Karen Freeman
Guest Columnist
January 02, 2008 10:41 am
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There is absolutely nothing that I love as much as I love crab. Period. No contest. My favorites are Snow Crab and King Crab; however, I love it all. I don’t eat King Crab very often because of the cost, but Snow Crab is much more affordable. Canned lump crab is also very good and is the basis for most of today’s recipes.
Periodically, we have an array of appetizers instead of dinner. This is a great way to test recipes that you might want to use for your next dinner party. It’s also a great way to give your family a special treat. Prepare several appetizers and rent a movie and your evening is made.
There are many ways to prepare crab, depending on the type of crab and your mood. The first recipe is a hot crab dip. This is a great recipe because you can make it as mild or as spicy as you want it to be. I don’t make it very hot, but you can spice it up with some minced jalapeño peppers or hot sauce.
The second recipe is my favorite crab dip. I love cream cheese and crab and cream cheese are naturals together. If you’ve ever eaten Crab Rangoon’s, you know how well they go together. You can add extra crab boil to spice this up more, if you like.
Recipe No. 3 is crab-stuffed Poblano peppers. These are medium peppers, but once cooked become more mild than medium. This is also great served with a white cheese sauce poured over them. Give this one a try, you will love the results.
The fourth recipe is crab stuffed mushrooms. This is a great appetizer for a party of just a great treat for your family. Keep in mind that this recipe is spicy. You can tone it down by changing the peppers and omitting the hot sauce if you want a milder version. You can also use different mushrooms, although I wouldn’t use portabellas because the flavor of the mushroom will over power the delicate crab.
The last recipe is Crab (or lobster) Bisque. This will become a favorite. It’s so easy to make that it will become a staple. This is a great recipe to make when you are in a hurry. Keep these ingredients on hand, you will really enjoy this one. For a beautiful presentation, hollow out a round loaf of bread and serve the bisque inside.
Hot Crab Dip
1 Pound Jumbo Lump Crabmeat, free of shells
1 Cup Grated Pepper Jack Cheese
3/4 Cup Mayonnaise
1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan
1/4 Cup Green Onions, Minced, Optional
5-6 Roasted Garlic Cloves or 2 Cloves Minced
3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon or Lime Juice
1 Teaspoon Hot Pepper Sauce
1/2 Teaspoon Dry Mustard
Salt & Pepper
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Combine all of the ingredients in a casserole and gently stir until thoroughly mixed. Bake for 40 minutes. Serve hot with crackers or toast points.
Crab and Cream Cheese Dip
1 (12-oz) container whipped cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 teaspoons dry sherry
1/4 teaspoon crab boil seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 (6-ounce) can crabmeat
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives, plus more for garnish
In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, Worcestershire, lemon juice, sherry, crab boil seasoning, salt, and pepper. Fold in the crabmeat and chives. Top with additional chives.
For serving dip:
Red and green bell peppers, squared bottoms
Purple cabbage, ruffled leaves and hollowed out
Radicchio, ruffled leaves and hollowed out
Green cabbage, ruffled leaves and hollowed out
Crab-Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Cooking Spray
1 Cup Crab Cake Mixture, reserved from Crab Cakes OR see recipe below
1/4 Cup Sour Cream
1 (4-Ounce) Can Diced Green Chiles
2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Cilantro Leaves
4 Poblano or Green Bell Peppers, halved and seeded
1/2 Cup Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a shallow roasting pan with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, combine crab cake mixture, sour cream, green chiles, and cilantro.
Stuff mixture into halved peppers and arrange side-by-side in bottom of prepared pan. Sprinkle cheese over filling.
Bake 10-12 minutes, until filling is hot and cheese is golden and bubbly. Serve hot.
Crab Cake Mixture:
12 Oz Fresh Lump Crabmeat (or an equal amount of canned lump crabmeat)
2 Tablespoons Low Fat Sour Cream
2 1/4 Teaspoons Oats (regular or quick-cooking)
2 1/4 Teaspoons Seasoned Dry Bread Crumbs
3/4 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1/2 Teaspoon Crab Boil Seasoning (such as Old Bay)
1/4 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
Pinch Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Teaspoons Olive Oil
In a large bowl, combine crabmeat, sour cream, oats, breadcrumbs, Dijon mustard, crab boil seasoning, oregano, and black pepper. Gently mix ingredients together, being careful not to break up crabmeat.
Yield: about 1 cup
Spicy Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
12 Oz White Mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed
1 Pound Lump Crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
1 Teaspoon Chopped Garlic
1/2 Cup Chopped Pickled Jalapenos
1/4 Pound Pepper Jack Cheese, grated
1 Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 Teaspoon Hot Sauce
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
2 Oz Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese, grated
2 Heads Radicchio, cut in half and grilled
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place mushroom caps on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix together crabmeat, garlic, jalapenos, pepper Jack, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt, mayonnaise and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Place a heaping tablespoon of the crab mixture into the cap of each mushroom. Bake the mushroom caps for 30 minutes. Serve warm with grilled radicchio.
Lobster Or Crab Bisque
2 Cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
1 Can Tomato Bisque Soup
2/3 Cup Dry Sherry
1 Cup Light Cream
2 Cup Milk
1 (7 oz.) Can Lobster or Crab with liquid
Blend sherry, milk, and cream into soups in saucepan. Add lobster/crab and heat gently, stirring often, until hot. Do not boil. Very good for lunch with green salad.
Karen’s Kitchen is a weekly column by Karen Freeman. Contact Karen at:
kvfreeman@triad.rr.com to exchange ideas, ask questions, submit recipes, tips, etc.
or suggestions.
Check out her Web site: http://www.geocities.com/kvfreeman27886/
Did you know?
Here are a few tips you may find useful,
Once you have purchased your selection, place it in low temperature surroundings, ideally 31° F. Changing temperatures provides breeding grounds for bacteria, so it is important that fish be kept at a constant, low temperature. Keep fresh or smoked seafood products refrigerated at 32-24° F. The best method for thawing frozen seafood is under refrigeration. Seafood can be thawed quickly under cold running water, if necessary, with the original wrapping intact. Keep frozen products rigidly frozen until ready to use; store in freezer at 0° F.
•Rinse whole fish, fillets and steaks with ice-cold water, but remember that fresh or very cold water will kill shellfish.
•NEVER CROSS-CONTAMINATE – Always handle raw and cooked seafood products separately; sanitize work space between preparations and serving of seafood. Keep raw and cooked products from coming in contact with each other.
•Live shellfish should be stored under well-ventilated refrigeration, not in air-tight plastic bags or containers – they need to breathe. Store in the refrigerator with damp paper or cloth towels over the live shellfish.
Remember, all raw foods contain bacteria. Handle seafood as you would any perishable food products ... keep properly refrigerated, cook adequately and handle with safety in mind.
Here are some tips to extend the shelf life and retain the quality of your seafood purchases:
1. When refrigerating fresh product, keep only 3-4 days.
2. Thawed frozen seafood should be used within 24 hours.
3. Frozen seafood, depending on the type, can be held up to one year, if maintained at 0° F.
4. Freeze seafood only in deep freezers; refrigerator-top compartment freezers normally don’t get cold enough to protect for long-term freezing.
5. Try freezing seafood with a glaze of ice. Rinse with ice water and lay on a tray in the deep freezer, when frozen, repeat the process once more. This gives a solid, air-tight glaze of ice to protect against freezer burn and rancidity.
6. When freezing Oysters, try putting them individually in an ice tray, covering each one with their own liquor.
7. When freezing Crawfish, first par-boil them by dipping in boiling water for about 1 minute.
8. Always clean seafood properly before freezing.
9. Never refreeze seafood
10. Slowly defrosting, either in the refrigerator or under cold water, are the best methods.
Always start with the freshest product possible. Do not delay in freezing your purchases. REMEMBER: Freeze fast; freeze solid, freeze airtight, and freeze fresh!
Like finfish, shellfish should not be overcooked. If cooked too long, it becomes tough and dry, and will lose much of its flavor. Cook shellfish very slightly. You can actually see when it is cooked:
1. Raw shrimp turn reddish pink and firm
2. Shucked mollusks become plump and opaque
3. Mollusks in their shells will open (ALWAYS discard any shells that do not open during cooking)
(http://chef2chef.net/news/foodservice/Editorial-Chefs_Corner/Seafood_Tips.htm)
Karen’s Kitchen is a weekly column by Karen Freeman of Tarboro. Contact Karen at:
kvfreeman@suddenlink.net to exchange ideas, ask questions, submit recipes, tips or suggestions.
Check out her Web site: http://www.geocities.com/kvfreeman27886/
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