Easy Shrimp Scampi

 

 

One of my favorite recipes to make for all occasions. It’s one of the easiest recipes and it takes less than half an hour to make. I make it for company or for a week night dinner. Perfect for a fast weeknight dinner yet so elegant you can really impress your guests. Just imagine tender garlic shrimp nestled in a bowl of seasoned pasta with a touch of lemon.  I freeze it and so I can defrost it and have it on the table in minutes.  I like to serve it with a fresh salad and garlic bread for dipping in that incredible garlic sauce.

Easy Shrimp Scampi

 

1 pound spaghetti

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4  cloves garlic, finely minced garlic

Pinch of red pepper flakes

1 1/2 pounds extra-large shrimp, peeled and de-veined 1/4 cup dry white wine

½ cup low sodium chicken stock

Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

¼ cup chopped parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh lemons for squeezing

 

Cook pasta as directed.  Make sure you salt the water. 

Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels. Melt half the butter and half olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add shrimp in a single layer and cook about 1-2 minutes on each side.  Do Not Overcook shrimp.  Cook just until pink and starting to curl. Remove from heat and place on plate so they stop cooking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lower the heat to medium and add the remaining oil and butter. Add the minced garlic and red pepper flakes (if using) and cook for only about 30 seconds stirring constantly until fragrant. Do not allow the garlic to brown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add in your wine or just chicken stock and cook until liquid is reduced by half. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Add your cooked pasta to the skillet along with the shrimp. Toss in garlic butter sauce until well coated. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remove from heat and stir in parsley.  Squeeze a lemon over dish to b

Mini Crabcakes with Remoulade Sauce

 Mini Crabcakes with Remoulade Sauce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A delicious appetizer or even for dinner when served with a baked potato and salad.  You will love these. Outrageously delicious! 

Mini Crabcakes with Remoulade Sauce

2 slices white bread, crusts removed
2 teaspoons milk
1 tablespoon Hellman's mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon OLD BAY Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 pound FRESH lump crab meat

I make my own breadcrumbs by adding bread to food processor and pulsing until fine crumbs. Then moisten the crumbs in the milk.

Add mayo, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, baking powder, OLD BAY, salt, egg and the crab meat mixing very lightly so as not to break up to much of the crab. Using a small scoop or your hands form the mixture into small balls and lay on parchment paper on a baking sheet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Refrigerate crab bites for 30 minutes which will help them hold their shape while cooking. You can choose to broil or fry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If baking or broiling: Make sure you drop a couple of ice cubes onto the baking tray between the crab bites before you bake in a 375-degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To deep fry as shown in my photo: Fill your deep skillet with peanut oil or vegetable oil and deep fry your bites in batches until golden and crispy on the outside...about 5 minutes or less. Then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. You can also use a deep fryer with a basket to make these.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remoulade For Crab Cakes

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish

1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning 

1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce 

1 tablespoon chives, minced

1-2 teaspoons horseradish

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons lemon juice 

 

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, sweet pickle relish, Old Bay, Worcestershire sauce, chives, horseradish, minced garlic, and lemon juice until fully combined. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photography is the property of and copyrighted to Welcome Home.

The Real Deal Crab Cakes

 The Real Deal Crab Cakes

These are my own Maryland crab cakes that I have been making for years.  You say crab cakes are crab cakes…so what makes yours so special?  Mine are the real deal…authentic Maryland Crab Cakes.

You see we have our own take on Crab cakes here in this state. They have become world famous. Tourists that come to Maryland can’t leave town without eating them. You can find crab cakes just about anywhere...but there is truly nothing like a Maryland crab cake. You see, it’s not only the ingredients you use, it’s also the way you make them.  

Contrary to popular belief, Maryland is not the only state to serve a crab cake. Different variations of crab cakes can be found across the nation, but there is something different about a Maryland crab cake. We Marylander's can see and taste the difference in a Maryland crab cake and any other out there.  We can spot an “impostor” instantly. So what makes the difference when it comes to the Maryland crab cake?

I was born and raised in Maryland and crab cakes were a staple in my home. I grew up on those delicate treasures with the huge lumps of sweet crab seasoned with Old Bay seasoning.  I learned from my Mom….no one made crab cakes like she did. Her crab cakes were the real deal—no onions, peppers, or any other vegetable or fillers. You put nothing in your mix that could over power the crab. Just pure, sweet Maryland blue crab and lots of it. She just added in a little egg and a small amount of breadcrumbs to hold them together. And then the secrets….. 

OLD BAY

Every Marylander has a tin of Old Bay in the pantry. We love this stuff and we use it a lot in our cooking.  Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can leave the Old Bay out of a Maryland crab cake. It would be like making a cake without sugar. 

A GENTLE TOUCH

You just bought a very expensive pound of Maryland blue crab. The trick is treating it like the pure gold it is. It is the last thing you add to the mix and you use your hands to tenderly combine it without breaking up those glorious huge lumps of goodness. It is the main attraction…be gentle and understand that no matter how many recipes you see out there for a bunch of extra ingredients, don’t go there. You must go light on the filler and the binder and make the sweet succulent crab the star of the recipe.

You're Not Making Hockey Pucks

I cringe every time I see a crab cakes shaped and packed into a round patty and and covered in heavy bread crumbs. These aren’t crab cakes. They are fried fish cakes. Crab cakes should be loosely formed balls of jumbo lump crab meat. Just remember the more compressed and filled with things that over power the crab, will give you a terrible tasting crab cake.

The ingredients

I laugh at most crab cake recipes out there when I see them outside of Maryland, DC or Virginia.  I gasp when I read chopped onion, hot sauce, red peppers, smoked paprika, jalapenos!  You have to keep it simple!  Your thought process while making crab cakes should always be about making sure you in no way hide the taste of sweet beautiful crab meat.  No onions!  No peppers!  No heavy seasonings. Nothing to hide the taste of that crab!

What kind of crab meat?  I use only Jumbo Lump blue crab meat. You want to buy the lumps so don’t consider anything like “special crab meat or claw meat.  It has to say LUMP on the label. Keep in mind that you are about to splurge here because you probably won’t pay less than $25-30 a pound. This is hand-picked and there are only two back fin lumps per crab. So be prepared to pay for the best.

My Maryland Crab Cakes

1 lb. Jumbo Lump crab meat
1 large egg, beaten 

1/4 cup mayonnaise (I use Hellman’s)
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs, from 2 slices white bread, crust removed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain crab meat and put in a bowl and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, mayo, mustard, Old Bay, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Gently stir in crab meat and breadcrumbs and mix with hands lightly without breaking up the lumps. Mixture will be somewhat wet. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for about 20 minutes or refrigerate for at least an hour or more.

Once chilled, shape the mixture into rounded mounds whatever size you'd like. Do not flatten or make into patties. Place on lightly sprayed baking sheet with sides. Spray the tops very lightly with non-stick spray for browning.   Just look at those big lumps of sweet succulent crab! 

Just before putting crab cakes in the oven, drop three or four ice cubes onto the baking pan in between crab cakes. This will keep the high temperature from burning the bottoms.  

Bake in hot 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes depending on the size you made your crab cakes. 

Can't you just taste them!  Oh My Goodness.  There is nothing like a Maryland Crab Cake!   This recipe makes 4-5 big jumbo lump crab cakes.

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