Maryland Dogs

Upstate New York's Hofmann Sausage Company has been around since 1879 but only started expanding their market in 2013. If you haven't heard of them yet, they're still working their way through the Maryland area. They have, however, partnered with University of Maryland Athletics to create a special "Maryland Dog." I didn't think their recipe was Maryland-centric at all (but should probably have cut them some slack since they're not local). In any case, they sent me vouchers for free hot dogs so I could develop my own Maryland Dog.

I found that Harris Teeter sells Hofmann products, but the one at Canton Crossing only had the German Brand Frankfurters. They are made with pork, beef, and veal, and are stuffed in a natural lamb casing. They are smooth-textured with a snappy bite and a nice mild flavor that was absolutely perfect to pair with crab. For what is Maryland cuisine without crab?

My first idea was to top a frank with cold crab dip and a little tomato for color. Mr Minx felt that corn needed to be an essential element in the topping as well, but I didn't want to muddle the crab dip with another ingredient. So we made a crab salad using both tomato and corn. The corn we charred a bit so the topping would have all the colors of the Maryland flag: gold, black, red, and white (from the mayo used to bind the ingredients). We used claw meat, because it has extra crabby flavor and is less expensive than lump, but if you're not on a budget, by all means use lump crab in both recipes.

The cold crab dip on Maryland Dog #1 warmed up nicely when it came in contact with the hot dog, and the creaminess was a nice foil to the snappy casing. The bit of tomato brightened the flavors and added a pop of color to the otherwise pink palette. Maryland Dog #2 was just as tasty but had a lot more texture. I'm not sure which I preferred, but I will say that I very much enjoyed the hot dog itself. We normally buy Nathan's or Hebrew National, both of which have strong garlic and spice flavors that would probably overpower the delicate flavors of crab. The Hofmann dog, however, was nice and mild, and worked beautifully.

Tailgate season may be over, at least here in Maryland, but baseball starts up in a little over 2 months! Time to make a batch of crab dip and put it on a hot dog.

Maryland Dog with Crab Dip

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoons full-fat plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons cocktail sauce
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 scallions, chopped
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
3 ounces crab meat, preferably claw
4 Hofmann German Brand Frankfurters
4 potato rolls
1 small tomato, seeded and diced

Stir together the first 9 ingredients (cream cheese through crab meat) until combined. Chill until ready to use.

Cook frankfurters in your favorite method (boiling, pan frying, microwaving). Place franks into buns. Top with dollops of the crab dip mixture and sprinkle on a row of tomato. Top with a sprinkle of Old Bay, if desired.

Serves 4.

Maryland Dog with Crab Salad

1 ear of corn, with husk and silk removed
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
Dash lemon juice
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
4 ounces crab meat, preferably claw
2 small or one large tomato, seeded and diced
4 Hofmann German Brand Frankfurters
4 potato rolls

Place the corn cob directly over a gas flame or on a grill, turning regularly, until charred in spots. If using a grill, move the corn over indirect heat to finish cooking for 5 minutes. If using a gas stove, microwave the corn for a few minutes until tender. Allow the corn to cool before cutting the kernels off the cob. Set aside.

Stir the Old Bay and lemon juice into the mayonnaise. Fold in the crab meat, the cooled corn, and half the tomato. Taste for seasoning and add a pinch of salt, if desired.

Cook frankfurters in your favorite method (boiling, pan frying, microwaving). Place franks into buns. Top with dollops of the crab salad mixture and sprinkle on a row of tomato. Top with a sprinkle of Old Bay, if desired.

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Phillips Seafood Restaurant

The Minx and I each had dined at the old Phillips location in Harborplace on numerous occasions going back to the restaurant's opening in the 80s and including a couple of times in recent years. Since they moved to Power Plant, however, we've never had the opportunity to check out the new digs. So when they invited us to a media dinner to sample their current menu, we jumped at the chance.

The first thing that struck me as we were escorted to our table was that the decor is more refined than the 80s mall version of a seafood joint that the old Phillips had. Dark wood, plush booths and banquettes, and chandeliers indicate that they want to be taken seriously as a fine dining establishment. The giant sailing ships are a nice touch as well.

We started with drinks and, although it was dinner time, the Minx opted for the Bloody Mary. I chose the Phillips Amber Ale made by Heavy Seas under the Clipper City brand. The Bloody Mary was rather mild without the usual overwhelming flavor of Worcestershire sauce, and only lightly spicy. But there was a bonus skewer of shrimp, olive, pepperoncino, pepperoni, and cheese to nibble on, making the drink somewhat of an amuse bouche. My ale was light and smooth, no doubt brewed to go well with crabs and other seafood.

In ordering, we wanted to try a blend of traditional and newer dishes, so we started with a bowl of the crab vegetable soup. My mom had a few dishes that she made particularly well and crab soup was one of them. This crab soup tasted just like hers, so I was quite pleased. Not too spicy so the flavors of the vegetables and the crab (both in ample quantities) could shine through.

In the new category, we tried the warm tomato pie. I was envisioning some sort of tomato aspic in a pie shell, but this buttery-crusted pie contained chunks of fresh tomato baked just long enough to warm them. The tomatoes are topped with a roasted pepper aioli and dolloped with what the menu called "sherried crab" but was in actuality a cold crab dip, creating a rather nice blend of textures, flavors, and temperatures.

For our entrees, we thought the grilled rockfish with crab imperial was a traditional Baltimore choice. Rather than placing the crab imperial on top of the fish, it was served in a separate mini-skillet. I dolloped the creamy side dish on top of the fish anyway. It just seemed right. The rockfish itself was quite substantial and perfectly cooked. I also appreciated that the crab imperial was not overly mayonnaisy like some preparations I've had. It was nice and creamy with a bit of crust from broiling the top. Although Phillips is all about the seafood, I have to say the vegetable (asparagus and potatoes with the platter, snow peas, baby carrots, red onion, and potatoes with the rockfish) were exceptional. Lightly sauteed, they retained a nice bit of crunch; the potatoes had tender, almost creamy, insides and crisp skins.

The Minx thought we should also try the classic seafood platter featuring salmon, crab cake, and a shrimp skewer. The shrimp had a mild sweetness to them and the salmon was moist and tender. The crab cake on the platter is not jumbo lump crab meat like their Ultimate Crab Cake preparation, but a more traditional style cake with backfin. Still, if I was wandering around the Inner Harbor all afternoon and stopped in to Phillips for a hearty meal, this would really please my soul.

We were too full to order dessert, but our waitress tempted us by bringing over the dessert tray anyway. We eventually acquiesced and ordered a slice of their lemon cream Smith Island cake to go. Made on Smith Island, this variation on the classic is bright and rich at the same time. Thin layers of yellow cake are mortared together with lemon curd and topped with a cream cheese icing. We ate it as a snack just before going to sleep. Not a bad way to end the day.

Phillips Restaurant has weathered the myriad of changes that have occurred in the Inner Harbor over the past 35 years and it has managed to stay up-to-date while honoring the traditional seafood dishes that have made it a Maryland culinary staple. Their current menu of food and libations reflects the trends of today without alienating those who are looking for a crab cake or some raw oysters on the half shell. And despite being a Wednesday in March, the dining room was packed with additional patrons waiting in the lounge, even at 6:30.





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Crab Country Gourmet

It's always tough to come up with the perfect holiday gift. Some folks are easy to buy for, some others are impossible. But I have found that even the most difficult people like food gifts. Everyone needs to eat! And one of the best food gifts a Marylander can give is...the gift of crab. Especially to friends from out-of-town.

Crab Country Gourmet, owned by Tom and John Knorr, will ship crab cakes, crab dip, and crab soup, all made fresh daily in Maryland, to anywhere in the contiguous 48 states. They recently shipped a box of all of the above to us to sample.

Our "dinner for 2" package, which included 2-5oz crab cakes, 10 ounces of crab dip, and 16 ounces of crab soup, arrived packed in dry ice, along with small containers of remoulade sauce and reheating instructions.

Half the crab dip, a classic creamy concoction of cheeses, crab, and seasonings, was scooped into an oven-proof ramekin and topped with a little bit of shredded cheddar before going into the oven. Pita chips were employed as the ramekin-to-mouth vehicle, and when we ran out of those, we used a spoon. Yummy stuff. It was pretty good cold, too, straight out of the package.

We used the remainder of the dip the next day, mixed with some shell pasta, to make a rich crab mac-and-cheese.

Crab Country Gourmet's tasty crab soup is a lighter version than what we're used to, with a mix of still-crisp vegetables and bacon in a tomato-based broth.

The crab cakes were baked for 10 minutes at 450°F, then put under the broiler for another minute, to get them nice and brown on top. The plump 5oz mounds were mostly meat, lightly seasoned, and with very little filler. We found them to be proper crab cakes, moist, yet firm, and full of crabby flavor. These are the same crab cakes you'll find served at the Red Roost in Whitehaven, MD, on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

The Knorr brothers also own Evolution Craft Brewery in Salisbury, and two other restaurants. They should offer a beer-delivery service, too, to wash down all this crabby goodness. ;)

If you'd like to send Crab Country Gourmet products to your kith and kin this holiday season, just head on over to their Web site: http://crabcountrygourmet.com/. Use promo code bmore10 to get 10% off your order.

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Pappas Cockeysville

The Taylor Avenue location of Pappas Restaurant, thought by many to have the best crab cakes in Baltimore, has been a landmark for local diners since 1972. Now they have expanded to a new location in Cockeysville, adding a spacious sports bar to compliment the restaurant offerings. The Minx and I had already visited the new Pappas when it first opened and were quite happy with our experience, so when we were invited to a media tasting of their new menu and cocktails, we didn't have to be asked twice.

We started with some appetizers, including a seafood sampler of mini crab cakes, calamari, scallops, and shrimp. The calamari was tender, which is always important. The crab cakes were delicious; the Minx thought they were even better than their larger counterparts.

We were also served Santa Fe eggrolls, which were not unlike mini chimichangas, and a rich crab dip with lightly fried pita chips. Chef Carlos Zea, who hails from Ecuador, is not afraid of spice. Everything was well seasoned.

One member of our party ordered raw oysters, and seemed pretty pleased with them.

For my entree I chose the salmon dijon. Salmon can be difficult to cook and serve at just the right level of doneness, but my salmon was cooked through without being dry and flaky. The creamy sauce had a pleasant lightness to it thanks to the tangy dijon mustard, and the ample amount of mushrooms brought an earthiness to the dish.

The Minx went for the chicken Chesapeake, which is a chicken breast topped with broiled crab imperial. As with salmon, chicken breast has a danger of becoming overcooked, but the breast was quite tender. Every element on the plate was nicely seasoned, including the green beans. In fact, all the dishes we've had at Pappas show a great deal of care when it comes to seasoning.

Just like their flagship restaurant, Pappas in Cockeysville is a great place for a satisfying lunch or dinner seven days a week, but the new location's sports bar offers a welcome spot for a drink and a light meal. Happy hour starts at 11 am (yes, that's not a typo) and lasts until 7 pm with drafts and rail drinks at $3. They also offer tasty mule drinks for $5 and $2 off wines by the glass. To keep things hopping, there's live music every Wednesday and Friday nights and late night trivia on Tuesday nights starting at 11 pm. Even if you don't have time to hang around, you can always order from the carry out menu.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats.

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