Corn Crab Cakes

Wee miniature crab cakes.

As I mentioned the other day, we had plenty of crab meat left over from Mr Minx's birthday crabs. Some of it went into a crab salad eaten with nectarine soup, and the rest went into the ubiquitous crab cakes. We also had a leftover ear of bi-color corn. I didn't want to fight over it, so I sliced the kernels off the cob and tossed them in with the crab.

We also had some of my brother-in-law's corn fritters/hush puppies left. Rather than use crackers or bread in the crab cakes, I broke up a fritter, soaked it in a little milk, and added it to the mix. Yes, I am a big fan of recycling. You're not likely to have any giant hush puppies lying around, but cornbread or a corn muffin will do. Just don't use too much--you don't want the breading to be obvious. It should just be part of the "spackle" that holds the shreds of crab together.

Corn and Crab Cakes

1 ear of sweet corn
1/2 lb fresh blue crab meat, picked over for shells
2 teaspoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 egg
1/2 corn muffin, or 2x2" square of corn bread
1 tablespoon half and half
Oil for frying

Cut the kernels of corn off the cob and put into a large bowl. Add the crab meat.

In another bowl, beat together the mayonnaise and the egg, add the Old Bay.

Crumble the corn muffin/bread and soak the crumbs in the half and half. When the crumbs are moist, put them in the bowl with the crab and corn. Add the mayo mixture and fold gently. Refrigerate for at least one hour before forming into large or small cakes.

Heat a few tablespoons of vegetable or canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add several cakes at a time to the pan, but do not crowd--you want to be able to get a spatula in there to flip 'em.

Cook cakes until brown on both sides. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain before serving. Serve with tartar sauce (or not).



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Spicy Chili

I enjoy making chili. For relatively little effort, it offers great rewards.

I seldom use the same recipe twice. I don't use a recipe at all, actually, I just toss ingredients into the pot, tasting frequently, until the flavor profile matches the one I keep filed away among the other junk cluttering my brain. So no matter what I put in my chili, it tastes pretty consistent from batch to batch - meaty, tomatoey, somewhat sweet, and only barely spicy. This time, I thought I'd try something completely different.

OK, maybe not completely.

Uncharacteristically, I used a bunch of dried whole chiles. I removed most of the seeds after soaking them, and I'm glad I did because their fumes nearly choked me in the process. I like spicy stuff, but I don't want my mouth (or any other body part) to burn. I also wanted the chili to have a predominant smoky flavor, so I used chipotles, fire roasted tomatoes, smoked paprika, and even a little smoked salt at the end to finish it.

It was darn tasty, and a perfect accompaniment to a Ravens victory.

Spicy Smoky Chili

3 dried ancho chiles
3 dried chipotle chiles
3 lbs beef stew meat
1 onion, chopped
salt
olive oil
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup prepared molé sauce (I used the molé from my chicken nachos)
2 15oz cans fire-roasted tomatoes
1 cup beef broth
Soak dried chiles in boiling water until they are pliable. Remove stems (and seeds, if desired). Chop peppers in a food processor with a bit of beef broth until they become a chunky purée. Set aside.

In a dutch oven, brown meat in batches. Remove meat and add onions and a pinch of salt. Stir well to pick up any browned bits from the meat. If there doesn't seem to be enough fat, add a dribble of olive oil. Cook onions over medium heat until they are beginning to brown.  Stir in cumin and coriander.

Add meat back to pan along with garlic, combining well. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add molé, pepper purée, tomatoes, and beef broth. Bring to a boil. When mixture comes to a boil, turn heat down to low and simmer for about 3 hours, or until beef is very tender.

Serve with your favorite chili condiments (cheese, onions, cilantro, sour cream) and tortilla chips.

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

Thai-style Seviche

Mr Minx usually does all of the cooking during the week, and I take over on the weekend. Last weekend, however, I had no idea what I wanted to make. Well, I had a vague notion, but nothing clear cut. I knew I wanted to toy with something that I might enter in a recipe contest, but that dish was more of an appetizer than an entree. Then I opened the magic freezer, which was full to capacity, and rummaged around a bit.

We had bags of scallops and langoustine tails from Trader Joe's. And tons of other foodlike substances, but none of it evoked any sort of inspiration.

I desperately needed a pedicure, so took a walk to my friendly neighborhood nail salon. On the way back, I stopped in the Giant in the same shopping center and picked up some watermelon and feta cheese with which to make a salad, and some claw crab meat that was on sale. And a baguette because the appetizer dish was going to be a bruschetta. But still no ideas.

Once home, I farted around on the computer a bit, flipped through some magazines, admired my nails, and eventually realized that it was getting late and I had to think of something pretty quickly. By that point in the afternoon I had gotten lazy and didn't really want to turn on the stove, but we couldn't just eat bruschetta. Well, we could, but Mr Minx would have been cranky about it.

So I defrosted some seafood and made seviche. The only cooking I needed to do was with the scallops, as I wasn't trusting citrus juice and limited time to "cook" them properly. The crab and langoustines were precooked and ready to go. After whipping up a dressing, I tossed in the shellfish and stashed the bowl in the fridge for an hour or so. Mr Minx still seemed a little cranky about not getting a hot meal with the usual protein/starch/veg components. Until he tasted it. And then our oddball dinner didn't seem so bad.

The end result was pretty as a picture.

Thai-style Seviche

1/2 cup clam juice
1/2 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons powdered coconut milk made into a paste with 2 tablespoons of water
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon lemongrass paste or 2 stalks of fresh lemongrass, finely minced
1 heaping teaspoon Thai red chile paste
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
3 scallions, finely chopped
1 lb of assorted cooked seafood (I used crab, langoustine tails, and scallops)
small handful Thai basil, chopped
1 red chile, sliced into rings (I used a cayenne, since that's what I had)

In a large bowl combine clam juice, lime juice, coconut milk paste, fish sauce, lemongrass, red chile paste, and sugar. Whisk well to incorporate. If the mixture seems thick, add a bit of water. Add red onion, about half the scallions, and the seafood, stirring gently to combine.

Refrigerate for at least half an hour up to 3 hours.

To serve, remove seafood from liquid with a slotted spoon into a glass or bowl, lined with soft lettuce leaves if you'd like. Garnish with Thai basil, scallions, and chile slices.

Serves 4-6