Sunday Supper: Ad Hoc Crab Cakes & A Christmas For Two

Christmas was very untraditional this year. Not surprisingly, Mark had to work. I know we signed up for this in the early years of his career but that didn't make it any easier. Last week, we celebrated early Christmas with our families in Sacramento, so today was Christmas for two.

Our day started with Mark getting up at 4:30 to go to work while I rolled over and kept sleeping. :) We were happy to find out that it is so slow on Christmas (and CHP doesn't usually write tickets) that Mark was allowed to come home for a few hours. So around 8:00 he came home. I made a yummy savory bread pudding for breakfast and we opened our gifts. Mark went back to work then around noon I went up to his office and did a ride along for the last 5 hours of his shift. I was thankful to be able to do this so I could spend the day with him. It was exciting because we went to a hit and run where they ended up catching the suspect! I wish I could've taken pictures but I signed a paper saying I wouldn't :(

After we came home I made crab cakes for dinner. The recipe is from our favorite restaurant Ad Hoc. The recipe turned out great. I did substitute a few things so I didn't have to buy so much at the grocery store: for the Piment dEspelette Aioli I just mixed mayo with cayenne pepper. I didn't have old Bay Seasoning so I used Chinese All Spice. I also didn't make the vinaigrette but used extra mayo/cayenne for a dipping sauce. The cakes turned out absolutely delicious. The directions were spot on. The outside was crispy and the inside was creamy. Here is the recipe:

Ad Hoc Crab Cakes (Serves 6)


Ingredients:
1-1/2 teaspoons (1/4 oz.) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons finely diced onion
2 tablespoons finely diced red bell pepper
1 garlic clove
1-1/4 lb. lump and/or jumbo crabmeat
¼ cup Piment d’Espelette Aioli
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon Old Bay season, or to taste
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2-1/2 cups panko crumbs
1 large egg
Canola oil
Piquillo Pepper Vinaigrette



Directions:
Position two oven racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350-degrees.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the onion and pepper.  Grate the garlic with a Microplane grater directly into the pan (or mince it and add it).  Cook, stirring often, until the onion and pepper are tender, about 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let cool completely.

Place the cleaned crabmeat in a fine mesh basket strainer and drain well.

In a large bowl, whisk the aioli with the Worcestershire, mustard, parsley, Old Bay, and lemon juice to combine well.  Stir in ½ cup of the panko crumbs and the onion mixture.  Gently fold in the crab.  Lightly whisk the egg in a small bowl, and gently fold it into the mixture.

Put the remaining 2 cups panko crumbs in a shallow bowl.  Divide the crab mixture into 12 equal portions.  One portion at a time, gently shape the mixture into a ball (the mixture is very delicate because there is only a small amount of panko in it), roll gently in the panko to coat, and shape into a slightly flattened ball about 2” in diameter and 1” thick.  Add a bit more panko as needed to coat, and set on a plate.

Heat some canola oil in each of two large ovenproof frying pans over medium heat until it shimmers.  If you don’t have two pans, cook the cakes in batches and transfer to a rack set over a baking sheet, then finish in the oven).  Add the cakes, pat down gently, still maintaining the rounded shape, and cook until golden brown on the first side, about 5 minutes.  With a spatula, gently turn each crab cake over and cook on the second side for another 5 minutes, or until golden brown.  Transfer the pans to the oven and cook for 2-3 minutes, to ensure that the crab cakes are hot throughout.

Line a small baking sheet with paper towels.  Transfer the crab cakes to the towels to briefly drain.  Arrange the crab cakes on a serving plate and serve the vinaigrette on the side.


I hope you had a Merry Christmas!


"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6


~Hannah

Sunday Supper: Chicken Bouillabaisse Soup

Ok, this isn't exactly a Sunday Supper, more like a Friday supper but I had to share!


Yesterday I felt just terrible at work. I had the chills, my ears hurt like they had an infection and I had a very sore throat. On my lunch I found out I was running a fever! 101 degrees! I didn't feel right going home because I had been out sick a day last week plus a coworker ended up leaving yesterday. So I tried to stick it out but was just miserable by the time work was done. So I came home, took a very warm bath and promptly fell asleep on the couch.


Mark woke me up a few hours later with this yummy soup he made for me. This is Williams-Sonoma's Chicken Bouillabaisse soup. It is delicious! I know it was labor intensive, I mean he bought a whole chicken and made the stock from scratch. Luckily he made a full batch so I am having another bowl of the soup as I type this right now :)

So if you have ample time to make dinner or want to make the best chicken soup for a sick loved one try this recipe:


Ingredients:

1 chicken, 4 to 5 lb., cut into serving pieces, including backbone
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 Tbs. canola oil
2 yellow onions, 1 quartered, 1 diced
2 garlic cloves, smashed
3 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced, stems and fronds reserved
4 cups water
6 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
2 Tbs. chicken demi-glace
1 1⁄4 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, cut 1⁄2 inch thick
Pinch of saffron threads
2 tsp. Pernod (optional)
1 Tbs. minced fresh chervil
1 Tbs. minced fresh tarragon
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice


Directions:

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large pot over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the oil. Working in batches, brown the chicken on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Add the quartered onion, garlic, fennel stems, water, stock and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the meat nearly falls off the bones, about 1 1¿2 hours. Discard the onion, garlic, fennel stems, bay leaves and backbone.

Transfer the chicken to a colander and let cool. Cut the meat into 1¿2-inch pieces; discard the skin and bones. Skim the fat off the stock and whisk in the demi-glace.

In a fry pan over medium heat, warm the remaining 1 Tbs. oil. Add the diced onion and sliced fennel and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the onion mixture to the stock along with the potatoes, saffron and Pernod. Set the pot over medium heat and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken, chervil, tarragon and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.


~Hannah

Image from here

Sunday Supper: Thai Beef Salad

This Sunday I wanted to go much lighter. The holidays have been filled with heavy meals and I want a break! I made Williams-Sonoma's Thai Beef Salad. The flank steak turned out very yummy and tender and the crisp vegetables were perfect. I didn't care for the vinaigrette however.i cook with fish sauce quite often but didn't like it on this salad. Even with the lime juice it wasn't acidic enough. I would make this again but maybe with a simple balsamic vinaigrette? Anyways, here's the recipe:

Thai Beef Salad (serves 4)

Ingredients:

For the Thai vinaigrette: 
3 Tbs. Thai fish sauce 
3 Tbs. fresh lime juice 
2 tsp. sugar 
1 to 2 tsp. minced fresh hot chilies with seeds  

1 flank steak, 3/4 to 1 lb. 
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 
2 tsp. canola oil 
1 large head butter or other soft-textured leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces (about 8 cups loosely packed) 
1 cup thinly sliced English cucumber 
1/2 cup thinly sliced sweet onion (such as Maui, Vidalia or Walla Walla) or red onion 
1/2 cup red bell pepper strips, 2 inches long by 1/4 inch wide
1/2 cup lightly packed torn fresh mint leaves 
1/2 cup lightly packed torn fresh cilantro leaves 
1/4 cup lightly packed torn fresh Thai basil leaves (optional) 



Directions:
To make the Thai vinaigrette, in a large bowl, stir together the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and chilies until blended. Set aside.

Preheat a broiler, or prepare a hot fire in a grill and oil the grill rack. Sprinkle the flank steak evenly with salt and pepper; rub the seasonings into the meat. Brush lightly on both sides with the canola oil.

By broiler: Place the flank steak on a broiler pan and slip it under the broiler about 2 inches from the heat source. Broil, turning once, until the meat is seared on the outside and cooked rare to medium-rare in the center, about 4 minutes per side.

By grill: Using tongs, place the flank steak over the hottest part of the fire or directly over the heat elements and grill, turning once, until seared on the outside and cooked rare to medium-rare in the center, about 4 minutes per side.

Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let rest for 20 minutes. Cut across the grain and on the diagonal into very thin slices.

Add the slices of meat to the dressing and toss to coat. Add the lettuce, cucumber, onion, bell pepper, mint, cilantro and Thai basil and toss to coat. Serve immediately.


~Hannah