Roasted Corn Crab Cakes with Chili Lime Sauce

My favorite seafood is absolutely crab!  It's so sweet and delicate. This is also something that you can certainly make ahead of time and cook quickly at the last minute, making it something special but efficient for a fast "after work" meal.

                                      Click for Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
This ingredient list is for one pound of lump crab meat - which is how it is typically sold.  This will make 8 really nice sized crab cakes.

Roasted Corn Crab Cakes 

• 1 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup mixed bell peppers, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
• 1 Tbsp country Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp hot sauce (I used Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce...which is insanely hot)
• 1/2 cup pulverized Ritz crackers or Italian bread crumbs
• 1 rounded Tbsp roasted corn kernels, cut from the cob
• 1 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley
• a squeeze of lemon
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp butter

Chili Lime Sauce

• Plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
• fresh squeezed lime juice
• chili powder
• a few shakes of Sriracha hot chili sauce*
• *see Food Nerd Notes

Step-by-Step:
Heat half of the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat.

Add the onions, celery, and peppers. 

 

Season the mixture with salt and cayenne.

Saute for 5 minutes.

 

Add the garlic and continue to saute for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and cool for 5 minutes.

Remove the husk and silk from an ear of corn and roast over a fire until the kernels become brown and slightly blistered.  I find it easiest to use long tongs for this.  Turn the corn frequently.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, creole mustard, roasted corn kernels, hot sauce, the cooled cooked vegetables, bread/cracker crumbs, and a squeeze of lemon juice. 

 

 Making the cracker crumbs...

Cracker crumbs..into a small food processor.

Cracker crumbs after pulverizing.

Roasted corn cut from the cob.

Cooled sauteed vegetable.

A squeeze of lemon juice.

 Gently fold in the crab meat.  

Make sure you gently feel through the crab meat first to catch any stray shells.

Mix gently, but thoroughly. At this point, I added some chopped parsley.

Hands really do make the best utensils sometimes.

Portion the filling into 1/3 cup balls. 

Form the balls into patties, about 1-inch thick.  At this point, I recommend putting them back in the fridge a while to "firm up" a bit. 

**For a "make ahead" meal... I would form the patties and leave them in the fridge. Then, when you get home from work, you just take them out and fry them up.

Just prior to cooking, I brushed the patties with a frothy, whipped up egg white.  Then coat with Italian bread crumbs, gently but firmly pressing them into the meat.

Reheat the same pan of the vegetables with butter and remaining olive oil. Gently place the patties in the hot pan and saute just until brown on both sides.  If you want a crispier patty, use  more oil.  In my first application, I was trying to use a minimal amount of oil to reduce the fat content. 

The resulting patties are very delicate!

Here are three different ways to serve these... I'm sure you can think of many more:

You can serve them as an appetizer alone with a dollop of sauce.  I thought a large shell would be an appropriate serving vessel for this.  - with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Or.... over a lightly dressed angel hair pasta.

• A simple sauce of sauteed shallots, white wine, lemon juice, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese..

Or over a salad.

• mixed greens, sundried tomatoes, more roasted corn kernels, a light drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette, a bit of grated Parmesan, a lemon wedge, and obviously the crab cake.

Order the Menu Musings Cookbook!

 
Method:

Heat half of the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  Add the onions, celery, and peppers.  Season the mixture with salt and cayenne and saute for 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and continue to saute for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and cool for 5 minutes.   

Remove the husk and silk from an ear of corn and roast over a fire until the kernels become brown and slightly blistered.  I find it easiest to use long tongs for this.  Turn the corn frequently.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, creole mustard, roasted corn kernels, hot sauce, the cooled cooked vegetables, bread/cracker crumbs, and a squeeze of lemon juice. 

To make the cracker crumbs, I just pulverized them in a food processor.  Then gently fold in the crab meat.  Mix gently, but thoroughly. At this point, I added some chopped parsley.  Portion the filling into 1/3 cup balls.  Form the balls into patties, about 1-inch thick.  At this point, I recommend putting them back in the fridge a while to "firm up" a bit. 

Just prior to cooking, I brushed the patties with a frothy, whipped up egg white.  Then coat with Italian bread crumbs, gently but firmly pressing them into the meat.  Reheat the same pan of the vegetables with butter and remaining olive oil. Gently place the patties in the hot pan and saute just until brown on both sides.  If you want a crispier patty, use  more oil.  In my first application, I was trying to use a minimal amount of oil to reduce the fat content. The resulting patties are very delicate!

Food Nerd Notes:

Sriracha is a type of Thai hot sauce, named after the coastal city of Se Racha, in central Thailand, where it was first produced for dishes served at local seafood restaurants. It is a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. Traditional Thai Sriracha tends to be tangier, sweeter, and runnier in texture than non-Thai versions, and is available in varying heat levels. Non-Thai sauces are different in flavor, color, and texture from Thai versions. The Huy Fong brand dominates in the U.S. This is the one I have.

Chocolate Hazelnut Filled Cinnamon French Toast

I think this would deinitely come under the category of the OCCATIONAL treat... maybe for Valentines day, kids' birthday, etc. I picked up this wonderful looking (and smelling) cinnamon bread in the market yesterday, and thought it would make this morning's French Toast extra special. 

                                   Click for Printable Recipe
Ingredients:

• cinnamon-swirl bread
• feel free to use whole wheat
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup reduced fat milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• you could use egg substitute
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla (I used my favorite clear Mexican Vanilla)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)
• powdered sugar
• butter flavored cooking spray
• garnish - fresh raspberries

Step-by-Step:
Prepare your batter with the eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon.  Mix well.

2 whole eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup reduced fat milk

cinnamon

1/4 cup sugar

mix well.

Briefly, soak the cinnamon bread into the "batter."

careful, the soaked bread can be very fragile.

In a nonstick pan sprayed lightly with butter flavored cooking spray, pan grill the soaked bread on both sides until golden brown.

I use nonstick spray to reduce the amount of fat in the recipe (versus oil or butter).

Cook on medium until both sides are golden brown.

Spread chocolate hazelnut spread on half of the pieces, then top with the other pieces. 

Add the Nutella.

Cut them diagnonally and top with powdered sugar.  These are best eaten "in hand" rather than with a fork.

Serve with berries of your choice. The juicy tartness of the berries balances out all the sweetness of the toast.

Enjoy!

Method:

Prepare your batter with the eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon.  Mix well.  Briefly, soak the cinnamon bread into the "batter." In a nonstick pan sprayed lightly with butter flavored cooking spray, pan grill the soaked bread on both sides until golden brown.  Spread chocolate hazelnut spread on half of the pieces, then top with the other pieces. Cut them diagnonally and top with powdered sugar.  These are best eaten "in hand" rather than with a fork.  Serve with berries of your choice. The juicy tartness of the berries balances out all the sweetness of the toast.

Please visit my Recipe Index for lots of ideas!   Here are a few different things:

Cider-Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Onions, Crispy Bacon and Pine Nuts

 

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers 

Chicken Tetrazzini

New Orleans BBQ Shrimp

Tonight, it was just the two little ones and myself at the house. Everyone else was scattered.  It could be awfully tempting to run down to the closest fast food place and pick up kids meals... but I would rather not.  This recipe for BBQ shrimp makes us feel like we are down at my parents fishing camp in Cocodrie, LA, where we sit out on the porch and watch the shrimp boats heading out into the gulf as the sun sets over the marshy bayou.  In the mornings, after trolling all night, they head back up the bayou with their catch and sell the freshest gulf shrimp you can possibly get. So... when we make these shrimp, it transports us to one of our favorite places. And we talk about "Papa's Shrimp." 

In addition to all that nostalgia, you can make these BBQ shrimp in the time it would take to get in the car, pick up takeout, and get back home.  They are super easy and fast... and absolutely delicious. These are great for sitting around the coffee table watching a big game.... just make sure you have plenty of crusty French bread on hand.  You'll need it to dip in this fabulous sauce!

We happen to have a 75 degree day here (on the last day of January!), so the three of us ate out on the back porch and enjoyed the beautiful evening. That beats greasy fast food ANY DAY!!

Let's just start off by saying that the title "BBQ Shrimp" is a bit of a misnomer, because there is not bar-b-que sauce anywhere in the recipe, and these are not put on a grill of any sort.  I have no idea where the BBQ Shrimp title came from originally, but folks down here in the deep South know what you mean when you say it.  Rather, the shrimp are simmered in a succulent sauce, then allowed to sit and soak up the flavor for a while.  

                                                           Click for Printable Recipe
Ingredients:

• 2 -3 pounds of shrimp 
• 1 stick butter
• ½ cup Worcestershire sauce
• 4 – 5 garlic cloves, chopped fine
• ½ cup white wine
• 5 - 6 green onions
• Optional - creole seasoning and/or red pepper flakes

     You probably have all that stuff on hand already!

Step-by-Step:

The basic idea is to throw everything together for the sauce, then add the shrimp last.

Add one stick of butter to a heavy saucepan.

Add 4 - 5 chopped garlic cloves.

Add 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce.

Add 1/2 cup white wine.

Add 5 or 6 chopped green onions.

Let all the sauce start boiling, then add the shrimp.  These have been cleaned and deveined, and the heads have been removed.  I just happened to have these in the freezer.  However, if you have head-on shrimp, add those.  The heads/shells will actually give you a richer depth of flavor to the sauce. (Although that's less kid friendly.)

I only used 1 pound of shrimp tonight, because everyone else was gone, but this sauce recipe can easily accommodate 2 -3 pounds of shrimp.

Add the juice of one lemon.

Throw the lemon in for extra flavor.

Add creole seasoning if you wish (This is Tony Chachere's). After cooking the shrimp for ONLY 3 minutes, I turned off the heat.  They will continue to cook in the "gravy" and you do NOT want them to be overcooked and rubbery. You can see that from one photo (above) to the next (below), they have gone from still transparent looking (not cooked) to pink (cooked).  That's how quickly they cook.  - Faster than waiting for the order of fries to come out of the grease at that other place.

Now.. allow them to sit in this "BBQ" sauce for 5 - 10 minutes.  They will soak up the seasoning and all that great flavor in that time.  While waiting, throw a loaf of French bread in the oven to get all hot and crispy.  As my family will tell you, this is an important part of the recipe.

You get a rich, lemony, buttery, spicy, deeply complex sauce bathing the tender little shrimp in goodness... followed by a big chunk of bread dunked in there!

Shrimp on little flat bread "toasts"

Now, for all of about 10 minutes work, we enjoyed a wonderful meal together that you would have a hard time going out and finding - and certainly not for this price! Aside from the shrimp, everything else is probably standard pantry items for most of you. And other thing, don't hesitate to buy a pack of frozen shrimp from your grocer.  The shrimp are frozen almost immediately after being caught; and they are super convenient.

Lagniappe photos:

As told by the legendary New Orleans Brennan's restaurant... "Like proper barbecue, it’s a spicy, succulent mess of a dish that is best eaten with your hands along with good company and cold beverages."  Yep. That sums it up rather nicely.  I had great company tonight!

Order the Menu Musings Cookbook!

Method:

The basic idea is to throw everything together for the sauce, then add the shrimp last.  So to a heavy saucepan, add the following together:  one stick of butter, 4 - 5 chopped garlic cloves, 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 cup white wine, 5 or 6 chopped green onions.

Let all the sauce start boiling, then add the shrimp.  These have been cleaned and deveined, and the heads have been removed.  I just happened to have these in the freezer.  However, if you have head-on shrimp, add those.  Add the juice of one lemon.  Throw the lemon in for extra flavor.  Add creole seasoning if you wish.

After cooking the shrimp for ONLY 3 minutes, I turned off the heat.  They will continue to cook in the "gravy" and you do NOT want them to be overcooked and rubbery. They will have gone from still transparent looking (not cooked) to pink (cooked).  That's how quickly they cook.  Now.. allow them to sit in this "BBQ" sauce for 5 - 10 minutes.  They will soak up the seasoning and all that great flavor in that time.  While waiting, throw a loaf of French bread in the oven to get all hot and crispy.  As my family will tell you, this is an important part of the recipe.