread into ½ inch cubes (8cups) and place on a baking sheet and allow it to sit out on counter and dry out overnight or place the sheet pan in a 325° F oven for 10-15 minutes to dry them out.

2. Take the tablespoon of butter and a paper towel and butter the bottom and sided of an 8x11-baking dish. Set aside.

3. In a saucepan over medium heat, add the milk, heavy cream, sugar, and salt. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and the milk is warmed through about 4- 6 minutes.

4. Turn off the heat and add the chocolate. Let sit until chocolate has melted, about 3-5minutes. Stir until well blended.

5. In a large bowl, add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Add a small amount of the warm chocolate mixture to the eggs and stir until the egg mixture is tempered, then add the rest of the chocolate mixture. Stir until combined. Add the bread pieces.

6. Place a plate on top of the bread to keep it submerged

7. Let the pudding mixture sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Pre-heat the oven to 325º F.

8. Put a kettle or saucepan of water on high heat and bring to a boil.

9. Place the baking pan into a roasting pan. Pour the pudding mixture into the buttered baking dish.

10. Place the roasting pan on the middle rack of your 325º F. oven, carefully fill the roasting pan with the boiling water so that is come ½ way up the side of the pudding dish.

11. Bake for 45-50 minutes until edges are set but center is slightly loose.

12. Remove from oven careful remove pudding from water bath and place on cooling rack and cool for 20 minutes.

13. Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately

Tips & Tricks

• This recipe is perfect for using old dried out bread. You can use any type you have: French, Italian, challah, and even leftover biscuits. Just cut it into cubes, measure out 8 cups, and allow it to dry out.

• When selecting chocolate look for the percentage of cacao in the chocolate. It should be marked right on the front package. The higher the percentage of cacao in the chocolate, the more intense the chocolate flavor and less sugar.