Crab Stuffed Calamari

This dish i created for a dinner party a few years ago and i just came across it as i was preparing to post my next dinner party menu. Thank you all for the emails and yes i prepared the last dinner party menu for 8 in a very small NYC kitchen.

Crab Stuffed Calamari

Ingredients

The Calamari

12 cleaned squid with the tentacles
1/2 lb of lump crab meat
1/4 cup of olive oil
3 red onions quartered and sliced thin
2 small red dried chiles, crumbled
3 table spoons thin sliced kokum
3 table spoons diced chives
3 table spoons chopped cilantro, stems removed
2 table spoons chopped pealed ginger
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Salt and pepper to taste

The Sauce

1 quart of water
2 medium onions diced
8 fresh curry leaves
5 pieces of kokum
4 dried chiles, New Mexico style, chopped and seeds removed
2 table spoons of Tamarind paste
1 table spoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds, yellow
1/2 teaspoon raw sugar
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Sauce

In the blender place the onions, chiles, ginger and 1 quart of water and puree until smooth.
In a large sauce pan place the olive oil, cumin and mustard seeds over medium high heat for about 1/2 a minute. Next add the curry leaves, chile puree, tamarind paste, sugar and 2 more additional cups of water and salt and pepper to taste. Bring a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Now add the kokum and simmer for an additional 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Calamari

Dice the squid tentacles and set aside.
In another large sauce pan add the olive oil over med high heat; once it is shimmering add cumin seeds and heat for 1 minute. Next add the onions, ginger, kokum, chiles and salt and pepper to taste. Stir until onions are soft, about 3 minutes. Now add the diced tentacles, remove from heat and stir until squid is cooked through. Set aside to cool.

Once cool add the chives, cilantro and crab meat tossing to combined. Check for salt and pepper and add if needed.

Time to stuff the squid bodies. Use about a 1/4 cup of crab mixture into each body, leaving enough room so that you can pinch closed and use a tooth pick to seal. Do not pack too tightly. Pat stuffed squid dry.

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees

Place a large skillet over medium high heat with two table spoons of olive oil and sear the squid on each side for about 1 minute each side.

Place sear squid on a baking sheet and place in oven and roast for about 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and plate with a the sauce spoon over the calamari. Remember to remove the tooth pick before serving

Enjoy Cooking

Crab Pot du Fromage

Crab Pot du Fromage

Ingredients

1 16ox container of Crab meat of choice
1 cup of olive oil mayo
2 eggs
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced red pepper
2 cloves garlic diced
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped stems removed
1/2 cup Asiago cheese, shredded
1/3 goat cheese, diced
1/3 cup Gruyere cheese
1 lemon, zest and juice
2 table spoons Olive oil
1 table spoon Worcestershire sauce
1 table spoon fresh Thyme diced
1 table spoon fresh Lavender diced
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

In a skillet over medium heat place onions, red pepper and olive oil and cool to soften. Remove from heat and stir in garlic, thyme and lavender and set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the mayo, eggs, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice and zest. Next add the Crab to the party and toss to coat. Now add 1/3 cup of asiago cheese and the balance of the other cheese, parsley and toss to combine. Lastly add the soften onions, peppers and herb mixture to the bowl and toss well to combine.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Spoon mixture into ramekins, sprinkle with the remaining asiago cheese. Place ramekins in a deep sided baking dish, next fill the pan with water half way the sides of the ramekins. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes and the cheese on top is a nice golden brown.

Remove from oven and let set for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with a nice French bread or toast points

Enjoy cooking

Crab/Shrimp Soup

When i was in Singapore I always had this soup, it was my favorite. Then several months ago i thought i would try to recreate it since i do not see us in Asian any time soon.

Crab/Shrimp Soup

Ingredients

1 LB of Crab meat
1/2 lb of shrimp, heads, shells and tails removed
1/2 lb of bacon
6 cups of chicken or seafood stock
1/2 lb of fine Chinese noodles
5 oz of bean sprouts
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 table spoon of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of Chinese 5 spice
1/2 teaspoon of fresh grated ginger
8 scallions chopped - the whole scallion
1 cucumber shredded
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Fill a tea pot with water and set on stove to boil.

Place bacon on a broiling pan and cook until almost crispy or you can cook it in the microwave. Once cooked cut in in thirds, then into ribbons. Set aside

Cook noodles as per the directions on the package, drain, rinse and cut into 2 to 3 inch lengths.

Clean the bean sprouts of any seed casings and place in a colander. Next pour the boiling water from the tea pot over the bean sprouts and let sit in the sink until ready to add to the soup.

In a large skillet over medium high heat oil, then add the garlic and ginger and saute for about 20 seconds. Next add the stock to the skillet and stir for about 2 minutes until stock is just about to boil. Now add the bacon, bean sprouts and noodles to the pan and stir to warm. Next add the 5 spice and salt and pepper to taste. Once the soup comes to a boil, stir for 30 seconds, turn off heat and add shrimp and crab to skillet and cover. Let soup steep for about 4 to 5 minutes. Once shrimp as cooked through it is time to serve.

Place scallions and cucumbers on the bottom of each bowl and spoon soup over and serve.

Enjoy Cooking

Crab Cakes

I whip these up for lunch today at the cabin. Never made crab cakes before but i have had them many times and what i wanted was ones that you can really taste the crab.

Crab Cakes

Ingredients

16 oz of jumbo crab meat
3 shallots minced
1 red pepper minced and divide in half
1 table spoon olive oil
1 table spoon garlic
2 table spoon Dijon mustard
2 eggs, whisked
6 springs of fresh lemon thyme, stems removed
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 table spoons olive oil mayo
1 to 1 1/2 cups of Panko bread crumbs

Sauce
3/4 cup olive oil mayo
2 Jalapenos, minced
half the red peppers minced above
1 table spoon key lime juice
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped and stems removed
2 table spoon of Dijon mustard
salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Place shallots and 1/2 the red peppers and live oil into a skillet over medium high heat and saute until soft. Remove from heat add the garlic and the fresh thyme and stir and set aside.

Now make the sauce: Place all the sauce ingredients into a bowl and whisk to combined, cove and chill until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

In a large bowl place crab, Dijon mustard, eggs and Worcestershire sauce and toss to coat well. Next add the Mayo and toss to coat. Once shallots mixture have cooled add to bowl and mix well. Now add the Panko a 1/4 cup at a time, using your hands mix well, once the mixture holds together stop adding the bread crumbs. Place the balance of the bread crumbs into a dish. Using your hands form into cakes, drop the cakes into the panko and coat on each side.
Place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with Pam.
Bake until bread crumbs start to turn golden brown. You can fry them, but i not like greasy crabs cakes so I baked them.

Remove from oven, plate and spoon sauce over cakes and serve with a nice tomato salad.

Enjoy Cooking

Crab a la Myra

Last night i started with one idea and ended up with something different then i planned. I was going to make a stuffed catfish but i ended up with the really great crab dish.

Crab a la Myra

Ingredients

1/2 Lb of bacon, chopped
4 andouleille sausage, diced
2 red peppers, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 cup of Italian parsley, chopped and stems removed
16 oz of crab
4 table spoons of butter
8 oz of goat cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoon of celery seeds
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
4 table spoons of olive oil mayo
2 table spoons dijon mustard
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of green tobasco sauce
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Render off bacon in a large skillet, remove cooked bacon, place on a paper towel and set aside. In the same skillet over medium high heat add the sausage to the hot bacon fat and cook until crisp. Remove sausage of skillet and place on a paper towel and set aside.
Pour off most of the bacon fat from skillet, return to heat and add butter. Once the butter has melted add the "holy trinity", onion, celery and peppers, to the skillet a long with the celery and mustard seeds and cook until soft. Remove from heat and toss the trinity into a large bowl, add to it the garlic, mayo, dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, tobasco and mix well. Now add to the bowl the egg and the parsley, whisk well to combine. Next add the cayenne pepper and the crab and toss well to coat the crab.
Spoon mixture into ramekins and set in a deep pan, fill the pan with water so that the ramekins are sitting on about 1/2 inch of water. Place in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. After the 25 minutes remove and add a nice slice of goat cheese to the top and return to the oven for 5 minutes or so or until cheese begins to melt. Remove from oven, remove ramekins from bath and set on individual plates and add the crisp bacon to the top of each ramekin. Let set for 5 minutes before serving.

So I now have this catfish left over, hmm what to make with that.

Enjoy cooking