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10 Legs in the Kitchen

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10 Legs in the Kitchen

Category Archives: at the holidays

The Ultimate Traveling Appetizer: Crab Salad Cups

02 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by Stacey Bender in at the holidays, the kitchen

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Crab Cocktail, finger food, Holiday Appetizers

Oops, missing the bacon garnish; just imagine it’s there (but wasn’t needed)!

Okay, maybe not actually the ultimate traveling appetizer, but a very good one at least.

Transportable, as in these puppies can go on the road.  Yes, the other puppies are on the road too (or ferry boat as it may be).

To a holiday party!

A Family dinner.

Or even the notorious office Christmas potluck.

Flexible. Not only can they be made earlier in the day or even the night before, they inherently come with a “choose-your-own-flavor adventure” built-in.

Not a fan of blue cheese and avocado (no judging here)?  Mango and curry can step in.

Prefer cilantro to arugula?  Great!  (Just don’t tell my brother Scott).

Don’t feel like whipping up that corn creme, or can’t since you haven’t yet splurged on a Vitamix (who are you anyway?), no worries, a little creme fraîche or yogurt can be gussied up with lemon juice and pepper instead.

Or, for a little more heat, shake in some chipotle chili powder.

For a different dimension, smoked paprika could attend…

… you get the idea.

Elegant. Forget the little smokies or the tasty, but expected, humus dip and wow your guests or hostess with these little jewels instead.

Easy. Whip up the dressing, pat dry the crab, chop a few things and mix it all up. After a little trip on the assembly line, the little glass cups can be put back in their box and refrigerated until ready to use (or take to the potluck, family dinner or party with friends).

And the best part:

No heating required! (Who has room in the oven when there is a turkey in there?… or a holiday ham, prime rib roast… or perhaps there’s no oven at all)!

Seriously though, to be honest, the best part is the crab.

Just saying! Pull out your wallet, it’s the Holidays!!!!

Over the Sound and through the woods…

Are we there yet?!

This ride sure beats the Mayflower!

Is it too early for sugar plum fairies to be dancing in my head?

Print

The Ultimate Traveling Appetizer: Crab Salad Cups

The quintessential holiday appetizer, 1st course or salad, all piled into a tiny, portable glass.

It’s a traveling appetizer that works as well at home as it does on the road.

Seafood – check

Crab – double check

Greens – check

Red garnish – check

Elegant Holiday Spirit – check (not that kind of spirit, but hopefully you have one in hand)

When the meal is heavy, the first course should be light.

When it’s a party meal, there should be something festive, tasty and fun that is healthy, filling and unforgettable.

Tall order?

Small cup.

Done.

  • Author: Stacey Bender
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: Zero
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: Approximately (14) fourteen 4 oz cups
  • Category: Appetizers
  • Cuisine: Holiday + Universal

Ingredients

Scale

3/4 lb Dungeness crab meat, rinsed, gently squeezed dry and patted with kitchen towel

Lemon Juice, approximately from one full lemon

Fresh ground pepper to taste

1 ear of corn

1/4 cup fresh, full fat, Greek style or local yogurt

1–2 oz good quality blue cheese (I used Maytag Blue), or more to taste

1 Avocado, peeled, seed removed, diced and doused with lemon juice, sea salt and pepper

2–3 green onions, chopped

2 TB mixed fresh herbs such as thyme, parsley, savory, basil

1/4 cup very thinly sliced fennel, diced and doused with lemon juice, sea salt and pepper

Seeds from 1/2 pomegranate

Zest of 1/2 orange (approximately 1 TB)

Instructions

  1. Put the fresh, dry crab in a mixing bowl and let chill until you are ready to assemble.

2. Wrap the corn in plastic wrap and microwave for 1 minute.  Alternatively, steam or boil in water until just crisp tender.  Cut the corn from the cob.

3. Put the corn in your Vitamix or food processor.  Add some pepper and pinch of sea salt along with the yogurt.  Process until the consistency of cream.

4. Put a few spoonfuls of the corn creme, along with 1/2 of the blue cheese in a medium bowl and blend with the back of a spoon.  Add lemon juice and additional blue cheese to taste.

5. Mix in 1/2 the avocado, green onion/herbs, fennel, 1/2 the pomegranate seeds and orange zest.

6.  Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice as needed.

7.  Assemble the cups by first filling each with a spoonful of the corn creme, followed by a little chopped arugula, then the crab mixture.

8.  Sprinkle some of the remaining pomgranite seeds on each.

9.  If serving later, cover each glass cup with plastic wrap and refrigerate until use.

10.  To serve: Unwrap the plastic and top each with a few sprigs arugula, squeeze of lemon and dusting of chopped bacon.

Notes

I got the glass cups at Crate & Barrel a few years back.  They came six to a box and were inexpensive plus came with unlimited possibilities.  You could easily swap the glass cups for leaves of endives for serving.  Add more avocado if you like.  When I say “douse it in lemon juice”, I mean, squeeze fresh lemon juice over and sprinkle with salt and fresh pepper.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 4 oz

Keywords: Holiday Appetizers, Easy Appetizers, Crab Appetizers, Individual Appetizer Cups,

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Potato, Po-taw-ta, Tomato, Tom-aw-ta

18 Sunday Jun 2017

Posted by Stacey Bender in at the holidays, family gatherings, the kitchen

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Barbecue Ribs, Classic Potato Salad, Ree Drummond's Ree-yubs

PS_cover shot 1.jpg

There are, arguably, many ways to do or say anything; Point A to point B has many paths, and cooking basics are no exception.  Take for instance, “classic” potato salad.  It can vary drastically depending on where you live or how you were taught to prepare it.  Even “Mom’s Classic” potato salad will be different at Mr Roger’s house than it will be at the Casto residence.

With egg or without, celery or pickles, or cornichon perhaps?  Are there green onions?Mayonnaise versus Miracle Whip (yikes!).  One thing is for certain, potato salad is classic barbecue fare and even if it is not Tom’s favorite, it will always have a place at our table (albeit mostly in front of me).

Then, of course, there are the ribs.!  I can’t image a Memorial weekend or Fourth of July without them.  There are some people who are really serious about their ribs; I mean really seriously loyal; to their region, culture and craft-kind of rib-eating and making; serious business.  Usually it involves that perfect mix of spice, a particular cut of meat, a lot of smoke mixed with a low amount of heat, hangin’ out for a long period of time under cover.  Time can be our enemy, but it can also be our friend!

For those of us that just enjoy the succulent, meaty flavor of tender, tear-off-the-bone meat and are willing to forgo (or simply don’t have) the 18 hours, the proper tools, patience or know-how to do otherwise (a category that I am willing to be a part of), our ribs can be ‘fridge to fork in approximately 3 hours…or less!

They can be rubbed, par-boiled, marinated, or all three.  Grilled, broiled, smoked or baked.

Spicy, smokey, sweet.

Saucy, dry, meaty or lean.

Depending on your region, there is certainly, a predisposition for the proper method, spice and cut.  In my local region, which I consider to be wherever my dinner plate sits, I am happy to indulge myself, greedily, to any of the aforementioned methods and even some of the unmentioned ones.

I love ribs, period!  I have a special affection of the pig-provided kind.  Throw in a plate of potato salad, made using hard-cooked eggs (my only rule) and I am eating my own little happy meal.

When I am the cook, my go-to ribs are usually par-boiled in a flavorful liquid, then dry rubbed and slathered with home-made (or even bottled if tight on time) barbecue sauce.  This is all done usually hours, or days, before I plan to eat them because as they sit, they become even more flavorful.  This makes them a very forgiving treat.

They are slathered and stored on a foil-lined baking pan.  When we are nearing dinner time, I light a grill and sit the ribs out on the counter to come up to room temperature.  They take a 10 minute sauna in the grill with the lid down as the corn (yes, I usually have corn on the cob) cooks too.

After they are heated through, I remove them from the foil, move the corn to the top grate so they are not on direct heat and put the ribs, top down, on the hot, lower rack to brown.  When they have grill marks, I turn them over and brush with more sauce and let sit just a few minutes until I can get everything plated to eat.  More sauce on the side if you like, and Tom does!  It is hard to go wrong, as long as you don’t let them burn, too much, that is.

When I was young, my Mom’s go-to ribs were cooked solely in the oven, uncovered and slathered in peanut butter barbecue sauce (home-made).  They were often not on the bone, also known as country spareribs, which meant, more meat, less bone.  It was a recipe from my Great Grandma Brown.  I could eat piles of them!!

As they were cooking, I used to peak my head in the oven, willing the aroma to encompass me.  Mom would shout out for the oven to be kept closed, so the heat didn’t escape.

I waited and waited, enjoying every moment that I was able to drink in the smell.  I would peak into the oven with the oven light turned on.  I watched as they transformed from pale paisley to a rich, burnished brown.  The peanut butter wasn’t an overly obvious flavor but the depth and richness it offered permeated the meat.

Ironically, I don’t cook my ribs that way, even though if I did, I am sure I would be hooked once again.  Maybe if my Mom sees this, she will make them for me, next time she is in town?

Needless to say,  color me happy is what the (somewhat) recent weekend was about!  Heading off for a short visit with my in-laws during Memorial weekend, I was eagerly anticipating Lois’ ribs; the same she had made for us last year, adapted from Ree Drummand’s, “Spicy Chili Pork Ree-Yubs”.

ree drummand article

Sun-soaked, fresh-air delivered, we had come in from the waterfront after kayaking off Alderbrook Resort on the Hood Canal; even Buddy was in tow (of course).  Ginger, not being a water breed, stayed on shore with Grandma keeping guard of the lounge chairs (a very important task).

PS_B kayak 1
PS_Us Kayak

Two, or in our case, 3 hours in the oven are about the sweet-spot for these ribs that Lois made us on our return.  We passed our time well, back at the cabin, out in the gazebo, fireplace blazing, while munching on smoked trout-filled endive and deviled egg nosh.

It is now sometime between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July; more specifically, it is Father’s Day (Love to all our Dad’s…Kent (my Dad), Tom (Tom’s Dad), John & Bill (our other Dads), Mark, Scott and Jeff (our brothers who are also Dads)…and so on…Uncle Corky, Grandpa George, Tom C. (my Dad-in-law on my brother’s side) and Joe Gildner (our good friend and newly married-off-oldest daughter Dad) and Piotr (our good friend and a really good Dad)…

Oh, and a Happy Father’s Day to my love, the daddy of our furry kids (I’m talking to you, my Tom)!

On the menu tonight is, you guessed it:  Ribs, corn and potato salad.

Don’t worry, the potato salad isn’t for (my) Tom, it is for all you other Dad’s out there that actually enjoy a good potato salad!  Tom will be taken care of too, no worries there, for those of you that are worried.  He does alright.

So, rain or clouds be damn, fire up the grill and let’s get this party started!

PS_cover shot 3

“Castoway’s” Classic Potato Salad – Courtesy of Lois (Bender) Casto

“2# potatoes (I used Russet, but have also used red, skinned ), 3 hard-boiled eggs, 3 rbs celery, 4 green onions.  Dressing: 1/2 cup mayo, 1-1/2 Tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste.  If too tart I add a sprnkle of granulated sugar.  I boil the potatoes whole, then peel and cube, but you can peel and cube before cooking too. Either works. It’s just a basic recipe.”

I will vouch for this one and basic as it is, the simplicity makes it delicious. Think of it as a little black dress; it can be gussied up, accessorized and taken out on the town or worn on it’s own, in which case, it will stand up for itself!

PS_King buddy

“It sure is nice to be King for a day; so glad I am a Prince!  Happy Father’s Day Dadfy!”

Ginger.JPG

“Oh Buddy, you are a Prince!  Of course that is only because I am a Princess.”

A zen moment

11 Saturday Apr 2015

Posted by Stacey Bender in at the holidays, Breakfast/Brunch, family gatherings

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Easter, lemon cake, lemon curd, lemon curd cake, moments of zen, recipes

PS2_lemon cake

Sometimes, life happens around us.  We are there too, experiencing the life but not participating in it, other than observing.  I am looking out at the Arizona sky, from Grandpa’s backyard.  The wind is whipping warmly across my face and I am an observer rather than a participant.  For this moment I am zoning out the requirements of life.  The cooking temperatures or timing.  The dry or moist feel of my skin.  The lizard that may be crawling toward my leg.  I am unaware of the savory waft of smells from the kitchen.  These smells, I set in motion.  Subconsciously, they add to this moment of zen.  This zen that is now.  I breathe in the air.  Through my nose.  I release through my mouth.  Thanks to Cristina for teaching me this life altering move.  All of the noise is shut out…momentarily (seconds, or minutes or for whatever you make time).  I actually see the beauty, not just hear about the beauty.  I feel it on my skin.  I smell it wildly tickling my nose.

As quickly as I allow it to begin, it ends.  And off I go to make sure the kitchen is not burning.  Make sure the food is happy.  The people are eager to partake.

PS_mtn from dad club

Lemon curd cake

This cake is dense and slightly dry without a nice spread of lemon curd on top.  It is based off of a rosemary olive oil cake that I love to make, but I changed it up to try and utilize as many lemons as I could from my Grandfather’s plentiful lemon trees.  There is little fat or sweetener in the cake, but the curd makes up for the lack of fat with its wealth of egg yolk and butter.  It makes for a light dessert, a “zen moment” mid-day snack, or a prelude to brunch.

The lemon curd will keep a week or two, covered tightly, in the fridge (if you don’t use it all up on the cake).  You can add fresh strawberries, cooked into the center, or leave it plain.  Either way, it is best warmed, then sliced and spread with a healthy layer of the lemon curd, which unless short of time, you hopefully have made

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup reserved lemon curd batter – recipe follows
2 TB honey
1 egg yolk
2 oz goat cheese (chèvre)
1/3 cup milk (or yogurt)
5 egg whites (4 reserved from the lemon curd and 1 from this cake)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 TB chopped fresh rosemary
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt

10 strawberries, diced (optional)
Lemon curd for glazing

PREPARE

Combine the uncooked lemon curd, honey and egg yolk.  It is best to use an electric mixer for several minutes.

Add the milk and goat cheese.  Continue to beat the mixture until creamy; a few minutes more.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff.  Stir into the yolk mixture then add the olive oil and blend with the mixer until well combined.  Stir in the rosemary.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, slowly mixing it in 1/2 cup at a time.

For a moister cake, you can add in the cooked lemon curd, reserving 1/4 cup to spread on the top and on the cut slices for serving.

Butter 1 loaf pan (or two mini-loaf pans) and pour in the batter.  If using the strawberries, pour in half the batter then add the berries.  Pour in the remaining batter.

Cook for approximately 30 minutes at 350 or until a toothpick poked in the center comes away clean.

Brush some lemon curd over the top and let cook another 5 minutes.

Let it cool slightly in the pan.  Turn it onto a rack.

Serve warm, sliced, slathered with lemon curd…and perhaps, a cup of tea or a crisp glass of Albariño.

PS_curd

Lemon Curd

House-made lemon curd is far more delicious than that from a jar.  I like mine on the tart side so I use just enough honey to keep me from crinkling my nose.  Leftovers can be used to spread over your morning toast instead of jam, or an english muffin and a slice of ham.

I used freshly-picked lemons from the lemon trees outside my Grandpa’s house in Tucson during our Easter weekend with my Mom.  They were large and juicy and produced thick zest.  Oh how I wish I could grow a lemon tree!

INGREDIENTS

4 egg yolks (whites reserved for cake above or another use)
1/4 cup honey
The juice of 4 large lemons (approximately 1/2 cup) plus their zest
1 stick of butter

PREPARE

Bring some water to simmer in the bottom of a double boiler; it should not be able to touch the saucepan that sits on top.

Using an electric mixer, in the saucepan of the double boiler (or in a stainless steel bowl), beat the egg yolk and honey together until smooth.

Add in the lemon juice and zest, continuing to mix.

Set the saucepan over the simmering water in it’s counter-pan and whisk briskly until the batter becomes pale yellow and smoothly cooked, 6-8 minutes.

Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter, 1 TB at a time, as if making a butter sauce.

Transfer to a clean jar or container and cover tightly once cooled.

cactus bloom
It’s all zen until you come across a little prick…

PS_lemon tree
but when life gives you lemons, make lemon curd!

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