Crab Cake With Dijon Sauce

This dinner is reminiscent of what Mr. J and I had when we went to Christy's restaurant (here in Miami) a few months earlier. I wasn't really interested in ordering an appetizer then, but Mr. J suggested that we get the crab cakes. So I thought, why not? And you know what -- I wished I had the crab cakes for dinner. They were oh soooo good. I think I liked it better than the steak... hahaha.. I just fell in love with their crab cakes and since then, I've vowed to try making my version that I hope would come close to the one we had in that restaurant.

But looking for a good crab cake recipe was a mission. Oh, don't get me wrong, there's ton of recipes out there.. It's just choosing the right one that would get me close to what I had at Christy's proved to be not an easy task. In the end, I had 3 different recipes at hand which I kind of combined to come up with my own version.

I don't know if I even came close to Christy's crab cakes, but this sure was delish. I got a thumbs up from the hubs -- which was all I needed for my efforts to be worthwhile!

Crab Cakes
1 lb crab meat, picked free of shells
1/3 cup panko (japanese breadcrumbs), plus more for dredging
1-1/2 tbsp Emeril's Essence or Old Bay Seasoning
3 tbsp c finely chopped onions
1 stalk scallion (green and white parts only), finely chopped
1/4 cup pimiento
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tbsp butter
Olive oil, for sauteeing

1. In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients except the crab meat, butter and olive oil.
2. When thoroughly mixed, add the crab met. Mix together gently, being careful not to break apart the lumps too much.
3. Using hands, shape the mixture into patties.
4. Place patties in a wax paper lined plate.
5. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes (or longer).
6. Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
7. Take out crab cakes from fridge and dredge patties with panko.
8. When oil is hot, gently pace crab cakes, in batches, in pan and fry till golden brown, about 4-5 minutes on one side.
9. Carefully flip crab cakes and fry on the other side until golden brown, about 4 minutes.
10. Serve with Dijon sauce (recipe follows)

Dijon Sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small shallot, minced
1 small garlic clove, minced
pinch of kosher salt
pepper to taste
1 cup white wine
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp butter

1. Saute shallot and garlic in vegetable oil over medium heat, till shallot is transluscent.
2. Add wine to deglaze pan. Reduce liquid for 30 sec to 1 minute, or till wine is half its original amount.
3. Add mustard, salt and pepper. Bring to boil.
4. Remove from heat. Add butter. Stir. Serve with crab cakes.

Pan Seared Tilapia With Citrus Vinaigrette

I enjoy watching reality TV shows, especially those that have something to do with cooking. I love learning and experiencing vicariously through the contestants on the show. It is interesting to see how they handle the challenges that are being hurled their way.

One of these shows is the famed Top Chef on Bravo Network. They have what they call the quick fire challenges (minor challenges to test their individual skills) where the winner gets the immunity from elimination for the next major (teamwork) challenge. One of the quickfire challenges that they had was to come up with a dish using just 7 ingredients (if I'm not mistaken), excluding oil, salt, pepper and sugar.

Well, our dinner tonight reminds me of that challenge. This dish only requires a total of 6 ingredients... yes, 6 ingredients, not counting the salt, pepper and oil. And what more, it only takes about 30 minutes to prepare.

I have learned all these years that the best dishes are prepared simply. The flavors of this dish do not disappoint, and I am sure you're going to enjoy this - if you like fish, that is.

I served the fish with a plain couscous and steamed broccoli with lemon.

Pan Seared Tilapia With Citrus Vinaigrette
(from Cooking Light)
cooking spray
4 (6-oz) tilapia fillets
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/2 cup white wine
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

1. Heat a non-stick skilet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray.
2. Sprinkle fish evenly with 1/4 salt and 1/4 pepper.
3. Add fillets to pan. Cook for 4 minutes per side or until fish flakes easily.
4. Remove from pan. Keep warm. (Repeat procedure if you're cooking in two batches)
5. Add white wine to pan. Cook 30 seconds or until liquid almost evaporates.
6. Add shallots and remaining ingredients, stirring well with a whisk.
7. Stir in remaining salt and pepper; saute 1 minute or until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently.
8. Top each serving of fillet with about 3 tbsp of sauce.

NOTE: This dish actually calls for sherry vinegar. So if you have it, I'd recommend you use it instead.

Plain Couscous
1 cup couscous
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp butter

1. Bring the chicken broth to a boil.
2. Add the butter, followed by the couscous.
3. Turn off heat. Cover. Let stand for 5 minutes.
4. Fluff couscous with fork and serve.

Oh No, Rice Again!

Hey guys...It's mystery chef here, and as it turns out, I found yet another recipe for the rice that I made a few days ago. This time I was inspired to make breakfast for my wife, but for lunch. The ingredients are as follows:

3 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 diced onion
1/4 diced red pepper
1 clove garlic, diced
1/2 cup spanish rice leftovers
2 eggs scrambled
1/4 cup italian blend cheese
1/4 cup salsa
sea salt and ground black pepper (to taste)
1 cup leftover diced grilled churrasco steak (oops thats another recipe...lol)

First, saute the onions an peppers in olive oil, salt and pepper, Then, add the spanish rice, leftover steak and diced garlic continuing to stir heating the mixture thoughly. When ready, add your scrambled eggs into the mixture and fold until it is cooked. Remove from pan and plate, adding dollop of salsa, a few shakes of Tobasco, and your cheese topping and enjoy! Yet another use for rice!

Taste & Create IX: Black Bottom Cupcakes

This month I have managed to participate in a food blogging event , Taste and Create. It is my very first time to do so and I am very excited. And, I'm honored to be partnered with Grace of A Southern Grace. She's a prolific blogger and her site is a veritable source of good recipes.

It didn't take me long to decide which of her recipes I should do.. I'm a sucker for sweets and her Bewitching Black Bottom Cupcakes cast its spell on me. Not to mention the fact that she attested to this recipe as something that's been tried, tested and true. I really hoped that I'd do justice to this recipe.

But leave it up to me to mess up an established recipe, lol! I ended up baking the cupcakes two times -- for good reason. I was watching American Idol while baking... bad idea! When the cupcakes came out of the oven, I thought it didn't look anywhere like Grace's. Why???!!!! I followed the recipe, or so I thought. They were very fudgy and obviously, they haven't risen at all... and then it hit me.. I forgot the baking soda! Duh! But hey, they may not look like a million, but they sure tasted good. I used German Black Forest Truffle chocolate and the flavor came out really well.

So the next day, I decided I will bake again, but this time, I thought of using Scharfen Berger organic dark chocolate. Unfortunately, there were things in the recipe that I had to change up because I was left with no choice. First, I used the 1/3-less fat cream cheese because this was what I had left in the fridge. I honestly thought I still had a bar of the regular cream cheese, but found out I had none. Second, I didn't have enough of the regular cocoa powder left (which I thought was plenty). The only thing I have available in my cupboard was the dark dutch processed cocoa powder and so I added 2 tbsps of that out of the 5 tbsp that's called for in the recipe. And thirdly - this was totally my choice - I used cake flour instead of the all purpose flour. I wanted the cupcakes to be more cakey and I thought cake flour just might do it.

I felt like I was experimenting with the recipe. I had my fingers crossed the entire baking time, hoping that the cupcakes would come out ok, or at least better than the first batch.... and.. tadaaaahhhh....

They're still not as pretty as Grace's but it certainly looks much better than the first batch I baked. They've risen a bit, but I don't know why they've sunk in the middle. But all that aside, the cupcake looks truly bewitching.. mouthwatering... They're definitely cakier but not as sweet as the first batch I made because of the double dose of dark chocolate in it. It's perfect for coffee or maybe a little bit of vanilla icecream on the side?

And that, my friends, is my very first experience of Taste and Create. Thank you Grace for a beautiful recipe. I learned a valuable lesson - TIVO American Idol when baking!!!!

Hi-jacking the Foodie Blog!

Thats right, I'm hijacking the Foodie Blog...hahaha.

This week there's a guest blogger in the house. Hmmmmm, who could it be?
Me, of course...Well my name is Joe and I am the husband of the best-lookin' filipina chef. Since I'm on vacation for a few weeks, I will be relieving her from most of her cooking & blogging responsibilities. Before you shriek at the thought of me in the kitchen, I will have you know that I do have about 15 years experience in most aspects of the restaurant business, with many of those years spent cooking and preparing tons of food.

Anyway, (((sinister laugh))) I get to finally be creative in the kitchen and blog about it here! F.Y.I., I know this may seem hard to believe, but my wife and I have been married now for 6 years this month (Apr.20) and she has never stopped to complain about cooking for me. She faithfully prepares my breakfast, lunch, and dinner and takes great pride and is joyful when I give her the thumbs-up on her culinary creations. (Very few thumbs-down, btw). Just so you know, I do cook sometimes, and try to help her out as much as possible around the house to show my appreciation for her taking care of me, so be kind to me, please, in your comments, LOL.

Her previous cooking experience was cooking her own native filipino dishes, under the direction of her mother. Since we got married, Jescel's culinary skills have grown immensely by cooking for me and our friends, watching the food network, and catching the food-bug as we get together for dinner with others and asking lots of "How did you do that?" type questions. You go girl!

She has learned so much and is so passionate about food now... How could my stomach ever refuse to let her cook??? Just having Food Network on in the house is a blessing, because we can eat more than just rice! Yehey!

Some co-workers have told me, "Oh wait a year and she'll stop cooking for you" or "You keep eating like that and youre going to get fat". Most of the time my wife prepares food that is not diet oriented, but is substantially healthier than what I could get elsewhere. To see guys drool every morning at what my wife made for me is its own sweet reward --LOL. I know she doesn't hear this nearly enough from me, but "Thank you for taking great care of me... I love you!"

This week I made my own creation, inspired by spanish rice that is good enough to eat as a light lunch, or the next day as the stuffing for a vegetarian, southwest style burrito -MMMMMM..

MMMMM.....

Spanish-Style Rice Ala-Joe
(serves 4 people)

2 cups cooked jasmine rice
3 cups water
pinch of salt
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 med onion, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
dash of salt & pepper
2-3 cloves garlic
1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz)
1/2 c tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
splash of Merlot wine
1 can red kidney beans (15 oz)
handful of yellow corn kernels
dollop of lite sour cream

1. Bring to a boil the water, add a pinch of salt; add in the jasmine rice, stir and then reduce to simmer for 20 mins.
2. In the meantime , heat olive oil in the pan and saute onions, green pepper until soft. Add a dash of salt and pepper, and then add the garlic. Saute for 1-2 mins, followed by the diced tomatoes and tomato paste to thicken the sauce. Stir until completely incorporated.
3. Then add a pinch of red-pepper flakes for heat,some sea-salt and fresh-gound black pepper to taste, dried oregano and a splash of merlot. Simmer for several minutes more, then remove from heat.
4. Once the rice has cooked, add this to the sauce and mixed it all together. Let mixture cool for a few minutes, then add the red kidney beans (for protein), some yellow corn (for crunch), and voila! It is now ready to serve.

My wife was a little late coming home for lunch, so I began plating and served this with a dollop of lite sour cream and that's all. It made for a very light and nutritious lunch. I knew my wife would like it simply because it had rice (that Asian thing, you know :OP ).

But wait, thats not all. Like I ALWAYS tell my wife, most things that are mixed together like soups, sauces, gravies, etc... are so much better the next day! So, I took my day old, nuevo spanish rice cuisine, and upgraded it for lunch today. I took the leftovers from the 'fridge and scooped enough for the two of us, mixed in

2 tablespoons sour cream,
some smoky paprika,
couple dashes of green tabasco sauce

and heated that up and used that as filling for a sun-dried tomato(flour)-wrap burrito laced with italian-blend of cheese melted on the inside as well as the outside. It was very filling as my wife was unable to eat it all.

Maybe it was the breakfast I made for her that filled her up? This dish was really simple to make and is flexible enough to be used a few different ways on a few different days.

Let us know what you think, ok...and if you've found any different uses for this, too.


Until Later, The Mystery Chef :o)

Flank Steak With Five Spice Rub & Chile Relish

One of the challenges of cooking in the middle of the week is making something that is simple, quick and yet packs a lot of flavor. And for us, grilling - steak in particular - is the way to go.

My hubby's most favorite cut of steak is rib-eye, but this time, I ventured into something that we don't usually do - flank steak. I was aware that doing this particular cut would be a challenge as this cut yields a tougher meat, but I really wanted to get acquainted with this part of the cow...hahaha.

My inspiration came, once again from Cooking Light magazine. I was intrigued by the chile relish and so I decided to try this recipe. And we were not disappointed. The flavors of this dish are so good. Though if you ask me, I'd rather use the skirt steak (churrasco) than the flank...there I said it... I am now convinced that flank is better used for stewing/braising, but not for grilling.

So if you try this recipe (which I hope you would), get the skirt steak. This dish is very good - simple enough for a weeknight dinner but yet, very tasty that you can even entertain with it.

Steak
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp five-spice powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 (2-lb) flank steak, trimmed
cooking spray

1. Prepare grill
2. To prepare steak, combine sugar and next 4 ingredients (thru ginger) in a small bowl. Sprinkle steak with sugar mixture.
3. Place steak on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 6 mins. on each side or until desired degree of doneness.
4. Cut steak across grain into thin slices.
5. Serve with relish and toasted pita.

Relish
2 poblano chiles
1 orange bell-pepper
1-1/2 tbsp chopped dry-roasted peanuts
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp seasoned rice wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

1. Pre-heat broiler.
2. To prepare relish, cut chiles and bell pepper in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes.
3. Place halves, skin side up, on a foil-lined baking sheet, flatten with hand.
4. Broil 15 mins or until blackened.
5. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand for 15 mins.
6. Peel and chop.
7. Combine chiles, bell pepper and next 6 ingredients (thru garlic) in a small bowl; toss well. Set aside till steak is ready. Serve with steak.

Southwest Style Shrimp

If you look through my food in this blog, there would be one thing that you'll notice - the recipes are no-fuss ones that are quick to make.

Well, this one is not an exception. This whole dinner will take you no more than 30 minutes to prepare, provided that your shrimps have already been shelled and deveined.

This recipe takes on a southwest inspiration. It calls for chili powder. If you're not into spicy food, I suggest that you go easy on this spice. However, I guarantee you that despite the amount of chili powder required in this dish, it is not as spicy as you would expect it to be. And, the black bean and corn salad also balances the heat pretty well.

You may serve this with toasted pita wedges as I did. Or I'd imagine that yellow rice would go well with this too.

Black Bean, Corn & Shrimp Salad
(Yields 4 servings)
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1-1/2 lb med shrimp, peeled and deveined
Cooking spray
2 tbsp fresh lime juice, divided
1-2/2 c frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
1/4 c bottled salsa
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15-oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat
2. Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Add shrimp, toss to coat.
3. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shrimp, saute 3 minutes or until done. Add 1 tbsp lime juice. Remove shrimp from pan. Add corn to pan, saute 1 minute. Stir in salsa, cilantro, and beans, cook 30 seconds or unti thoroughly heated.
4. Stir in 1 tbsp lime juice.
5. Serve shrimp over bean mixture.