Crab cakes w/tostones and spicy remoulade

This recipe came to me while I was shopping for groceries. I love crab cakes, but I don't love that they often come with salad or alone. Why not serve mini crab cakes on top of a tostone? Aha moment!

Crab cakes
2-3 cans lump crab meat. (Bumblebee sells this, $15 for four cans at Costco)
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup minced green pepper (optional)
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cub regular bread crumbs
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon scotch bonnet pepper. (optional, if you don't have it, use a good hot sauce)
1/2 cup mayo
chopped chives (for garnish)
1 kirby--thinly sliced

Tostones
2 green plantins

Spicy remoulade
2 teaspoons Sri Ratcha spicy hot sauce
pinch of garlic
1/2 cup mayo

Step 1
Drain the crab, then place into a large bowl. Flake with a fork until pieces are throughly seperated.
Add the onion, followed by the green pepper if using, dry mustard, mayo, scotch bonnet, and bread crumbs. Mix together until well incorporated and a little pasty. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 2
In a small bowl, mix the mayo, garlic and sri ratcha together. Adjust according to the level of spiciness you want.

Step 3
Peel the plantins then slice into 2 inch rounds. Set aside.
In a large skillet, add 1 cup of vegetable oil. When oil is thoroughly heated, add the plantins. Fry until cooked through, then remove from the heat.
Next, on a cutting board, use a small plate or the bottom of a small bowl to flatten the plantins. Add them back to the oil until they are crisp and brown. Remove, drain on paper towels then lightly salt.

Step 4
Roll the crab cakes into medium-sized meatballs, then flatten with your hands before cooking. Fry until light brown on both sides. Remove from heat, then drain on paper towels.

Step 5
Line the tostones on a flat serving platter or plate. Add a dollop of the remoulade, then a slice of kirby followed by another dollop of remoulade and a crab cake. Garnish the top of the crab cake with a final dollop of remoulade and the chives. Serve.

 

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

I made this recently for a brunch, and it was a hit. Basic recipe, but with a little twist.

1 1/2 pounds of medium-sized cooked shrimp.
(Uncooked shrimp has a nicer texture, but used cooked if you want to cut a corner)

2 ripe Haas Avocados, cubed

1/4 red onion, minced

handful of parsely, chopped.

3 rome tomatoes, choped (juice and seeds removed)

Lime-honey vinagrette
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fresh minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
2 teaspoons of honey
Juice of one lime plus zest
salt and pepper to taste

Step 1
Make the vinagrette. In a medium sized bowl, pour the olive oil followed by the garlic, and ginger. Next, add the honey and lime juice, then whisk together until it emulsifies. Add the salt and pepper plus the zest. Set aside.

Step 2
In another medium bowl, add the shrimp, onion and tomato. Pour the vinagrette over the shrimp.

Step 3
Add the avocado and toss lightly.Serve at room temp or slightly chilled.

HomeGirl Essentials: Spices, Condiments and Pantry Staples

Ok, I hope my husband doesn't read this post because I'm going to do something rare and give him credit for something. I have a nice kitchen, that he largely designed. We get beautiful, warm sunlight during the day, and it's spacious enough so that we can all be in it and not feel like we're on top of each other. One of my favorite things about my kitchen is the pantry. I keep all kinds of stuff in it--and a lot of stuff I rarely use, but it's an entire closet dedicated to my arsenal of food stuffs. And it's great. And, it was my husband's idea, so, take a bow, Boo.

Anyway, I often tell my girlfriends that they only need a couple spices to make some great meals.
But, no one believes me. Really, I'm serious. So, first things first: Mrs. McCormick's and Lawry's should be banned from HomeGirl kitchens. They make your food too salty and they usually sit on supermarket shelves forever and they're rarely fresh. Instead, invest in some Kosher salt, some good pepper and a couple of essential spices. My list is below.

Also, and don't roll your eyes, I grow herbs. Every summer I plant basil, cilantro (which always dies, oh well), parsley, thyme, and rosemary. Rosemary, if tended to, will not die. We bought a rosemary bush and I've been using it for three years all year round. The long and short of it is this: fresh herbs enhance the flavor and look of your meals. They're also relatively easy to grow--you don't need anything special, outside of a stoop, or windowsill, a pot and some water...and most of us have that in New York City.

Condiments oh condiments. I have to admit that I love buying them. I've bought some that I rarely use--like that lemongrass paste that I know I'm going to find a real use for one of these days. I do think that most condiments can be made at home, but I don't want to make real mayo. Hellman's is perfect. You really only need about five to do what you gotta do in the kitchen: ketchup, BBQ sauce, spicy mustard, mayo and SriRatcha.

HomeGirl Pantry Staples (More to come, I'm always discovering must-haves.)

Kosher salt
Sea Salt
Pepper
Curry powder (I use Caribbean style curry powder, so it's usually a deep gold color)
Garlic powder
Chili flakes
Adobo (don't gasp)
Ground sage
Ground cinnamon
Ground Nutmeg
Anise
Whole cloves
Ground cumin
Ground corriander
Dried Basil
Dried Oregano
Mustard powder
Ground Ginger
Tumeric

Condiments
Hellman's Mayonaise
Grey Poupon or some other kind of spicy mustard
SriRatcha
Balsamic Vinegar (not really a condiment, but still...)
Heinz Ketchup
BBQ sauce
Honey
Olive Oil
Vegetable Oil

Shrimp with orange vinagrette

I usually serve shrimp at parties because my husband is allergic to them and I don't like eating them alone. You can do a couple variations on this recipe, but here's the one I keep coming back to.

Ingredients
1 bag of extra large or jumbo cooked shrimp, tails off. If frozen, let thaw or soak in cold water until softened. (Good ol' Costco has several sizes that are reasonably priced, and Trader Joes has a nice variety too.)
1 orange pepper, juliened
1 handful of coarsely chopped cilantro
A bit of chopped chives
Salt and pepper to taste

Vinagrette
Juice of an entire navel orange (or a very ripe tangelo or tangerine) including some zest
1 heaping spoon of Hellman's mayo
1 large clove of garlic, minced until a little pasty
Oil olive--enough to emulsify the vinagrette--I'm not sure how I measure it
1 teaspoon of chilli garlic sauce--the same guys that make Sri Ratcha
1 teapsooon of honey

Step 1
Rinse the shrimp, pat dry with paper towels, then lightly salt and pepper. Set aside in a medium bowl.

Step 2
Make the vinagrette.
Combine the juice of the orange with the garlic, then add the olive oil and beat with a whisk until it emulsifies. Next, whisk in the mayo, followed by the garlic sauce, the honey and the orange zest.

The vinagrette should be a little loose--you do not want it to taste heavily of mayo--just lightly so, use your judgement on how much mayo to use. If you're using extra large shrimp, then you'll need the heaping spoon. If you're using a small bag, use a little less mayo.

Step 3
Toss the shrimp with the vinagrette until it's fully coated. Then add the cilantro, the orange pepper, and the chives. Add a bit of pepper. Add more salt if needed.

Step 4
Let the shrimp chill in the serving dish that you plan to serve it in for about an hour. The longer you let it sit, the more the flavors will sink into the shrimp. Serve at room temperature.

Bacon wrapped dates w/almonds

My husband and I went to a Spanish tapas place in Fort Greene for the first time a couple years ago, and we ordered these little ditties. Can we say YUM?

My love of bacon is well-known among my friends, but bacon wrapped around a sweet, chewy date? And, w/an almond inside? LOVE.

I always try to figure out how to make things at home, and this is a REALLY simple appetizer that you can serve when you're entertaining to get those tastebuds flowing.

Ingredients
1 package of pitted dates. (Ok, all dates are not created equal. I usually buy a large bag from Costco, but recently I went to Trader Joe's and got some 'Fancy Medjool Dates'. BIG difference. Medjool dates are bigger and juicier. Go with what you got if you can't get these.)

1 package of bacon. (Thick not recommended because you'll need more of it to wrap the dates)

1 cup of whole almonds.

Step 1
Preheat your oven at 350.

Step 2
Cut the bacon into 3 inch strips. Set aside.

Step 3
Stuff about 25-30 dates with an almond. Place in a large bowl.

Step 4
Wrap a strip of bacon around each date, and place on a large cookie sheet where the folds meet.

Step 5
Place cookie sheet inside the oven, bake for about 20 minutes, or until the bacon is browned and you begin to drool.

Step 6
Enjoy! These are great hot, but you might want to let them cool down a bit before you dig in.