Maryland Style Crab Cakes

When it comes to crab cakes, less is more. It is best to let the crabmeat become the star of the show by adding minimal fillers. This recipe is a variation of the Ocean City Maryland based Phillips Seafood Restaurant crab cake recipe that can be found on their website phillipsfoods.com. Among some of the changes I made was to add sautéed shallots and fresh dill to enhance the flavor. I also like to use saltine crackers rather than Ritz crackers and Dijon mustard rather than yellow mustard. These come out nice and crispy and full of delicious crab flavor.

Cook / Prep time – about an hour

Servings – 2

• 1/2 pound jumbo lump crab
• 1 egg
• 1 small shallot, chopped
• 2 tsp butter
• 1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/8 tsp ground mustard
• 1 tbsp Duke’s or Hellman’s mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp fresh chopped parsley
• 1/2 tsp fresh chopped dill leaves
• 1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp Lawry’s Lemon Pepper Seasoning
• 1/4 cup crushed saltine crackers
• Lemon for garnish
• 1 tbsp each olive oil and butter for frying

Add the 2 tsp butter and the chopped shallot to a frying pan and sauté on medium heat until shallots are translucent. Let the mixture cool. Add all the ingredients (including the cooled shallots and butter) except the crabmeat and the frying oils into a mixing bowl and mix well. Sort through the crabmeat to remove any shell fragments. Gently fold the crabmeat into the mixture. Do not overmix!

Form into desired amount of patties and place them on wax paper. Place them in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to allow them to firm up.

After letting the patties firm up in the refrigerator, melt the butter and olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat and fry them for 12 – 15 minutes until browned well on both sides. Cook them to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

Enjoy!

Suggested songs for your listening pleasure while preparing the crab cakes….

How about “Go Back” by Crabby Appleton from their 1970 album Crabby Appleton? The bands name was based on a cartoon character from the cartoon Tom Terrific.

And “Cut the Cake” by The Average White Band from their 1975 album “Cut the Cake”

Chinese Long Beans

Chinese long beans, also known as yard long beans because they can get a yard long or asparagus beans due to a slight asparagus flavor, are easy to grow and make a tender, delightful summer side dish.

Growing Chinese long beans

These are very easy to grow. Just soak them overnight before planting them a depth of about an inch in rich garden soil. They will come up in about a week, and you will have beans 4-6 weeks later! You will also need to provide a trellis for them to grow on because they love to climb.

Their is also a purple colored variety. While they can grow a yard long, I like to pick them when they are young and tender at around 12 – 18 inches.

The blossoms are a pretty light purple in the morning and then later in the afternoon the flowers close up. Each flower will have 2 or 3 beans coming off the blossom.

These are best steamed, sautéed or stir fried. I stir fried them with onions and garlic and they were awesome!

Stir Fried Chinese Long Beans with Onions and Garlic

Prep / Cook time – about 15 minutes

Servings – 2

• 1 pound fresh Chinese long beans
• 1 small sweet onion
• 1 clove fresh garlic, slivered
• 1 tsp lemon pepper
• 1 tbsp high heat oil such as grapeseed or peanut oil
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

Clean and wash the long beans and trim the ends off. Drain well. Add the oil to a heavy bottom skillet or wok. Turn on high heat and add the beans and garlic, stirring constantly. After a minute or two, add the slivered garlic and stir until browned and tender, just a couple of minutes. Remove from heat. Add the lemon pepper and mix in. Add the mirin and soy sauce. Serve immediately. That’s it!

Enjoy!

Note to my readers: This is my 60th blog post since I started my blog in January. Thanks for reading, following and sharing!

Suggested songs for your listening pleasure while stir frying the beans…

How about “Beans in My Ears” (don’t try this at home) a single by The Serendipity Singers released in 1964.

Or for you Luke Bryan fans (of which I am not), anything by him because it is his birthday today.

Grilled Marinated Flanken Style Short Ribs

Do you like beef jerky? How about a hot, sizzling, tender and moist cut of meat with similar flavor? If that sounds good, try these Marinated Flanken Style Short Ribs!

Even a carnivore like me likes to change up from grilled steaks once in awhile, and when I saw these flanken short ribs (sometimes also called Korean short ribs) at a local Hispanic market for $5.99 a pound, I had to get some.

You will need to marinate these overnight for the best results, so plan accordingly.

***Warning: These are very addictive and I plan on fixing them every week until I get tired of them.

Cook / Prep time – 24 hours to marinate and 3o minutes to grill

Servings – 2

• 1 pound Flanken Style or Korean short ribs
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
• 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 1 clove fresh garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp sesame seed
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp orange zest

Mix all ingredients except the short ribs together and blend well. Place the marinade into a gallon size ziplock or a ceramic dish and add the short ribs. Place in the refrigerator and marinade overnight.

After marinating overnight, discard the marinade and prepare your grill, whether it’s charcoal or gas. Place on the grill grate and cook on one side until they are browned, then flip and brown the other side until well browned. Serve immediately. You may garnish them with more fresh chopped green onions. That’s it!

Enjoy!

Suggested music to listen to while preparing these short ribs….

Since we saw Jeff Lynne’s ELO last Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena and the songs are still in my head, let’s go with “Wembley or Bust” by Jeff Lynne’s ELO, a live album released in November 2017.

Click the link below for a spot on review by the Tennessean.

http://nashvilletennessean.tn.newsmemory.com/?publink=

Images From Downtown Nashville on a Summer Saturday Morning