Crab Cakes

 

My Secret Sauce!

 This dish is slightly inspired by an episode of Food Network Star, where the contestants had to create something using packaged goods such as Cheez Its or Townhouse crackers. So I wanted to get rid of the crab meat that was sitting in my fridge and I decided to make crab cakes. While gathering some ingredients, I realized I really need to make a trip to good ol' HEB. Anyways, to make crab cakes you need at least mayo, eggs, and some form of breading--that's what binds everything together and keeps the cake from falling apart. Now, you're probably asking, how did FNS inspire me? Well, that's where the Townhouse Flatbread Crisps come in. I crushed up a whole bunch of crackers and used that as my breading. I used the Italian Herb flavor, so it gave more dimension to the cakes. Using butter in your pan will help add extra flavor, but make sure the fat has stopped bubbling before you put the cakes in, or else it'll make them soggy and not crispy.

I was going to put them on a bed of arugula, but I didn't have any...
However,  I did make a sauce to go with it. Instead of tartar, I made my own 'special sauce'.

PS: my secret ingredient for the crab cake is wasabi powder.

What's in it:
-Crab cakes: crab meat, mayo, egg, dried mustard, wasabi powder, cumin, paprika, salt, black pepper, red chili powder, dried oregano, Townhouse Flatbread Crisps
-Sauce: it's a secret ;)

___________________________________________________

Parmesan Tomato Crepes

I should have probably posted this before the nutella crepes, so this would show up afterwards. So if you haven't looked at the post below, please do so, then come back. [pause].
[resume] Alright, so I decided to make something savoury after the sweet. I had seen a recipe (thanks, Super), for parm tomatoes, so I thought I'd give that a try. I cut up some roma tomatoes, threw on some olive oil, salt, pepper, and parmesan, and topped that with oregano. While those were baking in the oven, I made the crepes, so everything would be done together. You simply line up the tomatoes inside the crepe and fold over each side. I used some of the juice from the tomatoes to seal the crepe so it wouldn't fall apart. I garnished the entire thing with some dried parsely and, voila! You got yourself an easy and delicious crepe.

 Parsley flakes!

____________________________________________________________________________

Nutella Crepes

 Crepes are wonderlous (wonderful + fabulous). They are delimptious (delicious + scrumptious). But most importantly, they are AWESOME. I finally decided to make crepes of my own, but of course it took me a while to experiment to get the right consistency. I, of course, had to make nutella crepes, because that's a staple. You can't have crepes without nutella. That's just...wrong. Anyways, I definitely had this one before making and eating the savoury crepe in the post above this. Who say's you can't have dessert before dinner?

The crepes should come off clean and easily when flipping them. Cooking spray is your friend.

                       They should be almost perfect circles.










What's in it:
-Crepe: flour, butter, salt, eggs, milk, water
-Filling: nutella, powdered sugar

_____________________________________

Mac & Cheese

I have been craving a good bowl of heart-wrenching, stroke-inducing, arteriosclerosis-forming mac and cheese for the past week. Last night, I decided I wouldn't stand by anymore and went on a shopping trip just for some of that cheesy goodness. I used two types of cheese--sharp cheddar and monterey jack--for a fuller flavor. I always like mac and cheese with a bread crumb crust on top, so I made this in the oven. This is only the second time I've made it (the first was a 3 cheese mac and cheese casserole for Thanksgiving a while back). No wonder there's a problem with obese kids these days. Mac and cheese is addictive. And that's all they eat. Yay for southern cooking.

Also, the Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E Friends episode was coming on while I was making this! It was fate.

What's in it:
-macaroni shells, sharp cheddar cheese, monterey jack cheese, milk, eggs, ground mustard, salt, powdered black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, panko bread crumbs

______________________________

Garbanzo Rice Soup

Today it rained. Praise the Lord. It was a light, transient rain, but still rain nonetheless. The afternoon was bright and lovely. I had my curtains adjusted to let in the day's light, which made for a beautiful ambiance in my livingroom. I lit a candle and had Ludovico Einaudi serenading me on Pandora as I filled my brain with wonderfully useless useful MCAT facts. Yet, it was an almost perfect afternoon....
As I finished my work, the world outside my window got darker, and my stomach got hungrier. I hadn't the energy to make something complicated, so I figured soup would be easy and filling. I threw together some rice, chick peas (garbanzo), sweet corn, vegetable stock, scallions, and a bunch of spices to make a hearty soup with earthy and vibrant tones. The slightest drizzle of olive oil on top just kicks it up a notch (gotta thank Chef Ramsay for that). I paired it with some awesome Italian herb crackers and kicked back while watching a NOVA documentary on dreaming (which made me sleepy, of course). Gotta love lazy Sundays.

What's in it:
-vegetable stock, basmati rice, sweet corn, garbanzo beans, scallions, cumin, paprika, red chili flakes, chipotle, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil

___________________________

Chicken Nuggets

These lovely chicken nuggets were made in part by the even more lovely Maheen Khan. I gotta say, she's an awesome sous chef! Anyhow, this was a treat for my post MCAT practice exam hangover. Great company + great food + sytycd = cure. These tiny treats are stupidly easy to make; it takes less than 10 minutes to prepare, and about 20 minutes to bake. And the best part is that there is nearly zero cleanup! Thank God for aluminum foil. Making nuggets is a fairly simple process, requiring minimal ingredients. The most important thing is to make sure your chicken is defrosted completely before preparing them. Also, make sure you have enough eggs! I only had 1 egg on hand, and ran out of it before I could finish dredging every piece. So I improvised with some olive oil, which isn't the best idea, but it's all I could do. Basically, you cover your chicken in flour, dip that in the egg, and then cover in bread crumbs. Here, I used panko, since it is thicker. Italian crumbs do have more flavor but are thinner. You can always add your own extra spices to the crumbs, according to your taste. We had ketchup and some awesome dynamite sauce to dip the nuggets in.

Shout out to Maheen!

What's in it:
-chicken, flour, egg, panko crumbs

___________________________________

Lemon Bars

Again, I really shouldn't be posting 2 entries in one day. Brain no worky work right now. Anyhow, my intent was to make lemon squares...but they turned into bars. This wasn't entirely bad, and I accidentally came across a lighter alternative to full lemon squares. The recipe I normally have used for the past couple years yields 2 sheets of lemon squares, but I accidentally put it all in one, and realized there wasn't enough room to pour in the filling on top of the crust. Therefore, the crust to filling ratio was 2:1, which created a more crispy surface rather than the normal almost gelatinous texture of a full lemon square. The taste and flavors were still spot on, though. Success.

What's in it:
-crust: flour, butter, powdered sugar
-filling: eggs, sugar, baking powder, salt, flour, lemon juice, lemon extract

_______________________________

Crab Stuffed Jalapenos

My brain hurts from MCAT studying that I have almost nothing to say in this post. I made these jalapeno popper dealios yesterday, and they turned out quite well. It's a mixture of cheddar cheese with roasted peppers and jalapeno, crab meat, and scallions. I topped it all off with panko bread crumbs, and baked them for about 45 minutes. On top is a simple dynamite sushi sauce, comprised of sriracha and mayo. These are a great appetizer or party finger food.
Sorry this post is so boring. I'm tired. That is all.

What's in it:
-jalapenos, crab meat, cheddar, scallions, panko
-mayo, sriracha

____________________