Caribbean Crab Cakes Benedict

Ingredients

  • 3 saltine crackers
  • 3 (1-ounce) slices French bread, torn
  • 1 pound fresh lump crabmeat, drained
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 egg white
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon seafood seasoning
  • 1/4 cup peanut oil
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 avocados, peeled and sliced
  • 6 large eggs, poached
  • Caribbean Hollandaise Sauce
  • Cracked black pepper
  • Garnish: diced red bell pepper

How to Make It

Step 1

Place crackers in a blender or food processor; process until finely ground. Place bread in blender or food processor; process until finely ground.

Step 2

Combine crabmeat, mayonnaise, cracker crumbs, breadcrumbs, egg white, and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and chill 8 hours.

Step 3

Shape crab mixture into 6 (4-inch) patties. Cook crab cakes, in batches, in hot oil and melted butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat 4 minutes on each side or until golden.

Step 4

Place avocado slices and poached eggs on crab cakes, and top with Caribbean Hollandaise Sauce and pepper. Garnish, if desired.

/by

Shrimp-and-Crab Nachos

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons toasted ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, cleaned and picked
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 bunch green onions, sliced
  • 1 (9-ounce) bag yellow, white, or blue corn tortilla chips
  • 3 cups grated pepper Jack cheese
  • 1/2 cup sliced pickled jalapeño

How to Make It

Step 1

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp, cumin, and garlic; sauté 3 minutes or until shrimp are pink.

Step 2

Combine cooked shrimp, crab, sour cream, and green onions in a large bowl.

Step 3

Spread tortilla chips on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Top with shrimp mixture. Sprinkle with cheese, and top with jalapeño.

Step 4

Broil 5 to 6 inches from heat 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve immediately.

/by

The Ultimate Crab Cakes

Ingredients

Garlic Aioli with Celery Root:

Directions

Make the crab cakes first so they have time to firm up in the refrigerator before you cook them.

Heat a 2-count of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the onion gets kind of caramelized. Dump that into a bowl and fold in the crabmeat, bread crumbs, mayonnaise, egg white, lime juice, and cilantro, mixing just until well blended. Season with salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into 6 fat crab cakes. Put them on a plate, cover, and stick them in the refrigerator to chill.

To serve, heat a 3-count of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the crab cakes and cook for about 4 minutes each side until nice and crisp. Serve on torn butcher paper with fresh lemon wedges and Garlic Aioli with Celery Root.

Garlic Aioli with Celery Root:

Mince garlic and make into paste using the side of your knife. Hint: to make this go faster add a bit of salt to the garlic and continue mashing with the side of your knife.

Place the paste in a large bowl and add: the sour cream, mayonnaise, celery seed, lemon juice, and oil. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fold in the shredded celery root and chives. Give it a final taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Total:  35 min Prep:  15 min Cook: 20 min

/by

Dungeness Crab Cioppino

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 8 large garlic cloves—6 finely chopped, 2 whole
  • 3 jalapeños, seeded and minced
  • 2 red bell peppers, finely chopped
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1 large bay leaf
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup dry red wine
  • One 28-ounce can peeled tomatoes, finely chopped, juices reserved
  • Four 8-ounce bottles clam broth
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 cup packed basil leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 4 steamed Dungeness crabs, about 2 pounds each (see Note)
  • 2 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed
  • 2 pounds firm, white-fleshed fish fillets such as halibut, skinned and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
  • 2 pounds large shrimp, shelled and deveined
  • 2 pounds mussels, scrubbed
  • 1 pound sea scallops, halved vertically if large
  • Crusty bread, for serving
Step 1

In a very large soup pot, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil until shimmering. Add the chopped garlic, jalapeños, bell peppers, onion and bay leaf and cook, stirring occasionally, over moderately high heat until softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook until nearly evaporated, about 1 minute longer. Add the chopped tomatoes and their juices and cook over moderately high heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the clam broth and water, season lightly with salt and generously with pepper, and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat until the broth is reduced to about 8 cups, about 20 minutes.

Step 2

Meanwhile, in a mini food processor, combine the basil leaves with the whole garlic and process until the garlic is finely chopped. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil and the crushed red pepper and process the basil puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 3

Working over the sink, pull off the flap on the undersides of the crabs. Remove the top shells and discard. Pry out the brownish insides and pull off the feathery lungs and discard. Rinse the crab bodies in cold water and quarter them so that each piece has body and leg.

Step 4

Add the crabs and clams to the pot. Cover and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the clams begin to open, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the crabs to a large platter. Add the fish, shrimp, mussels and scallops to the pot, pushing them into the broth. Return the crabs to the pot, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the clams and mussels are fully open and the fish, shrimp and scallops are cooked through, about 8 minutes longer.

Step 5

Ladle the cioppino into deep bowls and drizzle each serving with some of the basil puree. Serve with crusty bread and pass the remaining basil puree separately.

Make Ahead

The Dungeness crab cioppino can be prepared through Step 1 and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
/by

Oven Roasted Dungeness Crab

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter .
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon minced shallot
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper
  • 1 large Dungeness crabs*, cooked, cleaned, and cracked (about 4 1/4 pounds)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, divided
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
  • 1
  • 1/2 cup blood orange juice or regular orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated blood orange peel or regular orange peel

RECIPE PREPARATION

  • Preheat oven to 500°F. Melt butter with oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in garlic, shallot, and dried crushed red pepper. Add crabs; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon chopped thyme and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley over crabs. Stir to combine. Place skillet in oven and roast crabs until heated through, stirring once, about 12 minutes.

  • Using tongs, transfer crabs to platter. Add orange juice and peel to same skillet; boil until sauce is reduced by about half, about 5 minutes. Spoon sauce over crabs. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon thyme and 1 tablespoon parsley and serve.

/by