Category Archives: Recipe

Recipe, Seafood/Fish

Savory Crab Cake

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Savory Crab Cake

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
zest and juice of 1 medium lemon
1/4 cup plain non-fat yogurt
1 large egg
1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 lb fresh crab meat
1 cup panko bread crumps
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Vegetable oil spray

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a medium saucepan, heat oil until it shimmers. Add minced onion and sauté until translucent but not coloured. Remove from heat, add lemon juice and zest. Stir to combine.

When mixture has cooled, place in a mixing bowl and add yogurt, egg, Old Bay seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Carefully fold in breadcrumbs and crab meat (attempting to keep crab in as large of pieces as possible.

Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Using a medium sized scooper (not as large as ice cream, not as small as truffles), dish out individual crab cakes and gently flatten in your palms before placing on cookie sheet. This recipe should make about 24-26 crab cakes of the smaller size.

Spritz the top of each crab cake with cooking spray. Place in oven for 20 minutes or until nicely browned.

Serves: 4 with a salad. Also may be served with cocktail sauce, tarter sauce, or a rouille (see below note)

This recipe has been lightened up by the inclusion of non-fat yogurt versus the regular mayonnaise that you would traditionally find in a crab cake recipe, and by baking instead of deep fat frying the cakes.

Note: Rouille Sauce (adapted from Julia Child’s “The Way To Cook”)

6 large cloves of garlic, pureed
1/4 tsp salt
18 large leaves of basil (or 1 1/2 tsp dried savory, oregano or thyme)
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 to 3 tbsp hot milk
3 large egg  yolks
1 roasted red pepper (seeds, core, and stem removed)
3/4 to 1 cup olive oil
5 drops of Tabasco sauce
Salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)

N.B.: If you are making this in a food processor, it is imperative that the garlic be pureed. A food processor chops instead of pureeing, and you’re wanting a smooth sauce. (If you’re using pre-purchased pureed garlic, you may make this in a food processor from this point forward, as long as you are careful to make sure each step is followed as closely as possible for a smooth sauce.)

Puree the garlic in a heavy bowl (or add purchased pureed garlic, if you are familiar with the quality of the product) and add salt, pounding into a paste. Continue pounding while adding the herbs. When well mashed and blended, add panko and milk to form a paste. Add egg yolks, one at a time. Now, using a whisk or electric mixer (hand mixer preferred over stand mixer here so that you keep the sauce in motion), beat for 1-2 minutes until it thickens slightly. Then, start beating in the oil in a series of slow additions (almost dribbles to begin with), as if you were making a mayonnaise. The sauce will be thick and heavy. Season to taste with Tabasco, salt and pepper.

Rouille is perfect for use on crab cakes, in fish soup, on pasta, on potatoes, broiled or grilled fish, in fact, anything that you would sauce, as long as you’re wishing for the flavour of garlic and peppers.

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Recipe, Seafood/Fish

Sesame Encrusted Tuna Steaks

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Sesame Encrusted Tuna Steaks (served with sautéed Chinese cabbage and brown rice)

3 six-ounce tuna steaks
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil (separated)
2 oz sesame seeds

In a zip-top bag, place tuna steaks. In a bowl, combine vinegar and 2 tbsp olive oil, whisk to combine. Pour over tuna steaks, zip bag, and turn to completely coat. Place in fridge for 15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. Heat your skillet with remaining olive oil until wisps of smoke appear. Reduce heat to medium.

On a plate, spread your sesame seeds out and using tongs, remove steaks, one at a time, and coat on all sides with sesame seeds. Place in skillet and cook on each side, 3 minutes (for medium rare, 5 minutes per side for well done).  (Be careful to not burn the sesame seeds.) Remove to cutting board and allow to rest 5 minutes, then slice, and serve atop brown rice, alongside sautéed Chinese cabbage. Provide lemon alongside for those who wish to “spritz” their tuna before dining.

Very simple, very flavourful, very healthful!

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Main Course, Recipe, Seafood/Fish

Coquilles St. Jacques

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Scallops au gratin

Coquilles St. Jacques (Scallops au gratin)

1.5 lb bay scallops
2 cups dry white vermouth (or dry white wine)
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp chopped shallots or scallions
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
3 tbsp quality butter
3 tbsp all purpose flour
12 ounces fat-free half & half
grated Swiss cheese

In a skillet with large sides, place vermouth, bay leaves, shallots or scallions, salt and pepper over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Add scallops and sauté until they are just springy to the touch (this will only take 4-5 minutes). Remove from heat and drain through a sieve, reserving the liquid. Remove bay leaves and discard.

In a saucepan, melt butter and combine with flour, stirring until well combined. Cook over medium heat for two minutes to cook out the flour taste, but not to colour. Remove from heat, and add reserved scallop/wine liquid. Whisk vigorously to combine, being careful that there are no lumps. Add half & half (the recipe called for heavy cream, but this is in the interest of being a bit more calorie conscious), and return to medium heat. Stir continuously for 2-3 minutes until your velouté sauce thickens.  Once thickened, remove from heat and enrobe your scallops in your sauce, heating them through. Preheat your oven to 400F.

In buttered scallop shells, or ramekins, or oven proof dishes, place 1/2 cup scallop/sauce mixture and top with 2 tbsp grated Swiss cheese. Place in oven 10 minutes or so until cheese is melted and bubbly and browned.

Serves 6.

This recipe is modified from Julia Child’s recipe located in her book The Way To Cook, and part of her 6-part video series (now out of print).

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Main Course, Recipe, Seafood/Fish

Easy Shrimp Dinner

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Shrimp, Asparagus & Farfalle

Shrimp, Asparagus & Farfalle

Asparagus preparation:
1 lb of Asparagus, trimmed
2 tbsp olive oil

Heat oven to 425F and toss asparagus with olive oil. Place on cookie sheet in a single layer and roast for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool, and cut into 1″ pieces. Reserve.  Prepare shrimp:

Shrimp preparation:
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced (according to taste)
1 tbsp olive oil
1.5 pounds (21/30) raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper (or more to taste)

Heat olive oil in wok or large heavy skillet. When the oil begins to wisp smoke, add the garlic and allow it to infuse the oil with flavour, but do not brown. This should take about 60-90 seconds. Garlic will soften slightly. Add shrimp and toss until they are cooked (they will turn pink to let you know they’re done). Remove from heat, sprinkle salt and cracked black pepper over all. In the meantime take 1 pound of mini Farfalle pasta and cook according to directions.

Assembly: Drain pasta, add cooked shrimp and roasted asparagus. Toss to combine. Serve alongside a green salad. Serves 4 generously, 6 adequately, 8 as a multi-course meal.

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Main Course, Recipe

Marinated Chicken with Sage and Herbes de Provence Stuffing

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dinner032209

Sage and Herbes de Provence Stuffing

1 loaf Herbes de Provence bread
1 tablespoon dried ground sage
2 cups hot chicken stock
1 medium onion, diced
3 ribs of celery, sliced into 1/8″ to 1/4″ slices
2 tablespoon butter, 1 tbsp olive oil

Slice the bread and toast in a 350 degree oven to 10 minutes. Turn bread over and toast for 10 minutes more to remove moisture. Cut into cubes and place in a large bowl.  In a sauté pan, melt butter with oil, and sauté onion and celery until tender. Place in bowl with bread cubes, add sage and chicken stock, mix to combine. Turn out into a 9″x9″ baking dish and bake at 350F for an hour.

Marinated Chicken

2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons Dijon style mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water

In a large zip-top bag, combine all ingredients except chicken. Seal the bag and toss to completely combine the marinade. Add the chicken, and refrigerate for 3-4 hours, turning over and massaging the chicken breasts in the bag every 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F and pour chicken (and marinade) into a 2 (or 2.2) quart baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for an 90 minutes. The marinade will heat through and thicken into a sauce.

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Recipe

Orange Chocolate Breezes

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Orange Chocolate Breezes

1 cup fat free half & half
2 cups skim milk
1/2 cup freeze squeezed orange juice
1 4″x1″ orange rind (no pith)
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup Orange Cognac

Place half & half, milk, orange juice, and orange rind in a medium saucepan. Stirring occasionally, bring to a boil. Remove from heat, remove orange rind, and stir in 1 cup of hot mixture to the chocolate in a medium bowl, whisking to melt. Add Cognac to the chocolate mixture, then scrape back into the saucepan. Bring just back up to a simmer and then remove. Froth an additional 4 ounces of milk (using a frother or mixer) to spoon on top of your Orange Chocolate Breezes. Sit back and enjoy the decadent tastes of dessert on the beach any time of the year!

Serves 4.

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