Seafood Dirty Rice

For Mardi Gras this year, we made seafood dirty rice for dinner and King Cake for dessert.  It was my first time making the King Cake by myself and I was really happy with how it turned out.  My mom and I made the seafood dirty rice together - we used the recipe from the Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen cookbook.  It was really good!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound shrimp (with shells)
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp. peanut oil
• 1/2 cup canned tomato sauce
• 3 tbsp. very finely chopped onions
• 2 1/2 tbsp. very finely chopped bell pepper
• 2 tbsp. very finely chopped celery
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. white pepper
• 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 cups shrimp stock
• use the shrimp shells to make the stock
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3 1/2 cups cooked rice
• 3/4 cup very finely chopped green onions
• 1 cup (about 1/2 pound) lump crabmeat

Yield: 4 servings

Peel the shrimp and use the shells to make the shrimp stock.

Melt the butter with the oil in a large skillet.

Add the tomato sauce, onions, bell pepper, celery, garlic, salt, white pepper, thyme, and cayenne.  Sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the stock and continue cooking over high heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the cream.

Simmer for about 4 minutes.

Add the shrimp and simmer for 3 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the rice, green onions, and crabmeat, keeping the lumps of crabmeat as intact as possible.

Heat through and serve immediately.

This recipe is so good - I highly recommend trying it if you like cajun food.

Crab Cakes Eggs Benedict

I hope everyone had a good Easter! We did. At our house, we don't do a big Easter dinner, instead we do a brunch and relax for the rest of the day. This year, we made one of our family's go-to favorites - crab cakes eggs benedict. They are basically just like regular eggs benedict - but with a crab cake in place of the Canadian bacon. We borrowed the idea when we first had them at Hyde Park Bar and Grill in Austin. If you're ever in Austin, you should definitely check them out - their food is delicious!

Ingredients:

• Crab Cakes
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp. Dijon or Cajun mustard
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp. hot sauce
• 1 lb. fresh lump crabmeat, drained
• 1 cup (about 20 crackers) crushed saltines/Ritz crackers
• 1 qt. peanut oil
• 8 eggs
• 4 English muffins
• Hollandaise sauce
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• Dash of Tabasco
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Salt and pepper to taste

Yield: 4 servings

The recipe for the crab cakes comes from Southern Living.  To make them, stir together the first 5 ingredients, then fold in the crabmeat and crushed crackers.  Let stand for 3 minutes.

Shape the mixture into 8 patties and place on wax paper.  Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.  We've found that the crab cakes hold up much better if you chill them overnight.

Fry the crab cakes in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden.

Drain on paper towels.

Break the English muffins in half and lightly toast each half.  Poach the eggs in simmering water on medium heat for about 3 minutes, or until cooked.  I prefer using poach pods lightly coated with cooking spray.

To make the Hollandaise sauce, I used the blender method in James Beard's Theory and Practice of Good Cooking.

Combine the egg yolks, salt, Tabasco, and lemon juice in a blender and blend on the high setting, just enough to blend the mixture.  

Heat the butter until it is bubbling, but not to the point it is browned. Remove the insert from the lid of the blender, turn the blender on high and pour the hot butter in a thin, continuous stream. When the butter is absorbed and the sauce thick, turn off the blender. If you need to thin the hollandaise, add 1 tablespoon hot water into the sauce while the blender is running.

Assemble the Eggs Benedict by putting one crab cake on an English muffin half, then put the poached egg on top of the crab cake. If you used poach pods to poach the eggs, turn the poach pod upside down over the crab cake and gently push on the bottom - the egg should slide right out. Pour the hollandaise over the eggs and salt and pepper the eggs to taste.

These are always a big hit at my house - they make a delicious brunch for a special occasion.

Did you make anything special for Easter?