Eat Together, Make Life Delicious...

This salad is super easy to prepare. If you have a favorite store bought Asian dressing, you can substitute that for the dressing below. This will save you even more time! This recipe can also be prepared with scallops, chicken, lobster, fish, thinly sliced beef or pork. Simply keep those ingredients submerged under the liquid until they are opaque and cooked through. My kids like this with extra noodles and broccoli florets instead of carrots and my husbands prefers to include a pinch of red peppers flakes!

Tossed Shrimp Salad
Makes 4 servings

For the dressing:
1 heaping teaspoon Miso paste
1 tablespoon orange juice
½ tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon minced roasted garlic
½ teaspoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce

For the shrimp salad:
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 cup canned baby corn, cut in half
1 large carrot, peeled, ends removed, and shredded
1 pinch salt
2 oz cellophane noodles
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, and deveined, and tails removed
4 handfuls fresh baby spinach
Sesame seeds

In a small bowl prepare the sauce. Combine the miso, orange juice, oyster sauce, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons of water and whisk until well combined.

In a large sauce pot or wok over medium heat, slick the bottom of the pan with sesame oil and add in the baby corn, carrots, and salt and cook until the carrots are tender or about 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium low. Add in the ½ cup water, cellophane noodles, shrimp, and the dressing and cook for 5 minutes. Try to get the shrimp and noodles under the liquid. Toss occasionally to help the noodles break apart.

When the shrimp is opaque and the noodles are soft, add in the fresh spinach and give it one more good toss. Turn off the heat. To serve, divide up the dish among 4 plates, sprinkle it with sesame seeds and serve.

Labels: Easy Recipes, Family Meal, salad, seafood, shrimp

Croquettes can be created from your favorite ingredients and once you learn the technique, it’s easy. I like to use a food processor to mix my croquettes; it saves a lot of hand chopping time. In this recipe, I use shrimp, but you could also try: scallops, tuna, cod, salmon, rockfish, cooked lobster meat or even my favorite Maryland crabmeat! And, with the holidays just about here, croquettes work with ground chicken and turkey meat too! And if you want to go one step further, you can stuff them with a tiny bit of mozzarella cheese. Simply form the croquette, push the cheese into the middle and close up the opening.

Croquettes can be assembled ahead of time and frozen. If you are baking from a frozen state simply add another minute or two until they are cooked through. (another reason to consider these)

I suggest making a dipping sauce on the side. If you like hummus, that's a great place to start, but the sky is the limit here and so be playful in the kitchen. Other great options are a mixture of equal parts tartar sauce and cocktail sauce to create my favorite: sunset sauce.

Shrimp Croquettes
Makes 6 servings, 2 croquettes per serving

For the fried croquettes:
¾ pound fresh raw shrimp, shelled and deveined and roughly chopped
½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1½ cups cooked white rice
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup of your favorite finely chopped fresh herbs (I suggest: cilantro, flat leaf parsley, curly parsley chives, chervil)
2 eggs, whisked
2 cups olive oil

For the coating:
1½ cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro (or your favorite herb)

For the sauce:
¾ cup store-bought Hummus
1 tablespoon chili sauce

In a food processor combine the shrimp, cheese, cheese, rice, garlic, salt, cilantro, and eggs and pulse until a paste is formed. Scoop out the shrimp mixture and make 12 equal balls, or about 1 heaping tablespoon each.

In a small shallow bowl pour in the breadcrumbs and cilantro and mix.

Pour the olive oil in a medium sauce pan and heat it to 350F.

Meanwhile, dip the croquettes into the breadcrumbs (roll it around until it is well coated) and place them on a clean plate.

Fry the croquettes in batches in the olive oil for about 2 minutes or until they turn golden brown. The croquettes should be completely submerged. Also, make sure to carefully move them around in the oil so they fry evenly. When they are done, remove the croquettes from the oil and place them on a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

While the croquettes are frying prepare the Hummus dipping sauce by combing the hummus and the chili sauce and mixing until blended.

Serve the croquettes warm with the dipping sauce. If you really like it spicy, just adjust the sauce to taste.

Labels: Croquettes, Easy Recipes, holiday meals

With the Holidays around the corner, it's always good to have a few recipes that take literary no time at all. Crab Balls are super easy, especially if you are starting with frozen 2-ounce crab cakes...however if you want to make the crab cakes from scratch, I've got a super easy recipe too, which I put below. Don't forget to leave a few crab balls plain without the topping, as shown in the picture.

I grew up down at the shore on the Chesapeake Bay and some of my best memories there are about crab balls, or in my family pronounced something like creb bowls...

My grandmother Edna made crab balls all the time when I was a kid. She'd fry hers in butter instead of baking them, which works, but does add a few calories. If you go that route, fry the balls until golden brown and then pop them in the oven on a sheet pan with the toppings for about 5 to 7 minutes. Bake them just enough for the toppings to melt on to the balls...

And as my grandmother once said, “creb bowls they are the best part of the crab!”

Edna's Crab Balls
6 to 8 Servings

For the Crab Balls:
1 large egg, beaten
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pinch cayenne (if you like it spicy, an extra pinch, but be careful!)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Optional: 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning
1 pound lump crab meat, picked over for shells and cartilage
Your Favorite Toppings, such as tartar sauce, marinara sauce, pesto, mayo, herb butter

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a medium bowl, combine the egg, mayonnaise, breadcrumbs, salt, cayenne, lemon juice, thyme, parsley, and optional seafood seasoning. Mix well. Gently fold in the crabmeat. Avoid over-blending. Form the mixture into 1-inch balls and place them on a sheet pan. Cover them with your favorite toppings.

Bake the crab balls for 15 minutes until golden brown. Serve on a decorative platter.

Important Note: to save even more time, prepare the crab balls in advance and cook them from a frozen state. They may require another 5 minutes in the oven to make sure they are piping hot!

Labels: Crab Balls, Easy Recipes, Holidays